I am lucky enough to have my Middle School drinking fountain, which I found at a neighbor’s yard sale when I lived on the East Coast, and thought I recognized because I remembered the words on the foundry casting — “HAWS DRINKING FAUCET CO., BERKELEY, CA.” After plunking down my five bucks, I asked the woman where on earth she got it, because I suspected it was the same fountain I used to drink from when I was a kid. She told me she didn’t know, but it was something her son had and she would ask him, so she did. Sure enough, he got it when the school auctioned off fixtures when they were tearing the place down. Interestingly, the family owned company that made this fountain is still in business (and has been since 1909), but fled Calif0rnia in the 90s, as many businesses had to in order to survive.
I like to call it “the fountain of youth,” and I took it with me when I moved to Michigan. Today it is used as a bird bath.
As you can see, it is the perfect size for a robin, who uses it daily.
He looks happy, too.
And when he’s through, the smaller birds get their turn, like this pretty little finch.
That fountain has been slaking thirst since long before I drank from it, and it is still going strong.
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2 responses to “Fountain of Youth”
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My mother has at least one robin who visits her porch and steal 5 pieces of cat kibble at a crack.
You can see the bird check the surroundings pretty thoroughly before it makes its move, but that’s still pretty ballsy since there’s at least 3 cats who regularly lounge on the porch.