Rhododendron Reflections

Every once in a while I like to share a photo of one of my cats, and today when I wanted to share my rhododendron blooming I had just the purrfect one.

I’m so happy to see Mimi drinking from the birdbath again! And she looks lovely amid the rhododendron reflections, just the sort of thing I love to capture. She spent her first four years outdoors raising kittens and birdbaths were sometimes the only accessible water. It’s really her favorite water bowl–she can access this one from a chair very close to it on the front porch, though she eyes the other birdbaths around the yard too. At age 20 this is an accomplishment and it makes her very happy too.

Here’s another photo of her. The rhododendron is quite large and in fact blooms down a slope next to the porch.

Each spring when I start filling the birdbath again it’s as if she knows without looking that there’s clean water in it again and heads there any time we are on the front porch. Here is a link to a short video of her enjoying it:

I clean the birdbath and refill it each day as many birds have pool parties in this one each day. This year robins built a nest on the front porch just above that rocker you see in the photo so I’m sure the birdbath is going to get a workout.

It’s important to know that cats can contract H5N1 avian influenza from contact with infected birds. That might include water from the birdbath, though birds with the virus die pretty quickly so it’s one way to tell if the virus is in the area. Keeping watch on our birds and cleaning and refilling the birdbath are the best ways to keep Mimi safe. I also follow our county health department for Lyme and West Nile Virus and note their daily findings. If there’s any sign of H5N1 entering our area I’ll probably close down my birdbaths for the good of the birds.

. . . . . . .

Follow me on Instagram.

Visit my photography galleries on Portraits of Animals.

All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, visit my galleries of Photography on Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “Custom Prints” for availability and terms. I'll be more than happy to make a print for you.