The Cardinal Climber
Photography and Article by Curtis Beaird
Determination is worth the effort.
Cardinal Climbers require some, but not much. Soil, but not the best. Water, in okay amounts. Cardinal Climbers manage; no, they actually use the the full light of the sun and the heat of the day to produce their beauty and best. Things don’t always have to be right for a Cardinal Climber. They are determined to grow.
Take only what you need.
Climbers need water; but, a little goes a long way. They clearly decided long ago, somewhere between the ice age and our back yard, that they can and will make up the difference between what it has, what it needs and its intent on life and growth. It understands how much is enough.
Too much of a good thing can cause problems.
The Climber knows water is critical to life; but, too much can bring blight. It’s glad for an easy does it approach to this wet necessity. It uses what it has and seems glad for what it got. The little blooms are beautiful.
Use what you have. Work with what you’ve got.
Our Cardinal Climber accepted the aid of a scraggly bush. The gnarly limbs were way short of the full length that the Climber could and would grow. Once it reached the highest point, the Cardinal Climber used the circumstance to produce a cascading flow of popping red blooms.
Reach.
Always grow toward the light. The Cardinal Climber, as its name implies, is happiest climbing. Climbing is its native joy. Once it reaches the top of its support, a trellis or a tree, it will reach a little further, striving for the light.
Share.
The Cardinal Climber’s bright red blooms brings beauty to the world and offers sustenance to butterflies and hummingbirds. The Cardinal Climber avoids greed, participates freely in the lives of its neighbors, and celebrates the rain when it comes. The Cardinal Climber is generous.
Sustain Yourself. Plan on Surviving.
Cardinal Climbers plan ahead. Spring brings roots and delicate stems and then vines reaching for the sky. Summer brings a burst of bright red blooms. While small in size, they are a delight when at their full number. The approaching Autumn brings the seed, a tough, dark shell holding next year’s life. About three times the size of the period at the end of this sentence, the Cardinal Climber seed puts enough of itself into this rough husk to make it through the winter and be ready for Spring’s first rains.
Even a Cardinal Climber can be our teacher.
To read Part Two, click on the following link: "Bloom"
Copyright 2014, Curtis and Norma Beaird. All rights reserved.
