This summer I become special friends with a weathered cardinal. He has me trained to feed him and his mate whenever I'm on the screened-in porch for meals. He chirps and circles the porch till I give in and throw out some seed. I feel a little like Snow White with all of the wildlife that comes to dine with me:) I've named him "Red" for obvious reasons and after my grandpa's nickname. Since I am the 17th of 21 grandchildren, I was too young to see his red hair. I had to take everyone's word for it.
The other day I was working on a photography class assignment when Red landed a little over a foot away from me. I couldn't believe that he was so close. Then a rabbit hopped by and stopped about 5 feet away. He sat for over a minute while I finished my assignment. I needed one image that was taken on 7 different settings for our study on white balance. He was a great subject. Only his nose and whiskers moved!
