Visits from Northern Cardinals

Cardinals both female and male used to visit my garden on a more than frequent basis but not very often lately. This is something I mentioned in a prior post here on Blogger during the last time a male cardinal came to my place which was on 1-27-2021.

Yesterday I was surprised and thrilled when a female and male cardinal spent time  in my garden. Pictures of this occurance are featured atop this entry.

There are many theories on what it means to have a cardinal visit someone. A web-page for Birding Hub suggests  "A visit from a red cardinali (male) is often interpreted as a visit from one of those four archangels that offer us inspiration and direction in times of need."

Daniel Szczesniak of US ORNS ONLINE states  "...When a cardinal appears in your yard, it’s a visitor from heaven..."

Writer Joe Oliveto believes "How you might interpret a cardinal’s appearance will depend on several factors, including your religion, current circumstances, and overall cultural beliefs." He  offers a guide that covers some of the more common ways people have interpreted the sight of a cardinal throughout history.

All of these interpetations are interesting but i find it odd that they don't include the female cardinal and I don't often subscribe deeper meanings to being visited by a cardinal. Rather I think they come to because of the ammenties (bird baths, peanuts, seeds, edible flora, suet and a feeling of safeness).

Bird Day 2021 (Tuesday's Truths WK 214)

Yesterday shortly after Juan V (JV) left from working with me in my garden, I had a visitor who happened to be a male Northern cardinal.

This incident was most welcome after having made my place more beautiful with yesterday's plantings. In any event the handsome creature is featured in the sequence of images atop this entry which serve as a play-by play to his discovering peanuts I had placed in a small petri-dish-style bird feeder, that hangs in close proximity to my lush pair of kiwi vines.

One of these vines is the narrator of my garden-themed movie, The Kiwi Speaks! Fifteen Minutes of Fame...almost, which can be viewed on my You Tube channel and/or my Vimeo channel. 

In this mini movie, the vine talks about what it is like to live within my rooftop garden which is located on the Upper Westside of Manhattan.

A few years after this kiwi vine experienced nearly fifteen minutes of fame by talking about my place, a wildbird, known as a female cardinal named Cam, also expirenced fame by narrating a three volume book series about my place.

Monday's Musings: Scoping out the options? (following up on 3-26-2021's entry)

In this past Friday's blog post, I mentioned that a female cardinal was once again spending time in my garden. She is the subject in the photo atop this entry. 

Bird re-habber and TLLG blog reader, Amanda Remsberg (AR) upon seeing the aforementioned posting asked, "Have they ever nested in your garden? She looks to be sizing up the options."

I hope AR is right but I'm not sure if enough of my garden is offering enough foliage or blooms at this early date which would make for better nesting, so this cardinal may pass on my location.

A Recent Visit By Cardinals

Last Monday, shortly after Juan V left from working with me in my garden, I had a visitor who happened to be a male Northern cardinal. He is featured in the image atop this entry which is very aimilar to the ones included in this past Tuesday's (5-4-2021) blog post.

As I stated in thse entry, "This incident was most welcome after having made my place more beautiful with yesterday's plantings. In any event the handsome creature is featured in the sequence of images atop this entry which serve as a play-by play to his discovering peanuts I had placed in a small petri-dish-style bird feeder, that hangs in close proximity to my lush pair of kiwi vines."

In any event this male cardinal's visit was followed by a visit from an array of other avian creatures including a very young female cardinal.

Northern Cardinals Love One Another

How special to come upon this lovely avian couple (the Northern cardinals featured in the images atop this entry) during a short walk in Central Park.

For years now, I have spent a lot of time there, but for a little over one year that has not been the case due to consequences of the coronavirus.

April Downpours Did Not Deter Visiting Birds (YAY)!

Today's April showers were more like downpours and lasted from early morning throughout the night. Fortunately they not deter a number of birds from visiting my garden, including a Northern mockingbird, the avian creature featured in the photos atop this entry.

Pinecones and Cardinals Spend Time With my Japanese Larch (Larix Kaempferi)

 I have a couple of newcomers to my garden: Pinecones!

They are on my Larix Kaempferi! 

A partial view of this evergreen tree can be seen in the image atop this entry.

Close-ups of the pinecones who have made their home in her branches can be seen in the next two images. 

I was so intrigued by the presence of these pinecones that I researched on pinecones and found lots of interesting content.

When do my pictures say the words or when do my words paint a picture?

It is such an honor to have mockingbirds visit my garden (which one is doing in the image atop this entry), but today for my Wednesday Wisdom segment, I can't find the words to describe the feelings such visitors provoke in me.

Therefore, I will use the words that Henry David Thoreau used to describe when another bird type (a sparrow) how he felt visited his garden.

Here is what he said: “I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.”

This quotation has been referenced in a number of my blog posts including one published on an anniversary of one of Thoreau's birthdays (July 12th 2017).

Usually I'm not one who is at a loss for words, which is a good thing since I'm a writer but today, when it comes to describing the feeling I had the other day upon seeing a lone mockingbird in my garden, I don't have much to say. 

Perhaps I'm thinking that my words about this have all been said by me (in prior posts) or have been said by writers whom admire.

Another possibly for lack of words might be due to the fact that I've taken a picture of what  I saw and it might suffice due to it being one of those picture says a thousands words things.

According to a web-page, "the idea that a picture can convey what might take many words to express was voiced by a character in Ivan S. Turgenev's novel Fathers and Sons, 1862: 'The drawing shows me at one glance what might be spread over ten pages in a book.'"

"Birds are like teenagers They don't write. They don't call." (Wednesday's Wisdom)

CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN WIOB

CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN WIOB

Cardinals used to visit my garden on a frequent basis but lately not so much and I was thrilled when one stopped by a few weeks ago. He is featured in the images atop this entry. I never know the reason for their absence. When I expressed this concern to a neighbor, he told me, "Birds are like teenagers They don't write. They don't call."

Friday Feeling: I've been thankful for a NEW association re cardinals.

Here's a female cardinal about to indulge in one of many grapes which I've placed on a saucer in my rooftop garden for the dining pleasure of the birds who visit me.

She may be related to Cam, the female cardinal who authored the book, Words In Our Beak.

As many who follow my cyber-venues, Cam is very near and dear to my heart.

Moreover, she has taught me a number of things re the many members of the avian community, especially her bird type. Prior to my meeting Cam, I was not too familiar with female cardinals.

I knew about the male cardinal as he is the state bird of Illinois where I spent my childhood through early adulthood years.

A Bernie Sander's Meme Featuring Cam and Mac! (Thursday's Testimony)

Does anyone happen to remember when a House sparrow alighted on Bernie Sander's campaign podium in 2016? It was adoreable. Here's the link to a recording of the incident in case you missed it and/or want to refresh your memory). My recalling that sparrow plus seeing all the Bernie Sanders mitten-memes inspired my idea to create a meme with him wearing my cardinal-themed face-mask.

What It Could Mean When You See a Cardinal (Wednesday's Wisdom)

MALE CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

FEMALE CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

The first photograph atop today's blog entry features a male cardinal that I came upon when I took a walk in nearby Central Park the other day. This image may look to familiar to those of you who follow the Facebook Page for The Last Leaf Gardener, as I featured this picture (along with other shots of the male cardinal) in Monday's FB entry. In the aforementioned post, I also included a poem by Mary Oliver with an interesting meditation (written by LoraKim Joyner), and if you'd like to refer to that entry, please click here.

Meanwhile, the second picture atop this entry features a female cardinal that I also saw on that same day. She is featured in Tuesday's FB entry, which you may refer to by clicking here.

In any event, yesterday I had planned to return to Central Park in the hopes of seeing cardinals again, but the weather conditions were not good for a camera.

However, as fate would have it, I didn't have to go to the park to see this bird type, because both the male and female cardinal paid a visit to my rooftop garden.

Listen Up! (Wednesday's Wisdom)

Cardinal Love 1

With the Valentine's Day holiday approaching in twenty-three days, it's the perfect opportunity to begin (if you don't already) to keep in mind, "Understanding your partner requires the capacity to listen. Really listen. Couples are advised to hear each other’s complaints without feeling attacked, and as great as this sounds, it’s often unrealistic."

Red-crested Cardinals vs. Northern Cardinals (Friday's Follow-Up)

Nearly two weeks (December 14, 2019), I published a post here on Blogger featuring some of the bird varieties (Black Swans, Pied Avocets, Scarlet Ibises, as well as a Victoria Crowned Pigeon and green parrots) who can be found at the Central Park Zoo.

I concluded that entry with a promise to feature (within subsequent posts) facts about other bird varieties as well as other animal types who reside there.

Today I will tell you about one of those birds, the Red-crested cardinal who can be seen in the picture atop this entry.

Friday's Fun Fact (Re Young Cardinals)

THIS BIRD TYPE IS FEATURED IN WIOB

THIS BIRD TYPE IS FEATURED IN WIOB

THIS BIRD TYPE IS FEATURED IN WIOB

THIS BIRD TYPE IS FEATURED IN WIOB

THIS BIRD TYPE IS FEATURED IN WIOB

THIS BIRD TYPE IS FEATURED IN WIOB

It's been a few years since I've seen a young cardinal (the bird type featured in the sequence of photographs atop this entry) visiting my garden and seeing this creature embracing life by being curious about my place was very humbling.

Continue to keep your distance from others. Tuesday's Truths (WK 191)

#SocialDistancing. 

#PhysicalDistancing. 

#WellnessDistancing. 

Call it what you will, but take a lesson from birds (such as the two types seen below who are at a bird bath in my rooftop garden) and do it, especially as we go through this COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

THESE BIRD TYPES ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

THESE BIRD TYPES ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

THESE BIRD TYPES ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

For your information, dear reader, the avian creatures (American robin and Mourning dove) seen here are in my book series, Words In Our Beak.

MY BOOK SERIES

American robins have a story in volume three amd Mourning doves have a story in volume one. And while you are adhering to where to be in relation to those around you, please remember to wear a face-mask.

Cardinals and the celebration of Christmas

In eight days time it will be Christmas day. During this holiday, the likeness of male Northern cardinals are often seen in images on an array of items such as greeting cards, serving dishes, gift wrap, napkins, guest towels, kitchen towels, potholders, — the list seems endless.

Moreover, this bird type's likeness has been rendered into holiday brooches, Christmas tree ornaments and figurines. An example of the latter is featured in the image atop this entry.

I have read many articles and social media posts on the connection between the Northern cardinal and the Christmas holiday, including a blog entry by Karen Harvey Cox that states (re the coloring of a male Northern cardinal), the "bright red to remind us of Christ during the dreary gray days of winter ahead."

In her post, Cox also includes a quotation that proclaims:"Christened the Christmas bird for its spectacular red color, the cardinal has become a symbol of the beauty and warmth of the holiday season. A glimpse of this brilliant bird brings cheer, hope and inspiration on a gray, wintry day. As nature's reminder for us to focus on our faith, the cardinal's scarlet plumage represents the blood of Christ shed for the redemption of mankind."

The description is similar to what many writers state about the male Northern cardinal's association with Christmas, but I find it limiting. This is because thoughts like this only apply to those who live in parts of the world where Christmas occurs during a dreary winter season. In a number of places, Christmas is occurring during summer time, where folks might not be dreaming of a white Christmas with every Christmas card they write.

Tuesday's Truths Week 162: We go out on a limb for those we love...

Cardinal Love 3

According to a web-page for The Phrase Finder (TPF), the meaning of the phrase "Go out on a limb," is "to put oneself in an isolated position in one's support of someone or something... the limb being talked about here is the branch of a tree and 'out on a limb' is an allusion to climbing trees and going just a bit further than is comfortable...."

Friday Follow-Up

The radio announcer says it's 108 degrees at Newark Airport and 104 degrees in Central Park (which is less than a block from where I live and have a terrace garden in New York City) this afternoon, and since the thermometer in my terrace garden only registers 101 degrees, I am extremely thankful to report that the things that I grow in my terrace garden including herbs, plants, flowers, vines, shrubs, and trees — over sixty in total — are faring well with my hand watering (an activity that I have discussed in blog postings, including ones which you may refer to by clicking here and here). 

Today I am mainly following up on the planting of my "newcomer vine", the Cardinal Climber (Ipomea sloteri), as I promised I would in yesterday's blog entry.

Juan V and I did our work fairly early in the morning in an effort to beat the heat, however, we were not finished until a little before 9:00 A.M. An overview of what my terrace garden looked like after the work was finished can be seen in an aerial photograph which Juan V took for me and that I have posted below.

If you zoom in on the photograph, or squint enough, you will be able to see two of the three clay pots (below the bamboo trellis) that are now filled with the Cardinal Climber, the third is off camera (and has its own trellis) but is indeed standing in the most southwest corner of my terrace garden.

Spouses Day 2020

Cardinal Love 2

Spouse's Day is celebrated on January 26, 2020 (today). It is a day to enjoy and appreciate your better half.

Northern cardinals (known as Mac and Cam) seem to show how much they care for their spouse by feeding each other. This can as seen in the image directly above which has been rendered on to a greeting card and is available via my shop that's located on Fine Art America's site.