Bird baths

Mornings and evenings continue to bring plenty of bird-watching fun, with the three sizes of plant coasters. Some drink; some bathe; some do both. The hummingbirds seem to find enough moisture in the Turk's caps; all others repair to the water features on the catio. We've even seen a red-bellied woodpecker. The fact that there's just a pair of screen doors between us and all them doesn't seem to bother anybody. Blue jays, chickadees, wrens, titmice, and cardinals continue to be among the most faithful visitors. They take turns dropping down from the roses of Sharon, oak limbs, and loquats. Squirrels come to drink in the daytime, as well, and like to sprawl out with all four legs extended, cooling their bellies on the stones dampened by water from the coasters. We fill them one last time before retiring; every moring all three have been drunk dry by one or another nocturnal creature.