Carl and Other Red Birds

“Have you seen Carl?” Jerry asked me yesterday and I started to think: No, I haven’t seen him since last Wednesday or maybe Thursday.  

Carl is the name Jerry gave to the cardinal who kept appearing at our picture window in the living room and then, depending on wherever we were in the house, at other windows – maybe right behind me as I type here at my computer or in the bedroom. In the kitchen. And once when I went to the basement to do laundry, he was there peering down at me from the window above the washing machine. 

Lots of people had their theories about Carl – that he saw his own reflection in the window and was there to confront himself. But Carl was definitely not in a fighting mood and he wasn’t looking at himself. He was looking through the window, sometimes just perching on the windowsill while Jerry sat in his recliner reading the paper. “Just stopping by to say hi.”  

When he was in a playful mood, Carl would ping gently against the window, then fly to other windows around the house and ping against them. This recurred off and on through the day, and what might have proved annoying to some people was charming to us. Our own little bird – a red bird, no less (and I thought of Judy Bridges, founder of Redbird Studio) and before now we had almost never seen a cardinal in our yard. 

Putting up the screens was one factor, I think, because Carl got sick of perching and pinging at just the one picture window. He liked to circle the house and announce himself from various vantage points. 

I keep hoping Carl will come back at least once this summer. I’ve even gone to the door and called for him, reminding myself of Shirley Booth and Burt Lancaster in Come Back, Little Sheba. I know how to mimic the cardinal’s call, so I even whistle that sometimes, hoping Carl will answer.                                         *** 

The  preceding story was written earlier this month and shared with a group of writers at Redbird Studio, Bay View.  I've been attending the bi-monthly roundtables there so that I can have a live audience to critique my work and to perk up my creativity. 

The downside of this is that I have neglected my blog.  I apologize for that and have made a pledge to myself that I'll post at least one entry every week. 

Meanwhile, here's an update on Carl -- he's back!  I can't believe I'd be so happy to see that little red bird pinging against our picture window or perching in a bush just outside our bedroom window whistling his cheerful song.  Some of my neighbors might think they overhear me talking to myself -- and I do that too -- but most likely I'm chatting with Carl.  "Good to see you again, Carl.  Good to hear you too