When you look out your window in the winter, everything looks a little drab and lifeless.  Maybe there is a coat of snow covering the ground, or maybe there are just dead leaves.  And maybe there are little squirrels and birds looking for food.  In the winter, I love hanging bird feeders in my backyard and watching and listening to the birds.

I take great caution when entering bird stores.  A large portion of bird seeds and other food products for birds contain nuts and peanuts.  I don’t want to have a reaction filling up a bird feeder, so I recommend reading the ingredients before buying birdseed.  If you are worried about having an airborne reaction in a bird store, you can order products online.  Products usually have a description of what is in the food, so you can avoid your allergens.  For example, one birdseed may list shelled peanuts (which I avoid), while another may list sunflower seeds (which is not one of my allergens).

You can also make your own nut free bird feeder by smothering a pine cone with cream cheese and then covering it with birdseed.  Attach a string and hang it outside.  (This is an adaptation of a common classroom activity that used peanut butter instead of cream cheese.  I always had to sit out for that one.)  Feed the squirrels as well by tying a length of twine around one end of a corncob and hanging it outside, making sure that squirrels will be able to reach it either from the ground or a tree branch.