Yesterday morning I was gazing out the front window, lost in thought, when I was shaken awake by a flash of brilliant red.

A young male cardinal, born last year, was belting out a territorial song from an evergreen in my front yard.

The cardinal’s color is a startling contrast to the muted environment in winter, and it always wakes me up to the present moment.

The Northern Cardinal’s territorial song is also the first thing that wakes me up to Spring. It’s a sure sign that we are on the edge of the transition from winter to spring. It comes before the arrival of the robins, the emergence of the crocus, or the migration of geese and cranes.

Spring is on the way.

Filed under: Being a Reinventer, Adventures of a Reinventer, Lynne's Reinvention Journey on February 26th, 2009