A New Birdbath

For years I’d been bothered by a certain little spot in the yard, a weedy, unkempt area at the base of the giant spruce pine that grows by the living room windows. Every time I’d walk past it, I’d say to myself, “Boy, that looks terrible.” So finally, two Fridays ago, I went to Tallahassee Nurseries and spent my birthday gift card on a cute little granite birdbath to help gussy up the place.

I bought the birdbath on my lunch hour while dressed in my very uncomfortable office clothes. (Yep, I’m back at the office now, after two and a half years at home.) It was burning hot at the nursery, and I had to load a 100-pound birdbath into my car while wearing business attire. Ha ha, I really wanted that birdbath!

As soon as I got home that evening, I started setting up the birdbath under the spruce pine. I weeded the whole area (it was full of small-leaf spiderwort, a horrible invasive), then leveled a spot for the birdbath. The birdbath looked so cute when I got it into place. With its short stature and chubby stem, it kind of reminded me of a mushroom.

At this point, the area under the spruce pine was neat (weed free) and featured an adorable birdbath. But it needed some color—there was nothing around the birdbath but some old brown leaf mulch. So on Monday, at my lunch hour again, I went back to the nursery and got five hot-pink pentas. I came home that evening and planted them, then mulched the area with fresh, fragrant pine bark nuggets.

I decided five pentas were not enough. I needed five more. So I returned to the nursery at my next opportunity. I planted the five additional pentas on Saturday morning (yesterday), really early, before the sun was even up.

The yard was dewy and cool, and as I was heading back to the garage for some snippers, I saw the most magical sight: twin fawns making their way together through the backyard to the woods that lie behind it. I peeked around the side of the garage to watch them (they were spotted and delicate) until they disappeared, like ghosts or angels, among the trees. I never saw their mother, but she must have been close by.

I felt tingly and excited when I went back to my work, as though I’d just witnessed a miracle—which, of course, I had. The world is so full of wonders. I floated some dew-studded roses in the new birdbath and was quite content now with my little spot under the spruce pine.