Ruth Hoyt, Wildlife Photographer, visits Victoria Educational Gardens

Ruth Hoyt, was featured at the 2008 South Texas Farm & Ranch Show.  She also visited VCMGA Victoria Educational Gardens and took lots of shots of the gardens and flowers.  Ruth shared a recipe for No-melt Suet (scroll down.) Thanks to Barbara Thedin for sharing these photos.  She says Ruth will also share a CD of photos with us and publish some photos on her web site: www.ruthhoyt.com

Ruth Hoyt was joined by Carmen, Cliff, and Helen Boatman at the VEG.

Photos were taken at the fish pond in the Children's Gardens.  Ruth was assisted by Marsha, also seen in these photos.

There were many opportunities to take photos of wildflowers in VEG.

While Ruth takes a shot of the zinnias, Carmen gets shots of the roses on the arbor.

The blue urn disappearing fountain was a great subject for Ruth to take some shots of.

Take a gander at that huge lens used to capture horticultural photos of the fountain.

It'll be fun to see the photos Hoyt captured of the fountain and fire bush.

Here's a nice vantage point for a photo of cut flowers along the riverbed drain in VEG.

Zoom in on the potato vine in the terrace area of VEG.

Helen, Carmen, Cliff, and Barbara, VCMGA members, were proud that Ruth was pleased with the gardens.

No-Melt Suet Recipe Read the entire recipe before starting. You will find the suggestions/tips helpful. 5 cups of crunchy peanut butter (40 oz) 5 cups of lard (40 oz) 10 cups of “quick cook” oatmeal 10 cups of cornmeal 5 cups of white flour 2 cups of sugar Other “birdy” snacks (see below) Melt the lard and peanut butter in an extra large pan or kettle over medium heat. Gradually stir in the remaining ingredients. I use an old canning kettle and a heavy mesquite spoon for this job because it takes a lot of strength to get the dry ingredients blended into the melted mixture. If your mixture is too “wet,” you will have a sticky mess. If you think the mixture is too wet when all of the ingredients have been added, you can add more oatmeal or cornmeal. Spoon the suet into aluminum pans and spread the mixture to just under two inches thick, or whatever thickness fits your suet cages. I put the pans in the refrigerator to let the suet harden. Cut the suet into squares that will fit your feeders, put the squares in zip-lock bags and store in your freezer. These suet cakes will not melt in warm weather. Suggestions/Tips: You can use three 16-ounce packages of lard, three large jars of crunchy peanut butter, a large container of oatmeal, and follow the rest of the recipe. Preheat the peanut butter in the microwave two or three times at 1˝ minutes so it is easy to remove from the jar. Be sure to remove the aluminum from the tops of the peanut butter jars or it will catch fire in the microwave. Melt lard on medium heat, add peanut butter and stir so the peanut butter doesn't burn. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bucket so you can pour them easily into the liquid. Use extra oatmeal and cornmeal to thicken the mixture. Raisins, shelled sunflower seeds and other “birdy” snacks can be added. If you use disposable aluminum pans, you can re-use them several times.