A few years ago I had a glass Birdbath Basin on a wrought iron stand in the front yard, sitting in a flower bed. I could watch the birds use it from my kitchen window which was fascinating to see them that close up. Then, one winter morning I woke up to a blanket of white outside the home and the water in the Birdbath Basin had frozen solid, plus filled with snow. Looking at the bottom of the bowl I could see it was shattered.

Glass + water + below freezing temps don’t mix. That was a painful lesson, but when we know better, we get a second chance to do better, hence where we are today.

I’m sitting in my writing room, gazing out the double windows at the corner of the roof attached to my gardening shed. The overhang is empty, but normally there’s a birdbath basin hanging from it. I purchased it last year from a lady who recycled a pie plate into a hanging birdbath, so it’s made of glass. The weather forecast predicted our nighttime temps would drop below freezing and I couldn’t help but think I’d been here before.

I set a reminder on my phone to empty the birdbath basin and bring it inside that evening. It confuses the birds when they realize it’s gone, but I’d rather it disappear for a night or two than shatter and have to be replaced. That’s when the lesson gets expensive, but if we pay attention to what’s happening outside our walls, life has a way of bringing instances back around to offer us a second chance.