My grandmother loved feeding the birds but I never remember her buying bird seed.

Her birds would get scraps from lunch or dinner but the birds ate it all. They would eat beans, cornbread, fruit and old bread. I always remember lots of cardinals and blue jays in her backyard. It was like the minute she walked out there they all came and they were not scared of people at all.

My dad loved feeding the birds and the raccoons and I loved watching him enjoy nature in his own backyard.

I think I was always a nature lover but when you have others teach you the beauty of wildlife it gets passed down even more.

We have lots of feeders here and I feed quite a mixture of seeds & suet. You can mix chicken scratch and black oiled sunflower seeds together for easy cheap mix and the birds love it. I recently bought some safflower seeds to feed occasionally.

This bird is a juvenile female cardinal she found some red berries that fell off the asparagus fern growing off our side deck.

They say a cardinal represents a loved one who has passed. They usually show up when you miss them the most. In many ways, I believe this because lately, my dad has been on my mind.