Adventures

How Mrs. Cardinal Gifted Us Doses of Hope This Week

Shelley

Many a soul believes that the sight of a Cardinal nearby is their loved one looking in on them after death. With hope.

What if we are the ones looking in on the Cardinals with the hope that they survive?

That’s what’s happened to me (and Mr.) this past week.

On Thursday, one of the coldest days of the week, our neighborhood Mrs. Cardinal flew into the patio door. She landed flat on the deck in the snow. The bitter cold snow. I couldn’t grab my camera, it was too sad to see. She looked like she had broken her neck. Mr. and I looked at each other as we held back the tears. She was still breathing. I couldn’t watch, so I walked away.

I came back later and she had her head up. Hope started to fill my heart.

I walked away from the window and sighed. Could she recover? I didn’t want to spook her so I walked away.

A half hour later I went back. She was standing up and hopped. Hope filled my heart again.

She hopped some more and hopped up onto the chair rails. She struggled but looked determined and didn’t have a broken neck. Her wings were unsteady and didn’t look like she’d be flying anytime soon.

Then she looked down as though she knew her left wing wasn’t working right and she would need to keep hopping to survive.

She hopped to the edge of the step. I thought, “Oh, no, don’t jump off the deck! You can’t fly!” She looked back at me as if to say, “You might be right I’m going to hide out here for a while.” See her wing on the left hanging down a bit 😥

With hope, I went down to a lower window to see if she was okay and hadn’t jumped.

She was sitting there on the top step warming up in the sunlight, blending in with the wood so she wouldn’t stand out as wounded prey. I hoped she’d be okay.

She stilled herself and stayed right there for the longest time. I left her be. I went to the kitchen to set down my camera, and my heart sank when I looked out the window. I yelled for Mr. “The Raptor is here!! OH NO!!”

Mr. opened the door that the Cardinal had flown into and yelled at the Cooper’s Hawk. It flew off and landed in a nearby tree. I said a little prayer to myself hoping it would just head out and not attack the wounded Cardinal.

The Blue Jays protested as they sat there watching and squawking at the Hawk who was pondering how it would get its prey.

The hawk gave up and flew off into the woods. And when we checked on the Cardinal on the step, she was gone. We didn’t know if she flew off, fell off and the hawk got her, or where she went.

An hour later, Mr. saw her hopping in front of our house. We went outside and watched her hop across the driveway, attempt to get up in a tree, fall off, and then hop fast to the woods near where I had set the pumpkin out for the critters after Halloween. We looked at each other with the hope that she might make it. Cardinals can nest on the ground in the brush. She was determined and smart. Our hearts filled with hope for her as the night was drawing near.

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers by Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers- That perches in the soul – And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all –

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard – And sore must be the storm – That could abash the little Bird – That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land – And on the strangest Sea – Yet – never – in Extremity, It asked a crumb – of me.

The next morning, while admiring the Blue Jay who landed on the fence where the hawk had been.

I looked down at the yard and saw the Cardinal! She had survived the night and hopped back to the front yard where she knew she could find food. I was astonished.

She turned around and looked up at me. Hope filled my heart again. Did she know we were looking out for her?

Then she scurried to safety next to the fence. Perhaps the hawk was near?

Sure enough, I saw it swoop over the window. Mr. opened the door and yelled at it again. It flew into another tree before it took off across the field.

The Cardinal hopped away from the fence as she eyed up the bird feeder. A hungry little bird she was.

She hopped a bit further away from the fence and looked up at me. I hoped she’d make it to the bird feeder and back to safety.

Then she hopped as fast as she could to join the Blue Jays under the birdfeeder. “I’m here pals, let’s party!”

Just like old times, right?

Except I bet she wished she could take off like the Blue Jays could.

She hopped back to the wing wall and hid out there for a while.

Mr. threw out some bird seeds next to the wall and the trees and her path into the woods for her and she ate a few and we haven’t seen her since.

Just her tracks in the icy blue snow going to and fro the birdseed.

In a nutshell, is she still alive, perhaps I don’t want to know? Just embrace the hope in my heart that she is.

Post Inspiration – Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Your prompt for #JusJoJan the 20th and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “in a nutshell.” Use it as an idiom or use it literally. Enjoy! And Terri Webster Schrandt’s Sunday Stills Jan 21 Monthly Color Challenge: Aquamarine (light, icy blue) and Anne-Christine for Lens-Artists #283 Illustrate a Favourite Quote or Poem (Oh, shoot…I should’ve read the instructions that I had to use only 1-4 pictures…😣😲)

PS – Have you witnessed a bird or critter doing something in nature that gave you hope? Do tell! In a nutshell, what’s your favorite poem or quote? What is your favorite poet’s name? What about the poet inspires you? Bummer for our fellow Packers fans who had hoped they’d win the playoffs, what a great year they had though, watch out next year – Love will get us to the Super Bowl in 2025!

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

52 thoughts on “How Mrs. Cardinal Gifted Us Doses of Hope This Week”

    1. Thank you, Frank, I’m glad my story touched your heart too. 🥰 Thank you too for the warm wishes – we are in a warming trend, it’s 30 degrees instead of -10. 🌞

  2. I know life and death are common in the wild, but it’s always sad to see one of these little guys get hurt. We always want to help, but besides offering hope and food, there isn’t much we can do. I hope she makes it back into the air. Great photos, Shelley. I hope you have a nice week.

    1. Well said, Dan, thank you. We hope our hope and birdseed does help her recover and fly again.
      I hope you’re having a great week too!

  3. This breaks my heart. We have birds crash into our windows too. I feel partly responsible as I put the feeders up. I hope your lady is mending off in the woods.

    1. Yes, I thought about you when I was writing this post. We have a window feeder too and we’re not sure why she flew into that door. My brother thought that maybe the Hawk was the reason she flew into the window in the first place.
      I’m hoping she’s getting stronger and stronger each day and that we’ll see her fly to the feeder again some day. 🥰

  4. A bittersweet story, it leaves a small hole in my heart. But I realize that wild birds have their own survival techniques and that I cannot do anything to help them. Other than not have windows, I suppose– and that isn’t going to happen.

    1. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Ally. I came to that same thought when I was thinking about the situation. We have windows so it won’t be the last time it happens. If we hadn’t been home, hadn’t seen it happen, we would’ve never known. It kind of makes me wonder when I see other birds hopping instead of flying…are they injured too? 🤔

  5. I type this with the sting of tears, Shelley! I do hope Mrs Cardinal has fared well after the fly-in. I’m glad you could protect her as long as possible but her little story is filled with hope and shows how Mother Nature (God) takes care of His creatures. I rescued a sparrow last fall in Payson as I watched it crash into the Goodwill window. I gently moved it to a safe location behind some planters. An employee saw this, too, and helped keep the little stunned bird safe. I had to return to the store 2 hours later (long story) and it seemed fine.
    I like how your snow pics nicely give off that aquamarine hue and help tell your story along with Dickinson’s poem of hope. Nicely done all around, Miss Clever!

    1. Hi Terri – thank you so much, I’m glad you found hope in the story too. Aw, that’s so sweet you helped a little sparrow too. Sometimes the little birds do survive a window crashing moment. I hope our Cardinal does. I’m also glad you saw the subtle aquamarine hues too. It’s a favorite color of mine, yet, I don’t have much of it in my life. It’s such an eye catching color and reminds me of the sea. Where I would never be swimming like you do, but now I know where to go to see pictures of swimming with sharks thanks to your post! PS – I have no idea why, but your comment was routed to my WP trash bin and I revived it with hope that you aren’t upset I didn’t see it until now! Silly WordPress!

  6. Ah, poor Cardinal. We had a lot of birds hit our windows in our previous house. Some of them got up and flew away when we were sure they were dead. I hope she can survive and stay hidden until she heals.

    1. Hi Laurel. Yes, I remember your old house, it was a perfect spot to attract birds to the windows – all the reflections of the trees around there were magnets for the birds.
      We’ve seen birds do that too, lay there like they instantly died but then they get up and fly away.
      I hope this one knows how to mend her wing. She’s quite smart, so I’m hoping she heals too.

  7. I enjoyed reading this, Shelley, I hope she is still alive. I had a bird fly into my bedroom window and die. I buried it in my backyard. Another hit the glass and was knocked stupid for a while and then flew away. Poor babies. Have a great week, guys!

    1. Thanks, John. Me too! Aw, that’s sweet that you buried the bird that hit your window. I’m a fan of the hit and stun and fly away later birds too.
      I hope you’re having a great week too. Stay out of IG jail! 😉

      1. Thanks, Shelley, jail sucks. I’m beginning to suspect that any small mention of my Conservative beliefs are why I am being censored. Just a theory. 🤭🤨🤨🇺🇸🇺🇸

        1. My hubby has been in FB jail so much it’s been a challenge for him to figure out what will get him there next.
          The jail settings are only going to get worse this year…buckle up!

  9. To date, I think this might be one of my favorite stories of yours, Shelley. I do hope she made it to the woods. To finish the story with footprints is sweet. I am going to pretend she is good. The photos were fantastic and this could be a Childrens book. Well done, and the perfect quote to enhance the story.

    1. Aw, thank you for your words of encouragement, Donna. I’m touched. 🥰🤗 I’m with you in pretending she is good and I’ll see her in flight again when she mends.

    1. Thank you, Sofia, your encouraging words warm my heart.
      I had never read the poem you shared, it is beautiful and went well with the photos you chose.
      I look forward to seeing your prompt for the 27th!! 🥰

  12. Awwww…I hope she survives. We had a deer awhile bag with an injured leg and I found myself rooting for it to be strong and survive despite injury.

    1. Me too! My hubby saw her again yesterday and she was able to fly up about 3 feet before she realized she wasn’t quite ready for flight. She hopped to a tree and sat there for a while.
      Aww, that’s sweet about the deer. I hope it survived too.

  13. Good on you for keeping the hawk at bay – he can find plenty of other opportunities for feeding! Poor little bird, if her broken wing won’t heal

    1. I appreciate you letting me know it was you! It’s so odd, the first comment didn’t show your gravatar, but this one did. 🤔🧐

  15. You have to figure that whatever happened to her, whether she hopped off in search of more food, found a nice little hiding spot and is on the mend, or became food for the hawk, it’s for the best. Nature has a way of taking care of its own. Seems cruel, I know, but that’s our view of it.

    1. We agree with you John, we both said to each other, “If we hadn’t been home we would’ve never know it happened.” And yesterday when the hawk returned I saw him swoop down and catch a small bird in mid-air. 😲
      Thankfully, Mr. did see the Cardinal again, she tried to fly when he accidentally scared her so she’s not quite ready to fly yet, but somehow she’s staying alive so far.

  16. I’m like you Shelley and want to hope that this little munchkin survived. It looks like she was more resilient than you originally thought she was – fingers crossed you continue to see her and she knows those seeds at ground level are a kindness, so she will return. I know these poor critters are made to survive in our brutal Winters, but I still feel it must be tough. This is why I worry about not getting to the Park – they become too dependent on me and surely can’t unearth anything they have buried during the rest of the year. I hate those stupid hawks. That is something that worries me about my absence – those squirrels are a good target for the hawks, the squirrels scurrying in the snow show up well – good targets for a swoop/grab Sigh. I have been collecting pictures the last few weeks around the house for an upcoming post. In those pictures I have a Cooper’s Hawk up close as I heard the screeches of the Blue Jays – too many screeches and persistent so I looked up, then ran for my camera. The birds scattered … there was a squirrel who remained unscathed, but I wanted to tell him to run for cover. I once found a baby Robin sitting on the sidewalk. It had wings, but not big enough to fly. I looked up in the tree – no nest. I worried about it, but then I saw Mama Robin lurking near a bush. I wanted to tell her to come and nudge her baby to safety. I got some cute pics of it and did a post – such a sweet little baby.

    It’s been years since I read any poetry, nature or otherwise, but I was going to start a book about nature … almost a month into the new year and all resolutions have gone kaput.

    1. Aw, yes, Linda, I knew you’d have hope like I do. Mr. did see her a day or so ago, she was still struggling to fly, but she was happily hopping to get bird seeds. All of the birds have kind of disappeared, perhaps due to the hawk sticking around so much. I thought it was a Cooper’s Hawk, but after my daughter was here visiting, we looked closer at the pictures and also another picture that I got of it later and have determined it is a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. They aren’t as big as the Cooper’s Hawks, they are just a bit bigger than the Blue Jays. And QUICK!
      I look forward to your post and the pictures you got of your hawk. They have to eat too and maybe they take care of removal of the menacing critters like mice for more of their food sources?
      Ah, a long list of TBR books is another reason I don’t set those resolutions, January is too hard to keep them going 😆😉🤗

      1. I’m glad to hear Mrs. Cardinal is doing better Shelley. Birds are resilient to a point until they smack into a window or door. They are probably afraid of the predator. I can’t blame them. We had Peregrine Falcons a few years ago – they went after songbirds.

        I don’t know that hawk, just the Cooper’s Hawk, Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks … that’s it. Mine is a Cooper’s Hawk and has a strange dark mark on the front of it – like buckshot, but it couldn’t be that, but it marred an otherwise up-close pic of it.

        I need to edit my Goodreads goal again. 🙂

        1. Me too, although the snow has melted so much we can’t see tracks of hers so we don’t know how she is doing. I’ll just hope for the best.
          My daughter shared an app that she uses and it is quite extravagant how detailed it is determining the difference between hawks. For this one, the tell-tale difference was it’s legs that I captured in a shot that I caught after this post. Definitely sharp-shinned legs. 😆 I look forward to seeing your Cooper’s Hawk photo.
          I need to edit my Goodreads again too! A never-ending to-do list we two have, eh?

          1. I was sure mine was a Cooper’s Hawk, but I did a reverse image search and had multiple hits so I’ll say that is it. We have more of them around the hood and other types in the bigger rural areas. Fingers crossed Mrs. Cardinal get stronger daily.

          2. The Cooper’s Hawks are very common, so you’re likely correct in your determination.
            Yes, I’m keeping my fingers crossed too. With the melting of the snow it’s hard to know, so I’m going with she’s safe and well on her way to full recovery.

  17. I too hope it survived, the little brave one. But in my own garden always some birds fall into the claws of a raptor. Nature rules, but we are allowed to be sad sometimes. You did what you could for the little one – that you must believe.

    1. Thank you, Anne-Christine, I appreciate your support and your wise words of advice about nature and our beliefs that we do what we can while allowing nature to take its course. 🥰🤗

    1. Thank you, Nikki! Yes, she sure seemed determined. I’m glad you enjoyed the story. I enjoyed your video of the Hedgehog, Fox, and Tommy the cat!

    1. Thank you, Adelina, I appreciate you stopping by to share your thoughts.
      I read your post on cottage cheese, I didn’t know you could make that at home! I couldn’t figure out how to comment on your post, so I wanted you to know I read it and enjoyed the information.

Comments are closed.