Alternatively: Some people have too much time on their hands.
I have this bird bath. Well, I have three bird baths, but two are of rough concrete and seem to pose no hazards to the bees, wasps, flies, and other insects that drop in for a drink of water. This one gives the insects trouble, possibly because that’s a ceramic bowl I purchased at Goodwill to repurpose the wrought iron plant stand into a seasonal bird bath.
Last week, I rescued one wasp from the water, twice. Poor creature was so panicked that I thought I could see the whites of its eyes. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but I could definitely sense its fear. It was drowning.
I have tried placing a heavy wire or long twig across the surface, but inevitably, some bird lands on the outer-most part of it, thinking it’s a solid perch, and – whoops! There goes the branch (and the startled bird).
My husband made some suggestions last night, and we laughed at the ideas. Today, after dinner, I sat down with a few tools.
Thin copper wire, a set of small loppers, and matches. I then started lighting the matches. I lit 15 matches, all told, and let them cool. Once cool, I snipped the heads off of all of them and picked up the wire.
Huck Finn would be proud.
Huck Finn would be freaking out if he could see this. It’s a one-of-a-kind life raft for bees, wasps, flies, and other insects that cannot swim.
Oh, but I was not finished.
I cut up some foam board and soaked the paper off of the sides. Added a little red thread.
Now, birds can hop in and take a bath without worrying about the bar across the bowl, or about the unstable false perch. And bees, wasps, and other insects? They can never say we didn’t throw them a line.
Jaci Dawn 