Cardinal

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Photos by Melody 

You can imagine our astonishment when we moved to Florida from California and saw our first Cardinal. Males the color of fire engines immediately caught our attention. It took a bit longer to acknowledge the beauty of the females in their soft orange and taupe finery and their orange bills. 

After we had lived in our home in Florida for a few years, we decided to make our back yard into a refuge for birds and butterflies, and that was when we began to observe their behavior more closely. We heard the sweet and clear calls of the birds. I’ve read since they have 16 different calls and songs. Last year a female cardinal built a small nest close to our front porch. When it was finished, she patiently sat on the eggs and the male brought her food day after day. Later in the process, he sat on the nest to give her a few short breaks. 

The babies hatched in twelve days. The parents stayed close, one watching while the other gathered food. The babies grew until the nest seemed way too small for them. Then one day they were gone. Oh, no, they weren’t ready! Did something get them? It seemed a great loss and we felt terrible that we had not been able to take care of them.

The next day I went into the back yard, and there I saw two small brownish birds clinging to the stems of the jasmine vine that covered the back fence.  Having seen them in the nest, we knew these were our baby cardinals! In a few days we began to see their parents teach them how to fly, how to take a bath, and best of all how to sing and call. It seems to me all the world sings in one way or another, and it tells me that our Lord God loves all kinds of music. I know he loves to hear it from his beloved people like you and me. 

“All I need to do is to call to you, singing to you, the praiseworthy God.

When I do, I’m safe and sound in you.”

The Passion Translation Psalm 18:3 

Hear the songs of the cardinal

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

Tags: Cardinals, Florida, Florida Backyard