Twelfth Night, Birdfeeding in Winter

Freya's Day - Venus Day - the Day of Sharing and Relationship .... Freya's Day classically is the day for love, fertility, romance and beauty magick as well as working for happiness and harmony in the home and for friendship.

Twelfth Night - This is Twelfth Night and on this date on Christian calendars is the time taking down the decorations.   January 6th is the twelfth night after Christmas. Also called the Feast of the Epiphany or King's Day or simply Twelfth Night, January 6th is the official end of the Christmas season, In New Orleans January 6th Twelfth Night, is a significant day for another reason. It's the official start of the Carnival season, that leads up to the day before Ash Wednesday, or Mardi Gras.

Feeding the Birds - At this time of the year natural foods for the birds are in short supply, so it is more important than ever to ensure that we supplement their diet. While there is a huge variety of commercial feeders and feed available it can be more interesting and usually far cheaper to create your own. 
   Fat balls can be hung in the kinds of net bags that fruit and some vegetable often come in. The basis for these can be lard or peanut butter (or both mixed) - you can save the fatty residue left over from your cooking too. Add breadcrumbs and oatmeal and search your kitchen cabinets for raisins, seeds and shelled nuts. Mix everything together, roll into balls and chill in the refrigerator. Hang in the string and plastic bags in a safe place away from the reach of cats.
   Apples which have past their best can be impaled on twigs and branches. If you had mistletoe in the house for the Yule season, this can also be put out for the birds, as the berries need to pass through the digestive system of a bird to aid germination. You never know, you might get your own Mistletoe plants in years to come.
 The best foods to offer birds in colder weather have a high fat or oil content that will provide abundant energy for winter survival. Nutritious winter foods for birds include:

•Black oil sunflower seed
•Hulled peanuts
•Niger seed
•Suet mixes with seeds or fruit
•Peanut butter
•White millet seed