Pat Bean's blog

Heroes take journeys, confront dragons and discover the treasure of their true self.”  — Carol Lynn Pearson

This pencil drawing of a northern cardinal once belonged to my grandmother and is the oldest thing I own. ... Photo of painting by Pat Bean

 I’m the opposite of a pack rat. I feel you either need to use something or get rid of it. No antique dealer is ever going to find a 150-year-old treasure in my attic – not that the RV I currently live in has one. 

As I look around my tiny living space, I do, however, fine one item from my childhood. It’s a small pencil drawing of a northern cardinal that belonged to my grandmother.  

I’m not sure how I ended up with it, but it has found its place in every home I’ve lived in since she died. And that includes the present wheeled one.  

I came to birding as a late-late bloomer, but I suspect that the seed for this passion might have had something to do with my grandmother’s wall-hanging red bird.  

I thought about her gift to me yesterday as I watched a handsome cardinal brighten an overcast blustery day with his scarlet feathers and happy song.  

What-cheer, what-cheer, what cheer, he sang. 

 Here was a treasure not hidden away in an attic, but proclaiming his worth to all who would look and listen. I was cheered.