Fountain in February

There isn't any water in the fountain yet so I used rocks and chunks of glass to hide its stark concrete look.  The chunks of glass are leftovers from John's stained glass past.   The glass sparkles like water.  Another satisfying rinky dink project.

Fountain improvements

I got this fountain birdbath about two years ago.

I really like it.  But it was hard to get at the pump to clean it and even harder to put back together.  It has this concrete cover with a pipe through it that had to be fitted to a hose connected to the pump.  And then the hose had to be crammed into the space under the cover.

This year I removed the concrete cover.  I used stones and a screen instead.  It works well, is easy to clean and I like how it looks, too.  It was a very satisfying little project and my inner kid likes to play with the rocks and clean the fountain.

 Here the screen is in place over stones

The screen covered with stones

Spring, spring, spring

We've been in a gardening mood, followed by lazing on the porch like lizards.  I think we've been to Portland Nursery three times this week.  It's so close that we don't need much of an excuse... we can even walk there.

Display at Portland Nursery

Cherry tree on the walk to Portland Nursery

I got a new bird bath for the back door.  It is small and shallow.  You can see it on the left here.

We moved the fountain further back.  We knew the old spot it was in would be in the way for the kitchen demolition.   The fountain is heavy enough that we don't like to move it often.   I like it back further.

You can see the fountain from the Room of Requirements now.  The cats like that.  There it is through the window beside Guanadeen (my dress form).

We put the old bird bath (a plant saucer in a clay pot on top of another upside down clay pot) in the front where we can see it from the porch.   The birds have already found it!  We saw one having a grand bath last evening.

Fountain in September

It really looks really pretty from the back door though I was not able to capture it as well as I might like.  The shadows and sunshine are making too much contrast for my camera.  The plants beyond the fountain are too dark.

Here is the whole thing but the plants are in so much shadow.

It takes two photos to see what my eye can see.  This is the fountain

 And here are the plants

Fountain in July

We had to move the fountain and the plants for the demolition yesterday.  It was a good opportunity to clean things up and rearrange the pots a bit.  I was feeling unhappy with how things were looking but now I am happy again.

Our teeny tiny back yard

Our back yard is so small that it is more of an outdoor room than a back yard.  We have a nice place to sit surrounded by plants.  The back yard is fenced and reasonably safe from predators so it  also serves as a bird sanctuary with a bird feeder (filled with black oil sunflower seeds), a hummingbird feeder, a bird bath and my beloved fountain.  Our cats are not allowed outside but they enjoy great views of the birds... watching the birds is one of their favorite activities.   

I am so very pleased with my fountain.  It's pretty and easy to care for.   it it is just outside the back door in our teeny tiny back yard.  This is the view from the back door.

The hakonechloa works with everything.   Here is a pot of hakonechloa with blue lobelia and red salvia.  The salvia is popular with the hummingbirds AND me.

If you look closely you can see the birdbath (it's a blue plant saucer) and the bird feeder (it's in the top right corner).

Most of our plants are in pots and that means we can move them around.  When something looks really good we can make it more visible or,  less visible when something looks bad.

Splish Splash, I was taking a bath

I like watching the birds have a bath in my fountain.  They really go at it.  Dipping down in the water.  Shaking their wings.  Sometimes they bathe for several minutes.

Update:  I saw THREE birds taking a bath at the same time.  It was very exciting!

Fountain in June

Imagine this

Yesterday there was a bird having a bath in the bird bath and, at the same time, there was a hummingbird drinking nectar from the honeysuckle.  Made my day!

Fountain in May

This is the fountain in May.  April's flowers have been replaced or supplemented.  Ah, the beauty of pots!  I am delighted that the birds are using the fountain and the hummingbirds have found all the flowers.  I love watching the hummingbirds collect nectar.... and I love watching the birds drinking and bathing in the fountain/birdbath.

Fountain in April

My new fountain

I love this fountain/bubbler/bird bath.  It makes a very gentle sound.