A Wet Welcome Mat

There are many ways to welcome others to your home. A welcome mat is the most common and easiest way to say welcome, but the variety of ways available to say welcome is tempting and diverse. (Check out the Flagsrus welcome mat options.) 

We have guests here at our home that never enter our house, so the traditional welcome mat doesn't quite fit the bill for them, but we do have a menu that seems to appeal to them. What I'm trying to say is that we feed birds. Actually, we feed them year round, but they are especially welcome during the winter when food is scarce for them. Our reward is watching the action and flashes of color around the feeding station which are so welcome when most of nature lies dormant.

We are always glad to see our active feathered friends enjoying easy access to what they need. One of the things birds need, and something that becomes hard to find when it gets very cold, is water.  

I created an all-season “watering hole” for the birds by repurposing a heated dog watering bowl, and if you're a fan of having birds visit you in the winter, you may want to add this to your yard as well. The water is kept at a temperature just above freezing in the coldest weather.

One tweak I had to do to make the waterer safe was to put a brick in the center of the bowl. This holds it down as well as providing a perch for the birds.

If you decide to put in your own wintery bird waterer, keep in mind that water needs to be added fairly often. The birds drink frequently, and the relatively warm-ish water tends to evaporate in the dry winter air. 

If you don't have a place to feed, water, and observe your feathered friends during the winter, don't despair. We have many lovely flags or welcome mats which display birds and their colorful plumage to make your yard and garden beautiful even in the depths of winter.