Fishing in a Birdbath

Some friends from church invited us over for an alfresco dinner last Sunday. The weather was just perfect for an evening outside, and their back yard and patio are absolutely fantastic. One of these days we're going to put some effort into our own yard and landscaping, but for now we're content to enjoy the fruits of our friends' labor.

We parked ourselves on the patio, in the shade of a giant maple tree, with some cool drinks as the kids explored the yard. Our daughter seems to have been born to run, so with an acre or two of wide open space she had a blast. Our son is not so much the runner, but he tries to keep up with his big sister. He trudges along behind, stopping periodically to catch his breath (his bulk and shorter legs gets the best of him at times) before taking off again. We figured the exercise would do them good; burn off some energy before dinner (and help with the inevitable bedtime a few hours later).

The kids quickly discovered the low stone wall around the patio, and clambering up on it spent a good 20 or 30 minutes walking back and forth along its length as they imagined all sorts of adventures.

The other highlight for them, was the birdbath. Our gracious hostess patiently explained what it was several times, but our kids disregarded the obvious explanation and decided that its two inches of water were actually home to a school of fish just waiting to be caught. They explored the yard for some sticks and then stood around the birdbath holding the sticks out over it, fishing. They didn't seem to be bothered by the lack of bites on their imaginary lines.

Dinner was superb, and as darkness fell we loaded the kids back into the van for the short trek home. As we drove along the winding tree-lined streets, the kids played peek-a-boo with the huge, orange-yellow full moon that hung low in the sky and periodically ducked behind the trees and houses to their delight.