All birds welcome...

"I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than of cherries, and very frankly give them fruit for their songs."

(Joseph Addison, 1672-1719, English Essayist, Poet)

(Joseph Addison, you are a kindred spirit)

Nothing attracts a wide variety of birds to our garden more than the abundance of fresh water we offer in our small backyard. A variety of birdbaths hang from trees, sit on stands or tables, or rest on the ground (after all, the Chipmunks, Squirrels, and other wildlife also need water). Let's take a little walk around and I'll show you.

This small bird bath (shown in the first photo) hangs from a tree next to our deck. In the photo above, a mourning dove was enjoying a cool drink during our hot weather.

Also on the deck, attached to a rail, is the heated birdbath. It gets plugged in during the winter months, providing fresh water all winter long.

I've had this tiny little shell birdbath longer than I can remember. It is chipped and doesn't hold much water, but it's a favorite of mine.  And would you look at who is watching me take these photos!! This little bath sits on the "haunted" carpenter's bench on the deck.  

The last birdbath on the deck is this fountain. They say the sound of running water attracts birds. I also love the sound of it.

See the little bubbler on top of the fountain, where the water runs out? I was absolutely mesmerized by Sharon Lovejoy's post showing a mama hummingbird laying on top of her fountain's bubbler! See for yourself! How I'd LOVE to find a hummer bathing on my bubbler!! Okay, let's head down into the backyard and I'll show you what we have down there.

This little mosaic birdbath sits on the ground in front of the swingset deck we built last year.

On the other side of the swingset deck, a makeshift birdbath sits on a wire table. I have several of these baths in the backyard.

Here's another one sitting on an old milk can on the patio.

 These are inexpensive, $1.00 chip bowls from The Christmas Tree Shop. They are the perfect size for the birds and at that price, I can put them all over the yard!

Here's yet another one, sitting in a small concrete pedestal birdbath in between two of the paths we just put into the garden. The concrete developed a crack and doesn't hold water so the large hydrangea CTS bowl was the perfect solution.

Another source of running water is this small waterfall fountain on the backyard patio.

Again, you can't beat the sound of running water for attracting birds and wildlife to your backyard.

Across the garden paths is another large Christmas Tree Shop bowl. This one is quite deep so I put rocks into the bottom so the birds aren't afraid to hop in and take a bath. (Please excuse Mr. Bunny who seems to be wearing mulberries!)

Now we're heading over to the cherry tree, where my beautiful vintage Mary garden statue watches over all the little creatures and birds who visit our yard. It seemed fitting to place this gorgeous blue and white bowl over by her.

 I love the hand painted pink roses and sponged gold border. The birds love the generous size!

 Hanging from the cherry tree is this small decorative bird bath.

The 'secret garden' bird bath is a favorite with the birds because it's a bit more secluded than some of the other baths...

... and this little gazing ball bath is a favorite with the many Chips who frequent our yard because it's low to the ground. They stand up on their little back legs and drink out of the bottom tier.

This is the ugliest bath in the yard (its twin sits in the front yard). So why do I keep them both? The birds all LOVE them. They seem to be the perfect size for small, medium, and large birds. They're just large plastic drip tray bases for huge planters. Maybe some day I'll try to do something decorative with them (yeah, right!)

Now we're heading toward the gate that leads to the front yard. This dove birdbath sits just inside the backyard next to the gate.

Bye Bye, Birdie! We're heading out front now!

Okay, so let's see what we have out here...

Right outside the gate, another of the CTS hydrangea bird baths sits on a table under the old window and flower box...

... while a little cherub birdbath hangs from the old stockade fence.

And we end our birdbath tour with the ugly twin that sits under the hoppa crab tree (which has started dropping leaves at an alarming rate with the 90+ degree temps we've been having lately!). So, I think 19 birdbaths should be enough to keep my little feathered and furry friends happy!!!

I'm linking to Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday. Till next time, I hope you are all staying cool wherever you are!!!

Donna

Fountains and an Award !!

Tonight hubby and I were at a Lowes near our home... It is hot as blazes here in New England - and oh-so-humid! But as we walked by the fountains in the garden center, I swear that it felt cooler just listening to the water... Anyhow, I know a lot of you have been on the lookout for fountains and birdbaths, and I thought they had some pretty neat fountains so I snapped some photos to share... I have no idea if all of these styles are available at all Lowe's, but here's a sampling of what they had at mine:

Of all the ones I photographed, this was one of the priciest... $199 for the waterfall style. But soooo nice!!

I was so tempted to buy this Rose Fountain (but I think I definitely have enough already!) The top is in the shape of a little bouquet of roses - a very shabby/cottage look!!! I thought it was a very good price at just under $45...

This fountain was also very pretty, and not too bad at just under $100. I know it's hard to get a perspective from the pictures, but it was definitely taller than the rose fountain... The lion's head fountain behind was quite a bit pricier at $279, but what a presence! Very good sized and such a classic look! So if you have a Lowe's in your area, it might be worth checking out their garden center...

And guess what?? Can you believe that Sarah at Burgeon and Kady at Life on Bonnie Lane have both given me the Arte y Pico Award! Thank you so much, Sarah and Kady! I'm so honored that you have found my blog an inspiration! I hope everyone has a chance to visit Sarah's and Kady's beautiful blogs! They are wonderful, warm, witty ladies and bloggers, and I know you'll enjoy visiting them!

The rules for the award are:

1. You need to choose 5 blogs you consider deserving of this award for their creativity,design, interesting material, and contribution to the blogging community regardless of the language.

2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that presented him/her with the award.

4. The award winner and the one who has given the award have to show the Arte Y Pico blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5. To show these rules.

So here I go, being a rule breaker right off the bat... Rather than naming five blogs, I'm awarding this to all of the blogs that I love and read regularly... I'm sorry I don't have time to always leave comments but I want you all to know that I enjoy your blogs so very much. So to everyone on my "favorites blog list" on the right - thank you!!! You are all an inspiration to me and whenever I visit you, it always brightens my day!

Donna