A message from Charlie?

For as long as I can remember, my favourite colour has been blue - whether royal, peacock, or indigo, I love them all. Blue is the colour of the sky when the sun is shining brightly and the sea, which is my happy place. Blues don’t make me feel blue; they bring me joy.

It is said by many that when you see a cardinal, it is a message from a loved one who has left this earth. We certainly have no shortage of cardinals in our garden, for which I am so grateful. But I have never felt that one of those cardinals is a message from Charlie. I might be wrong but, as I have said many times before, if Charlie were a bird, there’s no way she would do what everyone else does. Charlie always marched to the beat of her own drum. She would absolutely be her own bird!

That’s why what happened to Carl and me today was so extraordinary.

Last year, with the help of some friends, we found what we knew was the perfect tree to plant next to Charlie’s grave. It’s not an easy tree to find, and we were warned that it’s not easy to keep alive. But we knew that a weeping cherry, with its graceful branches and pretty pink blossoms, was destined to be Charlie’s tree. We had to give it at least a go.

I worried it mightn’t survive its first winter when it’s most vulnerable. So, Charlie’s cherry tree was wrapped in burlap to protect it from the elements. I haven’t visited the spot since last fall for emotional reasons, so I had no idea how the tree had fared. I just kept my fingers crossed.

I have seen quite a few trees in bloom this week, and each one reminded me of Charlie’s tree. So Carl and I decided to go together today to check that the cherry tree had been unwrapped and was still happy in its new home. We were curious to see whether it had blossomed in its first spring and hoped we hadn’t missed it.

It wasn’t the warmest of days, and wouldn’t you know it, the rain started to come down shortly after we left home. But five minutes later, we arrived — we are fortunate that Charlie’s grave is so close — and the rain had stopped. We were thrilled to find that the burlap had been removed, and Charlie’s tree was covered in little blossoms! It’s a little thing, but it means so much to us.

As wonderful as it was to see the tree and its blossoms, an even more amazing surprise awaited us. I bent down to take a photo of the cherry, and as I stood up, I noticed a speck of blue on the tree just beyond Charlie’s. It was an Indigo bunting!

Indigo buntings are most commonly found south of us in warmer climes like Mexico. To see one on a cool spring day in Ontario is particularly unusual. In fact, I have only ever seen two Indigo buntings in my life. I remember clearly the last time I saw one. I was sitting in the garden with Charlie, watching the birds on our feeder. I remember telling her how thrilled I was to see a bunting because it’s such a rare sight and, of course, that they’re my favourite birds because they’re Indigo blue! As it happens, that was Charlie’s last summer.

Photo credit: Minessota Breeding Bird Atlas © David Brislance

And that’s why when I spotted this bunting, I was completely overwhelmed. Tears streamed down my face as Carl and I held each other, each knowing just what the other was thinking. At moments like that, no words are necessary. It truly felt to us both as though Charlie were sending us a message.

Thank you, Charlie. We love you, too.