You'd be hard pressed to miss the deep red color of a northern cardinal against a backdrop of winter but if you do, the bright whistling tone is sure to catch your ear. Especially late winter when the lengthening light seems to trigger a different type of morning song. The kind that suggests the days of winter are numbered. I heard it about the same time the days finally became noticeably longer a few weeks ahead of meteorological spring and a full month ahead the vernal equinox. I'm counting the days. Are you?