The mosaic birdbath I made last year for my daughter Mariel was damaged when high winds during a February 4th storm sheared off a massive tree branch that came crashing down into her yard in Pacifica. The branch, from a tree on the neighboring property, flattened a section of fence and damaged a backyard gazebo. Most importantly, no one was hurt.
It wasn’t until the debris was removed that the fate of the Octopus birdbath was discovered. I think the pedestal helped the branch split the birdbath into four pieces.
I’ve done some preliminary research. There are epoxy adhesives designed for concrete. I don’t know if I’ll need to drill holes in the pieces and add some sort of metal reinforcing rod.
I don’t know how it would look, but just for fun I might restore it and employ the Japanese art of Kintsugi – where broken pottery is repaired using resin with gold dust in it. I might work if I can’t properly cover the break lines. This would be a decorative, not a structural part of the repair. (But I always get these crazy ideas that I usually scale back.)
I pick up the bird bath pieces next month and now I have a spring restoration project. Hopefully I can make it like new…or better!
