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It was cracked when we moved in.
The basin had jagged markings of many years use:
a pleasant drinking fountain for the weary bird,
a delightful place for him to splash about.
But when my Farmer got called to go off to the war,
the woes of a birdbath in need of care
were lost beneath the mountain of other more pressing essentials.
were lost beneath the mountain of other more pressing essentials.
It was icy cold that winter.
I remember the driveway became a sheet of ice
with the melting and then refreezing of the water coming down the hill.
When spring came,
her shattered pieces lay scattered at her base.
Years passed.
Lost in a jumble of hydrangea and spirea blooms,
the bird bath base was forgotten until the raspberries at the arbor ripened,
and my daily visits to pick them
reminded me of her solitary watch.
I looked for something to top her and give her a life again,
but nothing seemed right,
until I happened on a large birdhouse this spring at a yard sale.
I put a fresh coat of paint on the birdhouse
as well as the stuccoed stencil like I explained >HERE<.
I had another birdhouse I'd found at a craftstore
that I painted up...
and applied some images from the Graphics Fairy,
sealing them well with some polyerthane.
I could have had my Farmer cut a circle to the same size as the circle
that held the birdhouse basin on
and then slipped the house on it to make it more secure.
Perhaps some adhesive would also work to hold the house in place.
I decided to just place her on the old base,
the arms of the bushes crowding around seeming to hold her securely in place.
the arms of the bushes crowding around seeming to hold her securely in place.
It is always a happy feeling to find a new use for something
too nice to part with.
Now if only I could keep others from troubling the bird friends.
Please come back on Wednesdays to link up your fun creations
on my new Around the House link party!
I am happy to mention that BobVila Nation
has allowed me to share some of my blog posts on its website.
Linking up to:
That is so cute! There was a bird bath in the garden when we moved in but we got rid (we have 2 cats one of whom is a bird killer). Having seen this I wish we had just re-purposed it!
ReplyDeleteFound you via Tip Junkie and will definitely be following you.
Oh, my! Why didn't I think of this??? I inherited my grandmother's mirror ball base from her garden that had been there for decades with that metal thing sticking up. Couldn't think what to put there til we found a nice replacement ball at Hobby Lobby - but the birdhouse thing I could have done from the start! I shall totally keep this in mind should I come across another base . . .
ReplyDeleteJoy!
Kathy
that's cute.
ReplyDeleteYou are too smart girly! It looks lovely! I really like the stencil on that birdhouse--great find!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for linking this up to Rustic Restorations Weekend!
DeleteYour birdhouses are beautiful, and I love that you reused the base of the birdbath. Your garden is lovely and so is your writing. :)
ReplyDeleteI loved your prose as much as your pictures! Thank you for sharing :-)
ReplyDeleteThese birdhouses are so pretty. Nice job on painting/decorating them! And great idea to top the base with one!
ReplyDeleteSaw you linking at Funky Junk Interiors.
Debbie :)