Red bud ... red bird

Who doesn't like a bright red cardinal on a cold, snowy day? This bird is a native North American songbird. It is a male northern cardinal. The female northern cardinal is not bright red.

The seed pods hanging from the limbs look like dried up pea pods. The pods are flat with between two to six small dark brown seeds. If you pick the pods after they dry in autumn, the seeds will be mature and hard. You can tell if the small seeds are good by dropping them into a cup of water. Bad deeds will float. Good seeds will sink.

The redbud tree is actually a member of the pea family, the same green peas that you can grow in your garden.

I took this photo last winter, Jan. 25.