She said her dad had rigged up a small light bulb underneath the basin in his wife's birdbath which kept the water warm enough that it didn't freeze.
So she found a small bulb and jammed it up inside the pedestal under the water dish with some aluminum* foil.
She added some duct tape to keep everything in place, ran the wire out the bottom of the pedestal, connected it to an extension cord which was connected to another extension cord which was plugged into an outdoor socket.
The Weather Gods tell me it got down to 15.8 degrees F. (-9 C.) here last night.
So I was mightily curious when I rose early this morning.
I couldn't tell from my window spy position until a bird finally showed up and took the first sip.
Not a bit of ice!
For the first time in days!
My early morning ice-chipping days are over!
SWMBO (and her dad) are brilliant and she is reigning triumphant today.
The birds seem as grateful as I am.
They've been swarming it for a couple of hours, having their morning drinks.
*Have you noticed some of the cooks on the Food Network saying they used some "tin" foil in a recipe. I think it's all aluminum these days.
Well done to the resident technocrat! I have never understood why Americans call that metal "aluminum" (which the spell-checker has underlined in RED), rather than "aluminium."
ReplyDeleteTerrific fix. I hope there is not a short.
ReplyDeleteMy dad was also a handy guy and when my neighbor ran over an opossum with a large tractor mower, he gave the batch of babies to me to raise. I'm sure my parents were thrilled. So my dad creates an incubator out of a light bulb and a tin pie pan. Said, "Here, Lori, hold this while I plug it in." And ZAP! I get 110 volts and by the end of the day he had thoroughly cooked those little pink opossums. We all got fried. I'm suspicious of those handy home inventions. Keep me posted on your Bird Spa!
ReplyDeleteSWMBO for the birds came through
ReplyDeleteyour ice chipping days are few
But 15 degrees in Arizona
that's wx for pneumonia
We send warm thoughts your way
and will visit on a warmer day!
Oh it's all the way up to 38 now, at mid-day.
Deletehappy new year, Bruce. All the best for the new year.
ReplyDeleteOh, it's a balmy +2 here at just past noon.
Good for the birds.
ReplyDeleteClever SWMBO!
ReplyDeleteThe very happiest of new years to you, however you see them in!