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Harvest Festival

Posted on August 31st, 2009 in Birdy Ramblings on my daily dawdle by Trish

Harvest Festival used to be celebrated at the beginning of the Harvest Season on 1st August.  It used to be called Lammas which means ‘loaf mass’

[ad#125x125square]Farmers made loaves of bread from the new wheat crop and gave them to their local Church.  These loaves were then used as the communion bread during a special mass thanking God for the harvest.

This custom ended when Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic church.  Today we have the harvest festival at the end of the season.

At the start of the harvest villages would appoint a respected man as the ‘Lord of the Harvest’.  He would negotiage the harvest wages and organise the field workeers.

At the end of harvest there was a big meal called The Harvest Supper.  This was to celebrate the end of harvest.  It was eaten on Michaelmass Day.  The ‘Lord of the Harvest’ sat at the head of the table.  A goose was eaten along with many vegetables.  Goose Fairs are still held in English towns at this time of year.

Harvest Festivals as we know them today started in 1843.  Rev. Hawker at Morwenstow in Cornwall invited local people to a special thanksgiving service for the harvest.

Hymns such as WE PLOUGH THE FIELDS AND SCATTER and ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL are two of the hymns that are sung at Harvest Festivals.  The idea of Harvest Festivals spread as did the custom of decorating our churches with home grown produce.

Ways to stop bird food blowing off a bird table

Posted on August 31st, 2009 in Bird Feeding Problems by Trish

Wind is blowing bird food off the bird table.

To stop this happening I coat the  bird seed in melted lard.  The melted lard makes the bird food stick together – a little, not a lot.  This method keeps it on the bird table,  not  in a fatball  but just makes it heavy enough not to be blown away.

[ad#125x125square]A second way to stop  bird food blowing off a bird table is  put a small container on the birdtale and put the bird food inside the container

Does anyone have any other tips on how to stop  bird seed  food blowing off a bird table

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I find it annoying that bird food I’ve bought and paid for goes blowing away in the wind which is why I go to the trouble of stopping it happening.

Another good thing about coating the bird seed with lard is that it gives the birds an extra feed – they get bird food and fat as well!