It's Not Christmas Without Cardinals

Day 68: We do not have Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) in Washington, and more's the pity. In fact, none of the states west or directly north of Arizona have these "Christmas birds." There are none in California, none in Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho or Oregon, and only in small corners of Colorado and New Mexico are "redbirds" seen at the feeder; yet these bright spots of avian color have come to be traditional for the Yuletide season all across the United States.

For as long as I've sent out Christmas cards on my own, there had been a Cardinal somewhere in the cover image...that is, until a few years ago when for the life of me, I could not find Cardinal cards. I had enough stockpiled to use that year, but when the subsequent mailing season came, again Cardinal greetings were not to be found in any store. I settled, grudgingly, for pine cones and the following year used Chickadees, the other popular Christmas bird.

Seeing my disappointment that year, I was thrilled to receive Cardinals in other forms as gifts from friends, a tradition which continues even now. You can never have enough Cardinals, because without them, it's just not Christmas. Here, Mom is minding Fuzzball newly fledged, and I am delighted with the prospect of a burgeoning population here in this micro-habitat at the foot of Mt. Rainier.