I love birds - who doesn't? Well, I'm sure SOME people don't love birds, but ... Anyway.
I want birds to be happy in my garden, so I have a lovely birdbath for them, but that birdbath is a big fake-out. After a couple of years of being eaten by mosquitoes (I am fairly certain NOBODY loves mosquitoes, except for maybe some type of scientist who has to love awful things, in order to study them for the benefit of mankind) I realized my birdbath was a breeding ground for skeeto larvae. Duh. Took me long enough.
At first I thought I could empty it every night and re-fill it in the morning. Three days of doing that kicked that idea to the curb - what a pain in the ass it was! The dish part of the bath was heavy, and then re-centering it on the pedestal while leaning over my aloes and echeverias was really annoying. I know. I'm a baby. Maybe that was that for the old birdie pool.
But I like my old Smith&Hawken birdbath. It isn't really my style anymore, but it was the first thing I bought for my garden - I couldn't bring myself to de-commission it. So I bought a big bag of clear glass marbles, and a few big hollow "bubbles" and turned my birdbath into a still life. I really loved the look - but I did feel bad for the birds who no longer had a pretty shallow bath with which to wet their feathers and their whistles.
The answer? A paella pan! I collect enamelware, and I have an old Dansk paella pan that I perch in different places around the garden - one week on the corner of my fence, the next week in the middle of my big monster aloe... wherever the spirit moves me. The birds love it, and it is the easiest thing to dump the water out at night and fill up in the morning. Now I have my bubbly bath that birds can't use (but that makes me happy) AND a place for my avian neighbors to frolic and hook-up.
You can find paella pans for a song at yard sales, or you can use any shallow, colorful dish that you can easily dump and refill - I'm sure it would make your local feathered friends very happy.
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