little red bird...

We woke this morning to a bright crisp day with brunch on the horizon. The only reason we got out of bed when we woke up around 9 was to find out when our brunch destination opened. Mike poked his head out the window and noted out loud that the cold snap has brought out all the beautiful birds (yesterday we saw masses of finches and robins)...

"but what bird is that?" he asked.

K poked her head up in the blinds and told us it's a red one... a little red one. I said it could be a cardinal... that's the only kind of bird I'd seen that was really really red.

"I don't know it's really little"

"Maybe it's baby cardinal" I chimed in.. "but it isn't the season for baby birds"

Curious, I pulled my lazy Sunday morning self out of the bed to peek and exclaimed "Damn, I think it is a cardinal, but it is so little!!"

I ran into the living room to get a better look from our big window... I was a little concerned that it wasn't moving

"Mike, I think it is D E A D" I had to spell it, I didn't want to say dead bird in front of K.

"No it's not" he blew off my dead bird theory.

It sat there so still I was convinced it was dead, frozen in place where it landed.

"Get a picture" he said.

I went to our bedroom window and snapped a shot... then to the front window for a better angle... I swear the little guy wasn't moving at all... he had to be dead.

"I'm going out there" I said... as if I were off to fight a giant beast with a bendy straw.

I threw on some pants with my tank top, pulled on my docs with no socks on and carefully quietly unlocked the dead bolt... turned the knob and pulled the door open as quietly as i could.... I stepped out the door amazed that the bird hadn't fled and snapped a picture cursing that I don't have a telephoto lens... I looked up to the window and saw Mike and K leaning against it holding their breath as I snuck up on the tiny bird in my bright pink tank and jeans... i realized it was about 25 degrees outside and a shiver came over me but I took a few more steps toward the tiny cardinal... Mike and K didn't move and inch and as I pointed the camera and began to refocus a realization hit me... The bird really wasn't moving... it was so stiff... I moved the camera to my side and took another couple of steps forward then reached out to grasp the Cardinal by it's feet, Mike and K looked on horrified as I reached the little metal clip and unhooked it from our light fixture... it was a little stone cardinal...

Mike immediately wanted me to wash my hands fearing the filth it had accumulated on it's journey to our house. Later he went out to investigate who may have left it there (my theory being some one drunk on their way home from the bar, seemed like something I might do in that situation many years ago). His investigation lead him to the pieces of it's tale that were broken off and candy wrappers littering our front steps . "Kids" he said.

We have no clue where the little guy came from and are undecided on what to do with him but for today he sits on our light keeping watch over our little nook of the neighborhood... oh and if anyone is missing a cardinal, I may have your little red bird...