I cleaned off the solar panel and when even direct sunlight when the clouds parted didn't start the fountain, I knew something was really wrong.
Sure enough, the power cable was cut.
It could be squirrels or some other rodent-type animal.
Or it could be a weed-whacker-wielding lawn care guy going out of his way to cut the cable. Circumstantial evidence for the latter is a clean cut and a cut branch from the shrub. I can't pinpoint noticing the fountain not working with the last visit from the lawn care company.
But who knows what gnawing damage looks like, I guess? I didn't notice damage to the plastic stand for the solar panel, arguing for animal causes. And a suspect squirrel has been paying attention to the nearby bird feeder. So I don't really know the cause.
Not that repairing the damage was hard. A quick stripping of wires, some twisting, and electrical tape, and it was good to go. Then I buried the part of the cable not already buried and added stone barriers to block rodent or weed whacker.
But for now the water is flowing.
UPDATE: It's nice that I can impress Lamb with basic repair skills. I told her about my squirrel suspicions and repair, and she expressed amazement that a cut line could be repaired. And this from a girl who has plenty of confidence in my ability to fix broken toys.
