Pine Cone

When I think of pine cones, I think of the holidays.  Used to decorate the table, attach to a door wreath, or hang with ribbons on the tree.

Did you know that they can also be used to make a bird feeder?  I found this simple tidbit of information on ehow.com and wanted to share it.  Thinking this would make a fun and easy project to do with your kids, a school project or with the grandkids:

Bird Feeder –

Spread peanut butter between the rows of the pine cone needles and on the tips  of the needles. Roll the pine cone in bird seed; the seeds will stick to the  peanut butter. Wrap a strip of wire around the pine cone stem and hang the bird  feeder from a tree limb.

Click here for a wonderful article on other decorating ideas, how to “condition” the pine cones in the oven to open them up and remove the sap, as well as using them for fire starters/color/scent.

Natives of another hemisphere, they beheld, with curiosity, all the pleasing features of the American forest. The landscape  before them was fair, if it was strange and rude.   The little flower which at this season stars our woods and roadsides with its profuse blooms, might attract even eyes as stern as theirs with its humble beauty. The useful pine lifted its cones into the frosty air. The maple, which is already making the forest gay with its orange hues, reddened over those  houseless men. The majestic summits of Wachusett and Monadnoc towering in the horizon, invited the steps of the adventure westward. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson