I almost forgot

While I was working in the garden, I turned the sprinkler on to give my tomato plants and little beans some water. And then I got to watch the birds.

("My sprinklers bring all the birds to the yard." Heh.)

The cardinals (and I do think there's a pair that's staked out my yard as a territory) would fly through the sprinkler, kind of like how kids run through a sprinkler. And the robins did that, too, or they'd perch on the fence and wait for the sprinkler to cycle 'round and spray them, and then they'd fluff their feathers like they do when they bathe.

And the chickadees came, and sat up in the redbud, where the water would just gently spray them. And they were singing. I know animal behaviorists say birds don't sing just because they're happy, but sometimes I kind of wonder with chickadees: they seem to have kind of a sense of humor about things.

It's been really dry here and I guess the birds were trying to get baths when they could. I'll have to remember to see to it that I keep the birdbath filled and cleaned for them.