Northern Cardinal

We picked this ornament up while we were living in North Carolina while we were stationed at Fort Bragg. We transferred there from Hawaii. It took a while to get adjusted because we loved Hawaii, but we learned to appreciate our new surroundings, especially the cardinals. They are one of our favorite birds and we were happy to learn they were year-round residents of the area. The bright red of their feathers were beautiful against the green of summer, and stunning against the snow in winter. Growing up in New Mexico, I rarely saw cardinals. Layden saw them from time to time in California. In Utah cardinals are rare visitors. I can think of seeing them there only one or two times. Having them in abundance in our new home was a delight, but the best part of that duty station was being close to family. One son and his family were stationed in Norfolk, Virginia and a daughter and her family were in Pennsylvania, both close enough to drive. When we hang this ornament on the tree we remember what a delight it was to spend time with family often and get to know our charming grandchildren.

Fun fact: A bird that is a rare visitor to an area is often referred to a as a vagrant. A vagrant is a person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by asking for money or food. It is fun to imagine these birds as tramps or hobos, even though they are not truly vagrants – they are just passing through on their way to someplace else.