The Cardinal's Sin

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Fictional book cover. I added the blood for drama.

 

 

Needing to take a 15-minute morning break a few weeks ago I decided to go on a quick walk into the surrounding town that borders my office.  On my way back I noticed a bright red object just a few yards into the grass off the sidewalk which borders the large field in front of the business park where I work.  Curious, I flipped it over with the tip of my shoe and was surprised (and saddened) to see a dead cardinal. There was no blood or trauma that I could make out. Large trucks often rumble by from a nearby distribution center so I surmised it may have been struck by one of these and landed where I found it. It was the middle of January and quite cold outside so I suspected this helped preserve it in it's pristine condition.

I have always been intrigued by these magnificent birds. In fact, when I was 7 or 8 I assembled a life-size model kit of one.  I had it for years until it finally succumbed to the rigors of one of the many moves a child of an Air Force family must make.

I decided that if it was still there that afternoon I would bring a bag and pick it up, take it home and take some some photos for my personal archive. It was. On the way home I picked up some white surgical gloves at the drugstore and spent a good 2 hours or so photographing him before having to leave for a previously scheduled appointment. That was the window I allowed for the shoot.

Here are some of the photos I took that night.

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