The crows started it.
So I got a bird bath on sale at the grocery store garden center and moved it in.
Within hours, youd have thought there was a Taylor Swift sighting.
It wasnt just the crowsall the local birds were dancing about, enjoying themselves in the fountain.
But they almost always are expensive and require electricity.
So, I Amandad it.
However you acquire your basin, these simple and inexpensivefloating pumpswork spectacularly well, all for under $20.
I refill it every few mornings, and I bring the pump inside every winter.
You dont have to use a tall birdbath, either.
Any large tub would work, and the larger and more water it will hold, the better.
Some pumps havetasteful lightson them to work at night (and some haveless tasteful lights).
Leave the hole on the top bowl open.
Take your smallterra cotta potand break off a small piece of the rim with a hammer.
(They often come with suction cups, but theyre not great at keeping them in place.)
Fill the bottom planter with river rock, up to two inches below the rim.
Sugru is moldable silicone and will make it watertight.
Trim the tubing to the height of the rocks, so it disappears.
Now push it sideways a little, so its at an angle.
Youll see that the top bowl will start to spillover, recycling the water from the bottom.
I kept seeingrock bubblersand in short, I wanted one.
I needed the bubbles, man.
Im also cheap, and there was no way I could afford $500-2,000 for one.
That height, or lift, is part of the specs for every pump out there.
I needed a few feet.
I wanted it to work in the winter, so Id have to buy a battery.
This is super important so you dont electrocute yourself.
I turned over the panel, and the lights came on on the controller, indicating it worked.
I put the pump itself into a bowl of water, and then connected it to the cord.
Water shot into the air.
It was surprisingly pleasing, and it cost me just $150.
