The Birdbath

This is a piece of crap birdbath, on the other side of the chain link fence in my neighbor's yard.  It was purchased years ago by my old neighbor, Al.  He got it at the local hardware store right after I moved in, over a decade ago, and he had me help him haul it into the backyard and place it where it is in the photo, in what at that point was the middle of a beautiful garden his wife had maintained.

Al felt that just because it was cheap didn't mean it shouldn't be taken care of.  He changed the water twice a week and washed it once a week.  He wouldn't let leaves sit in the water for too long.  It made a difference with the birds.  We used to have such a wide variety of them in the neighborhood, often on the side of the birdbath, drinking, bathing, visiting.

Every Autumn, he would go out, clean it real well and flip it over in the back yard so ice wouldn't ruin it.  Birdbaths are not like a Peanuts cartoon where they freeze up and then you play hockey.  They break pretty easily with a hard freeze.  By taking care of it, maintaining it, managing it, he took a cheap, throwaway birdbath and made it last.

Al's wife died a few years after he got it, and even though the garden quality suffered, he still took care of the birdbath.  He got a little dog, Sarah, to help keep him company and she would play and frolic in the gardens and around it, occasionally getting up on her hind legs to sneak a quick sip.  When Al died, his family cleaned out his house but left it behind, a relic for the next owners.

Last winter, 13-14, I knew the new neighbors wouldn't be in before the first freeze, so I went over and flipped it over for them.  Come spring, they put it back up, but never filled it or cleaned it.  I would water my plants on the other side of the fence and would always spray my hose into the dish, cleaning out as much grime I could, giving it a more welcoming feel.  The birds didn't come by as much.

I noticed the neighbors hadn't turned it over this last Fall, but they were going through other issues; divorce, child behavior problems and chemical dependency issues.  I meant to go and turn it over for them, but I forgot.  It froze and the inevitable happened.  It cracked and came crashing down to the position it is in now.  The ice which broke it now melted with the Spring thaw, its irreparable damage done.