I try to stay away from bleach. I use natural home care products that are eco-friendly. But sometimes there is just one perfect solution to a problem. And this weekend it was … bleach.
It was Saturday morning and the bird baths had a crust of ice. It was time. Time to clean them and store one for the winter while attaching the electrical cord to the other that has a heating element.
So, I found a small amount of bleach left in the laundry room. Just the right amount to force those hard-to-remove algae to release their grip. No matter how hard you try, there is alway some microbe colony at the bottom of the bird bath bowl that needs special treatment.
Rubber gloves? Ah! I DO have a pair! And here’s that sponge I used for this job last year. Rub-a-dub-dub and scrub them in the laundry tub. It took a little while, but after a bit, the bird bath bowls were sparkling clean and sanitary.
Out to the garage to store the one bird bath bowl and pedestal. Back out doors to the bird habitat with the electrical cord that had been neatly stored all summer. The heated bird bath (hot tub as I like to think of it) is ready to plug-n-play. Fill it with clean water and it looks mighty inviting.
That was Saturday.
Sunday morning. The bird bath was free of ice in spite of the frost all around. Good. The electrical connection is okay. The thermostat and heating element are working. A Robin bathes until a Starling decides it wants the hot tub all to itself. It snaps at the Robin who moves aside. After the drenched Starling flies into a tree, six Robins perch in a ring around the hot tub and enjoy taking turns splashing around.
Don’t tease me about my birdie hot-tub, now. If you could see how the birds love it on cold, snowy days, you would smile.
The joy of observing birds from afar, through your window, or by entering their private world.
How To Spy On Birds 
I don’t miss much from our previous house, but one thing I do is that the deck wall was just outside the kitchen window – which allowed me to affix the heated birdbath to the railing, AND to open the window above the sink and top off the birdbath from the sprayer in the sink. No teasing here!
Oh how charming, Sid! I can understand why you would miss a handy set up like that. I imagine you were able to spy on a lot of birds from that window, too.
My husband was eyeing up a birdie hot-tub just yesterday, right after he ordered his six roosting pockets….
Roosting pockets! I’ve been eyeing them for a few seasons now. Maybe it’s time to get some.