Thursday, June 23, 2011

Living Water



Our cat named Bustopher likes to get a drink from both of our bird baths in the back yard. My wife, Ruth, caught him at it with her iPhone, his head seemingly detached from his body. I suggested that the caption could be "if I wait quietly, the birds might not notice I'm here..."


When we sit out we regularly see birds at these baths. Some of them drink and others take a bath, frolicking with abandon. The same evening as this picture a female cardinal came to this bath twice and spent a fair amount of time freshening up. We are delighted by the energy the birds expend in this activity. Are they actually having fun?


When the days get really hot we see bees and wasps lining the edge of the baths, replenishing fluids. Being able to drink is so elemental and can be so fascinating, at least to us. Little wonder that water is an important spiritual symbol in most religions. As I have reminded you before, Jesus described himself as Living Water.


Does anyone else have a bird bath? Interesting, or should we just get a life?

5 comments:

roger said...

I just want to know what your cat was doing with Ruth's Iphone!

bim said...

I have a bird bath.I spend hrs in back yard reading, watching birds and in the gardens It is a great life!!!

IanD said...

We just buried one of the family fish beneath the bird bath this week (the twins are devastated) so it's taken on some symbolism over at my place.

PS - "Bustopher?" That's a new one!

Nancy said...

We have a bird bath and the birds love it. This winter we put out two feeders as well, and so we have many birds on a daily basis. We have a pair of cardinals who come regularly to the feeder. Maybe they are the ones who are eating at our place and washing up at yours!:) At least Bustopher leaves the birds alone, (or so it seems). There is a neighbourhood cat around who likes to hide in my flowers and prance on the unsuspecting birds. I've doused him with the hose a few times! As we have said before, water is both renewing and yet can be destructive.

David Mundy said...

So, Johnny, you never heard of cat calls?

There have to be some benefits of retirement bim!

Yup, Bustopher Jones, from the musical --you guessed it-- Cats.
He does respond to his name, but shaking a bag of cat treats will get him running from a kilometre away.

We probably do share those cardinals Nancy.