One of the joys of living in New Orleans was discovered by Mother Maddalena when she tried to establish a Poor Clare monastery in that city in 1877: Sister Agnes [it was the young postulant, Anna Moran] had a little cardinal bird of which she took great care. We amused ourselves by giving it the flies that fell into our coffee. [With windows not screened, flies of course abounded.] The little bird would take the flies, quickly rinse them in the water [it seemed it did not like them with coffee] and then hop up under the roof to eat them.