This is For the Birds (Sorta)

When I was in the house washing breakfast dishes yesterday morning, a whole flock of Juncos stopped by for a visit. They were thirsty. But our birdbath was frozen solid.

Back before we stopped living in Maryland on weekends, I used to spend a lot of time in the yard. I had bird houses and bird feeders. I even had a pond for a while until I got tired of cleaning out the black-water swamp every Spring.

Juncos are happy little birds that winter in these parts. They usually show up in mid-November and stay until maybe April or early May (can't remember). There are lots of them at our West Virginia place, too.

I felt sorry for them. It was as if some of them were saying, "I know there used to be water here. Food, too." So I dug around the garage for the birdbath heater. It was the least I could do.

I sat it on top of the ice, added some warm water, and weighted it down with a rock to speed the thawing. Before long, there was a big hole in the middle of the ice block, which made it possible for me to pick the chunk of ice up like a doughnut and toss it onto the ground.

The birds haven't come back yet. But they will. And I figure they'll not only entertain me, but the dogs and cats, too. Brittanys are, after all, bird dogs.

In the meantime, speaking of entertainment, when Belle stumbled upon the ice, you'd have thought she discovered gold.

Having her here is like having a toddler in residence. Every day, she discovers something new to be excited about. (You should have seen the look on her face when I gave her a glob of peanut butter to eat!)

She was so excited about the ice, she started carrying pieces around the yard.

It was rather comical to watch.

When she got tired of running with it, she'd stop and crunch on it for a while.

Here's the now unfrozen birdbath. I'll try to keep the camera handy to get pictures of the birds when they return. They will return. I guarantee it.