St. Francis and the Cardinal

— The simple beauty of a cardinal in our backyard taking a break on St. Francis’ statue was a peaceful moment I was able to capture just moments ago. Is it nature imitating art or the other way around? If you’re familiar with St. Francis, you know there are countless stories of his preaching to birds in trees. There is even a famous Giotto painting of St. Francis and birds. This statue was given to us by friends at my husband’s retirement party about 2.5 years ago. Since we often have birds coming to our backyard to enjoy wildflowers we have planted, there was no better place to put the statue right there in the yard within a few feet from our dining room area. That way we can see St. Francis every time we’re at the table and also appreciate the wildlife that is attracted to our plants. Related to this, there is also the fact that when we were in Italy, Assisi was our favorite city and a moving experience for us.