Bath Deicer Getting a Workout

This is definitely a winter when I am glad I made the purchase of bird bath deicers. In most winters here, I can expect the bath would ice over anywhere from 30 to 40 times in the entire season, and most of those light ice (at or just below 32 degrees F.) Since the thermometer dropped to 32 in 2010 (that would be November 7th) I've already recorded 56 days when the deicer kicked on...and we're not even 2/3 of the way into the cold months! Last year we racked up only 36 days of needing the deicer at this point in January. I'm fairly certain my bird buddies appreciate the equipment as I've seen lots of traffic to the pedestal all winter. The thing doesn't consume very much electricity and it's making my yard much more attractive. Nonetheless, I'd be pretty happy if I didn't need it in February, but that remains to be seen! It stays plugged in...