The following is inspired by an e course I am taking with Natasha Reilly called 'Collecting Joyful Moments'. This has been a great experience. This is her website
http://www.creativenachos.com/ .
I started noticing the Cardinal more about a year ago. There was one that I would see almost everyday on my patio as I made breakfast. He would land on the exact shepherd's hook and gaze in at me for a moment before taking flight. I would say out loud "there you are". My husband would sometimes look out and say " your red bird is here". The Cardinal would stay just long enough to make eye contact then off he would fly. Some say when a Cardinal visits it is the spirit of a loved one checking in on you. What a lovely thought, if this is true then which loved one was stopping by for those couple months? I have lost so many in recent years. I must admit that those months were some of the most difficult I have encountered in years. The Cardinal's visits did lift my spirits. Without falter he stopped by everyday and then without my even noticing the visits stopped. Such a natural transition I only recognize it now as I look back. There are still Cardinals that come by when I put out seed in the winter months but they are somehow different. These Cardinals flee at first sight of me, they do not linger. Maybe that time in my life was all coincidence. I wanted to see something in that Cardinal that I needed. Even if it was, the Cardinal still gave me hope, reminded me of Joy. Made me notice. Made me wonder. Made me happy. If this is not magic, I do not know what is.
Even the winter month Cardinal brings with him brief moments of light and hope. I watch from my window, a vivid crimson magically appearing among the backdrop of the white dead land. A quick flash of red in flight from frozen glistening branches. The red blood of hope.
