{"title":"Cardinal Gifts","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe bird everybody stops for.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou can be entirely uninterested in birds and still stop mid-sentence when a male cardinal lands on the fence. It is the most saturated red in an American backyard, and because cardinals don't migrate, it is the reddest thing out there in February as well as in June.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat is also why this particular bird ends up carrying so much meaning. Cardinals hold one territory year after year and come back to the same feeder, the same hedge, the same branch. A bird that shows up every single morning reads very differently from one that passes through once — which is how the cardinal became the bird families reach for when they are missing someone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne identification note worth having.\u003c\/strong\u003e The female is not \"some brown bird\". She wears exactly the same pointed crest and the same thick orange-red bill as the male, in warm buff-brown. The bill is what settles it. And the red bird people most often confuse with a cardinal is the House Finch, whose red sits only on the forehead, throat and rump over blurry brown streaks.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMugs, prints and apparel, all from our own illustrations, printed to order in the USA. For the gentler end of this — sympathy and remembrance pieces without verses or angels — see \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/memorial-gifts\"\u003eMemorial Gifts\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot sure the red bird in your yard is a cardinal? \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/whats-that-bird\"\u003eThree questions will settle it.\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"birdwatcher-ceramic-mug-the-feeder-watch-cafe-with-cardinal-songbirds-11oz-15oz","title":"The Feeder Watch Café Mug — Cardinal \u0026 Backyard Songbird Illustrations (11oz)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYour feeder has regular customers. This is the café they show up to.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnyone who fills a feeder knows the routine. The chickadee arrives first, usually before the coffee is done. The cardinal comes last, at dusk, and waits for everyone else to leave. The jay turns up whenever peanuts are involved and makes sure the whole garden hears about it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis mug is that joke, drawn properly — original songbird illustrations rather than a stock photo with a slogan across it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGood for:\u003c\/strong\u003e the person who has started keeping track of which birds come at which hour, and who will explain it to you whether you asked or not.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe mug.\u003c\/strong\u003e 11 oz white ceramic · glossy finish · dishwasher and microwave safe · lead- and BPA-free · printed to order in the USA, ships in 2–5 business days.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWant the birds of your own state instead? \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/state-birds\"\u003eSee the Backyard Birds state mugs\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Printify","offers":[{"title":"11oz","offer_id":49059172122873,"sku":"27930489794373461869","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0834\/1966\/0537\/files\/4629380631538504489_2048.jpg?v=1789334497"},{"product_id":"always-with-me-memorial-ceramic-mug-in-loving-memory-cardinal-tribute-11oz-15oz","title":"Cardinal Memorial Mug — \"Always With Me\" In Loving Memory Tribute (11oz)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA sympathy gift that gets used every morning.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOf everything people are given after a loss, the objects that survive are the ones nobody has to decide to display. A framed sentiment moves to a shelf and then a closet. A mug becomes part of the morning — and the morning is when people miss someone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo cardinals, \"Always With Me\", and nothing else. \u003cstrong\u003eNo long verse, no angels, no anniversary date.\u003c\/strong\u003e Three words leave room for the person to bring their own meaning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy the cardinal.\u003c\/strong\u003e There is a belief held quietly across much of the country that a cardinal in the yard is a visit. Whether or not you hold it, the bird does a real thing: cardinals don't migrate, they keep the same territory year after year, and they are the brightest thing in a yard in the dead of winter — the season when a family most needs something to look at.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe mug.\u003c\/strong\u003e 11 oz white ceramic · glossy finish · dishwasher and microwave safe · lead- and BPA-free · printed to order in the USA, ships in 2–5 business days.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA note on timing.\u003c\/strong\u003e Something that arrives three or four weeks after the funeral, when everyone else has gone back to their lives, tends to land harder than something that arrives on the day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSee the rest of the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/memorial-gifts\"\u003ememorial collection\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Printify","offers":[{"title":"11oz","offer_id":49059193422073,"sku":"10011984933242600527","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0834\/1966\/0537\/files\/9971847601025000339_2048.jpg?v=1789335093"},{"product_id":"cardinal-tee-i-stop-for-cardinals-birdwatching-t-shirt","title":"\"I Stop for Cardinals\" T-Shirt — Northern Cardinal Birdwatching Tee","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEverybody stops for cardinals. Most people just don't admit it.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can be entirely uninterested in birds and still stop mid-sentence when a male cardinal lands on the fence. It is the reddest thing in an American backyard and it does not migrate, so it is also the reddest thing in an American backyard in February, against snow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the bird.\u003c\/strong\u003e Look for the pointed crest and the thick orange-red bill set in a black mask. The female wears the same crest and the same bill in warm buff-brown — which is the detail most people miss before they write her off as \"some brown bird\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCardinals hold the same territory year after year and come back to the same feeder, which is why people get attached to a particular pair.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe tee.\u003c\/strong\u003e Original illustration, printed to order in the USA, ships in 2–5 business days. See the size chart before ordering.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/apparel\"\u003eApparel\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Printify","offers":[{"title":"S \/ White","offer_id":49059206496505,"sku":"12635256344571554336","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"M \/ White","offer_id":49059206529273,"sku":"58219481422641582455","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"L \/ White","offer_id":49059206562041,"sku":"95406846313412716712","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"XL \/ White","offer_id":49059206594809,"sku":"10352303336682435549","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2XL \/ White","offer_id":49059206627577,"sku":"33109779007029972673","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"3XL \/ White","offer_id":49059206660345,"sku":"18292170071735816126","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0834\/1966\/0537\/files\/3291201556047764350_2048.jpg?v=1789335564"},{"product_id":"northern-cardinal-matte-poster-vintage-field-notes-bird-art","title":"Northern Cardinal Art Print — Field Notes Bird Identification Poster","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe bird everybody knows, drawn the way a field guide draws it.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur Northern Cardinal print comes from the Field Notes series — original illustrations built around the marks that actually settle an identification, not a stock photograph with a filter on it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat the drawing gets right.\u003c\/strong\u003e The pointed crest. The thick orange-red bill set in a black mask. And the female alongside — warm buff-brown, but wearing the same crest and the same bill, which is the detail people miss when they call her \"some brown bird\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCardinals don't migrate. They hold one territory year after year and return to the same feeders, which is why the pair outside your window in July is the pair outside your window in January — and why this is the bird that so often ends up standing for someone a family misses.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe print.\u003c\/strong\u003e Matte art paper, vertical format, printed to order in the USA. Standard sizes, so an off-the-shelf frame fits. Frame not included.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHangs well over a kitchen sink or beside the window with the feeder outside it. See the rest of the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/wall-art\"\u003eField Notes prints\u003c\/a\u003e, or \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/whats-that-bird\"\u003ework out what's on your feeder right now\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Printify","offers":[{"title":"8\" x 10\" \/ Matte","offer_id":49062891946233,"sku":"17094521761687864922","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0834\/1966\/0537\/files\/15179717732739082469_2048.jpg?v=1789378004"},{"product_id":"memorial-cardinal-poster-always-with-me-matte-vertical-wall-art","title":"Cardinal Memorial Art Print — \"Always With Me\" Sympathy Wall Art","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThree words, and a bird that keeps showing up.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere is a belief held quietly across much of the country that a cardinal in the yard is a visit from someone who has died. We are not going to tell you whether that is true. What we can say is why this bird, and not another, ended up carrying it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCardinals don't migrate. They hold the same territory year after year and come back to the same feeder, the same hedge, the same branch. They are the brightest thing in a yard in the dead of winter — which is usually the season when a family most needs something to look at.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDeliberately restrained.\u003c\/strong\u003e No long verse, no angels, no anniversary date. Just the bird and \"Always With Me\". The most common thing people say about sympathy gifts is that the poem on the front made it hard to display; three words leave room for the person to bring their own meaning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe print.\u003c\/strong\u003e Matte art paper, vertical format, printed to order in the USA. Standard sizes, so an off-the-shelf frame fits. Frame not included.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA note on timing.\u003c\/strong\u003e Something that arrives three or four weeks after the funeral, when the casseroles have stopped and everyone else has gone back to their lives, tends to land harder than something that arrives on the day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSee the rest of the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/memorial-gifts\"\u003ememorial collection\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Printify","offers":[{"title":"8\" x 10\" \/ Matte","offer_id":49063114998009,"sku":"29966751219700961262","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0834\/1966\/0537\/files\/8140036744955712238_2048.jpg?v=1789378960"}],"url":"https:\/\/thebirdporch.com\/collections\/cardinal-gifts.oembed","provider":"The Bird Porch","version":"1.0","type":"link"}