BANCROFT, Neb. -- For most of us, one of America's favorite songbirds is found in our backyards.
For 83-year-old Pauline Sorensen, the red birds can be found all over her house in an extensive collection.
Without the mess or investment in bird seed.
"I started many years ago," she reminisced in her Cuming County home in the northeast corner of Nebraska. "I just love the real cardinals. That's how I started the collection."
Most of the items were given to Sorensen, such as a stained glass creation, featuring both male and female birds -- that was a gift from her niece Joanne Stager.
Although you don't see much of the bird's distinctive red plumage in the winter, Sorensen has a number of "seasonal" cardinals. A snow globe dusts the birds while a music box plays -- not the bird's distinctive "cheer-cheer-cheer" chirp -- but "Joy to the World." Elsewhere, red Christmas lights in the shape of cardinals twinkle.
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There they are in the kitchen on her canister tins in a winter holiday presentation. Don't forget the cookie and candy jars. And towels.
And even though eggs are associated with Easter, Sorensen has a Russian Faberge-style egg in which a cardinal perches on a branch inside a cutout of a holly leaf and berry decorative exterior.
"I got that one in California," she explained. "I believe the egg is a duck egg."
As with most collectors, Sorensen has a favorite. It's a delicately decorated, glass creation of two cardinals on an elliptical branch with small flowers as accents, a gift from her niece Donna Crilly.
"This is one I just like to look at," she said, turning it around. "But honestly, none of the cardinals is unattractive to me."
Her son Joe Sorensen, an accomplished artist, created an unusual painting, depicting a cardinal stretching. Inside a paned glass cabinet, a life-sized, bright red cardinal with his precise crest and black-trimmed beak hovers.
A friend provided her with a photograph of cardinal, with the bird's wings outstretched in flight.
"That was unusual because it was the first time my friend picked up a camera and she captured that moment," Sorensen explained.
Some of the cardinals could use a weight-loss program, such as a hefty cardinal candy dish, while others could use some bulking up like the thinner ceramic ones.
The number of cardinals in Sorensen's house would easily make up an aviary.
"I started to count them one day," she admitted. "I gave up. Maybe I'll take that on again some day."
The perfect display area is Sorensen's fireplace mantel, which has a couple of free-standing cardinals, one on a plaque and some that perch on limbs, gifts from her friend Tami Rogers. In front of the fireplace is a cardinal-decorated rug, a gift from another friend, Catherine Neiman.
The birds grace pillows on her sofa, in both cross-stitch and applique, adding a colorful accent to the living room, pulling that primary color together. A cardinal blanket lies across the back of the couch, and when unfolded, is large enough to cover a double bed, created by another friend, Ima Jean Tonjes.
A cabinet is full of the birds, in every shape and size and facial expression. Yes, some look like they are frowning; some laughing; some introspective; some intense.
Then, there are the whimsical cardinals. One fire-engine red bird has abandoned the traditional tree branch for a swing. Another is the base for a potted plant. Sorensen doesn't hear them because they're inside, but hanging from the ceiling is set of cardinal wind chimes.
"I just wish they were all real," she said.
The vast majority of Sorensen's cardinals are male, noted for their red cloak and black trim. The female cardinal boasts a smaller crest than her mate, with feathers that could be brown or cream with red trim.
"Those are a bit harder to find," Sorensen acknowledged. "There's one in the stained glass and one on a pillow and I think that's it."
With all of these cardinals surrounding her, does Sorensen collect anything else?
"Miniature spoons," she replied, directing attention to a wall cabinet. "They don't take up as much room as the cardinals and they're from all over the world."
