By Shawn Smith
Hello little one! What a blessing to meet you. Did I startle you as much as you did me? I’m sitting so close to you because for days I’ve been trying to photograph your parents. They’re too fast, or I’m too slow - maybe both? Anyway, I’ve been watching them feverishly zig-zag around the food system, which looks more like the Amazonian rainforest than a Vermont agroforestry installation. They zoom from the willow to the pear, then to the compost bin, back to the kiwi vine, over to the black locust, a stopover at the elderberry shrub and finally back to the willow to take a breath. It warms my heart to see them thriving in the protective canopy of our perennial polyculture and low-no mowing pattern. I actually thought one of them was you, but clearly I don’t know my Cardinal gestation and fledging timeline - how embarrassing. What’s been a little confusing to me is that both of them look to be about half the size when I first met them back in April. I guess hatching and feeding you is keeping them lean.
You, on the other hand, are an incy-wincy bundle of cuteness. I can’t believe you hung around as I came toward you, taking a seat barely a foot away from you. Could you sense I was your friend? Your kin? Had I not ventured out to the stonewall with the hopes of capturing your parents I would never have met you. The elderberry shrub you’re hunkered down in is blowing all over the place, is it hard to hold on with those little talons? I can’t believe you’re just staring at me, seemingly unafraid — more curious than anything. You’re not crying or trying to move away. Why? Your parents, however, are not happy with me. I should go, and let them get back to the business of feeding you without my intrusion. Thanks for letting me capture all these amazing pics of you. What wonderful parents you have, I see them working hard and constantly to keep you fed and safe. Welcome to SHO, little kin. I hope we meet again. I’d love to watch you grow, learn to fly and dart around like your parents.
May you be happy, healthy and free of suffering. And may your parents get some rest soon! Lots of love