CoffeeTime to Bedtime ...: Cardinal Tales

If you know me, you know I love cardinals (the bird, not the baseball team). I'm not quite sure when this obsession arose, but I can tell you that it must have been close to the time my Mimi Jeanne died. She loved birds, all kinds, except bully blue jays! She and my papaw had bird seed, bread crumbs, and water out constantly! She loved to watch the birds, and she scared every cat in the neighborhood away. After my mimi died, we had a red (male) cardinal at our house ALL the time. He tried to get in the back door, the front door, and even the car windows. I know cardinals and other birds do this from time to time, but this one was relentless! We would joke and say, "Mimi's trying to get in." Or we would say, "Hi Mimi, how are you?" The funny thing is that if that was my reincarnated grandmother (before you start commenting, I don't actually believe in reincarnation), not only was she a bird now, but she was a male! I loved this bird so much. I looked forward to seeing it every day. Thus, my obsession began.

Another bird story... one day I was leaving my parent's house and saw something moving in the middle of the road. I got out and found a precious baby bird. It must have fallen out of its nest. I took it inside, named it Ferris, and put it in a box. He sat on my shoulder or in the ficus tree all night. He loved me. At the time, I wasn't sure what type of bird he was. The next morning, I went to the bait shop and bought some worms. The seller thought the bird may not eat worms, so he gave me a baby food recipe to feed with a dropper. He was right, Ferris spit out all the worms. I then mixed the baby food: green beans, applesauce, and rice cereal. I put it in a dropper, and Ferris opened his mouth wide. He gobbled it up and was so happy! Later that day, Ferris decided to show me his tiny little crest... he was a cardinal!! A few days later, I took Ferris outside in a small bird cage while I washed my car. As I was washing, I noticed an adult female cardinal getting closer and closer. A few minutes later, a male cardinal showed up. They seemed like they were talking to Ferris. The female cardinal even sat on top of the bird cage for a minute. After watching this interaction for a while, I decided to let Ferris out and I sat him on top of the car. I stepped away and watched. The female flew over and sat by Ferris. When she decided to fly off, Ferris went with her. They met the male in a tree and all flew off together. To this day, I think Ferris was reunited with his parents!