The Neighbours

Northern Cardinal on Hydrangea

Garden’s Edge, late September

Bathed in the mellow glow of early autumn, a male Northern Cardinal perches with poise among fading hydrangeas. His vivid scarlet plumage ignites the scene—a sharp contrast to the golden-yellow and soft green leaves curling into fall.

Frozen in a fleeting moment, the bird’s alert gaze and delicate footing on a fading pink blossom evoke the tension between stillness and departure, echoing the season’s quiet shift.

This image invites the viewer to notice beauty not in grand gestures, but in brief, bright visits—the way colour clings a little longer, and how even the ordinary garden becomes a canvas of wild elegance.