This post has nothing whatsoever to do with our trip to Washington D.C., but had to share what I saw today.

I was sitting on the front stoop of our house, which in the late afternoon is out of the sun; this was a huge blessing on a hot and sticky day like today.  I was writing notes for my daughter's softball team's party which is tonight; I was an Assistant Coach, and we're going to give mini-presentations for each of the girls as we hand out trophies.  It was very peaceful....the sprinkler was going, there was a slight breeze, I had fun reflecting on our season.

We have a bird bath in our landscaping.  We've owned this for quite a few years now.  It was on sale at Menard's (a Home Depot-type of place in Minnesota), and I thought it was cute, so I bought it.  It has a fake bird sitting on the edge, and it turned out to be a good place for rain-water to collect (and a sheet of ice in the winter), but that's about it.

Well, as I'm sitting on my stoop, an American Goldfinch alighted on the bird bath, hopped gingerly down the side, and had himself a refreshing drink of water.  There also was a cute shake of the head, producing a small, bird-sized spray (imagine a dog shaking himself after getting wet). 

I was tickled!!  I have come to realize about myself that I love birds.  I love their colors, their variety of chirps, the way the American Goldfinches daintily extract thistle from my feeder in the backyard.  In fact, I was crushed when, after a few days of hanging the feeder, there still were no birds partaking of the fare I was providing them.  Slowly but surely, they have found their way to my feeder......and now my birdbath.

I am glad that the fake bird on the feeder is now not the only one to enjoy that perch.