Shutterday: Anything But Green

Brilliant red Cardinal and not a speck of green in sight.
(Click picture for larger view)

"Let us be like a bird for a moment perched On a frail branch when he sings; Though he feels it bend, yet he sings his song, Knowing that he has wings." ~ Victor Hugo

Cardinals are the state bird of Virginia and are commonly seen throughout the year. Their single high pitched "tweet" is distinctive but at least for me, they are notoriously difficult to photograph. Unlike the chickadee, who I would classify as aggressive, persistent and at times pretty obnoxious with their chatter, the bright red Cardinal male is shy. I hope this fellow and his mate will build a nest somewhere in the bushes of our yard this year. I remember a proud papa teaching his little one to fly. They were leaping and fluttering in the middle of our quiet street, down in Mississippi. Papa kept pecking at him to "try again" and finally he flew to the top of a fence post. Baby bird flapped and flapped and managed to get lift enough to get half way up the chain link fence, then to the top of the dog house and finally to the post beside his proud papa. They are quite the striking red, are they not? And not a pixel of green to be had.

The topic for Shutterday this week is "Anything but Green". I guess as they said "it wasn't easy being green", with so many "green" topics recently. When I looked through my photos, it surprised me at how many had at least a small patch of green in them... this one did not.

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