But of course

There are lots of birds who live outside my apartment. I hear them every day. In the morning when I walk the dog. When I leave for work. When I come home. But I rarely see them. My favorite are the cardinals.

The summer before second grade my family lived in Miami. I won't tell you how long ago, but suffice it to say it's been a long, long time. Outside the living room window were a couple of beautiful hibiscus bushes. One morning I saw a male cardinal (I know this because he was bright red) sitting on a branch. I sat on the couch looking out and talking to him. Whatever he thought, he sat there for several minutes. This happened every day for about a week.

After that we went up to Pennsylvania to visit my grandmother. It was a bit upsetting because I had become attached to that pretty red bird. But I wanted to see Babci so I didn't complain. Well Babci had a front porch on her house which sported a wonderful bench swing. One afternoon I was on the swing and a cardinal just showed up. He landed on the cherry tree and sat there for a few minutes, long enough for me to say a few words.

I was so excited and ran to tell my mother about the cardinal. She was very serious when she explained that it wasn't the same bird. Now I'm an intelligent person. Logically I know that it couldn't have been the same bird, but that didn't mean that little 7 year old didn't know in her heart that they were one in the same.

Anyway, I've taken to carrying a camera with me on the off chance I see any of the birds and get a picture. Not that it helps when my hands are full when I see them. I walked around the corner to my apartment after work this afternoon and saw a beautiful male sitting on a piece of wood dislodged by all the wind and rain we've had. I stopped, amazed, when a female flew past and sat on the privacy fence. So, of course, I was unprepared.