I used a pretty heavy screening that I had in the garage, and it held the sunflower seeds up. I just cut it to the size of the cup and pushed it in. You could prop a small can or something in the bottom and put a lighter screen on top. Just an idea. The birds empty the cup so quickly now that I probably don't need the screening!

I don't see a problem with your recipe in that the pickling syrup is undiluted vinegar and sugar. It's hard to get any safer than 100% vinegar; it doesn't matter what the vegetables are. How dry is this mixture when placed in the jars? Do you typically need to make more of the vinegar-sugar solution? The reason I'm asking is as a 100% vinegar-sugar syrup, as long as there's sufficient solution to cover the pickles and surround the individual slices (in other words there aren't pockets of dry pickle slices stacked in the jar), that should be fine. There is a problem with the method in that the pickles need to be heated for a longer period and heat processed. If you're concerned about softening as a result, then pickle crisp can be added to compensate. So I'd use your recipe with confidence, making additional syrup as needed, and follow the NCHFP instructions for heating and processing. Carol

You have a possum! I've had them also. Along with my feeders, I place bird seed on top of my privacy fence. Took me awhile to figure out just who was depositing the pellets you describe, but one night I spotted him on the fence! Once I left my seed container on a bench near the patio and the next morning, all the seed was gone and the evidence was there! When I feed the birds in the afternoons, I put out just enough to last about an hour, so all the feeders are empty before dark. That critter still comes around every now and then, but he has to go elsewhere for meals...birdseed, that is! Donna

I buy most of my birdseed at Tractor Supply for several reasons. First, I pass the store several times a week going here or there and can get in and out in a jiffy even if I stop to ooooh and ahhhhh at the baby chicks and ducklets for a couple minutes. Secondly, because of the rapid shelf turnover, I know the seed stocks are probably fresher than other places where the seed or seed mixes may have been sitting on the shelf or in a warehouse for months. Thirdly, I typically buy only BOSS seeds for the birds and a bag of shelled peanuts as a blue jay treat. As to suet cakes, I feed those only during the winter and make my own using what seed I have on hand, peanut pieces, lard, and chunky peanut better. Any mix with safflower or corn goes uneaten around here and even the squirrels ignore those bits that are tossed out of the feeder onto the ground. While I much prefer to buy seed at a real feed store, all our local feed stores have moved farther out or gone out of business here a bouts. Counting travel time, it quickly became more labor and dollar intensive to visit a feed store when quite honestly, I don't know that most backyard type birds can tell the difference or want to know where you got their vittles.