Male Cardinal in a Gentle Summer Rain

My walk on this day was taken during a gentle summer rain. I was on one of the side roads behind our house, and as I was standing admiring the green farm fields (the corn: knee-high by July!) and the sky, a male cardinal flew into my view, perched upon a berry bush, and sang for me.

I have heard that cardinals appear where angels are near, that they represent lost loved ones, that they are messengers from Heaven who deliver words of love and comfort during difficult times.

I'd like to think these things might be true. In any case, it is a beautiful bird, and the song is well worth hearing. It is happy and loud; at best, like those old-fashioned Christmas bubble lights, just bubbling up good cheer.

If there is a message it is sharing on this day, we'll let it be this. The song is by the Eagles, not the cardinals, but the reminder is still a good one: Learn to Be Still.

Though the world is torn and shaken
Even if your heart is breakin'
It's waiting for you to awaken
Someday you will
Learn to be still

P.S. A sad update on a notable passing: my pink iPod shuffle, 4th generation, purchased on 12/29/11 at Target; it was the last one in the store. I wore it on my daily walk, enjoyed my music, came back and plugged it into my computer to recharge, and when I looked at it, it displayed a message saying it was trying to update the software (it has never done this before). Then it said it needed to be restored, but when I tried to restore it, it didn't work. Now the light doesn't turn on and the music does not play. I am not done problem-solving but I've tried everything I can think of. If this is the end, well done, thou good and faithful servant; thank you for 12 and a half years of music. And I even have a soundtrack song for that: Don McLean, American Pie (The Day the Music Died).  *bows head*