Like the dried-up leaves on this branch, winter is tenaciously hanging on, refusing to give way to spring. March is almost over, yet I look out the window and see that the ground is still covered with snow.
Soon the monochromatic tones of winter will be replaced by the pastel colors of spring. Starved for bright colors, my senses rejoice when I am greeted by bright colors, like those of this male Northern Cardinal (Cardinal cardinalis) that I observed this past weekend.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
What a lovely bird and so bright!… great photo!
Thanks. I love the fact that cardinals spend the winters with us and there is a kind of reassurance in seeing them at a time when there are so few birds and so little color.
It’s a shame we can’t have a voice in the weather.
The cardinals are such a cheerful sight. They don’t occur in northern California so I have to get my kicks from photos, and I appreciate your photograph here. There’s something about the dead leaves that brings the photo uniqueness.
This has been a long, hard winter for sure and it is nice to see such a colorful bird. Hopefully there will also be colorful flowers soon.
So true! Even the resident birds are monochromatic here: chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, juncos, even goldfinches are all black, gray, and white. So cardinals are definitely a highlight in a dull landscape!