Quinta Mazatlan

It was the first genuinely cool morning of the season, an absolutely beautiful morning. For my Midwestern friends, it was like this- you know that first spring-y morning after the long, REALLY cold winter, when it's warm and sunny and you think, ahhhh, yes, THIS, this is hope.
THAT is what it felt like that morning, only the opposite- after the long, so hot summer, it's cool and sunny and I thought, ahhhh, yes, THIS is hope.

It was one of those mornings when it is all delight to home school, because we can say NOW! Let's go right now! And we did. Yeah, we're that family you might see out on a weekday morning and wonder, "why aren't they in school?" We went to Quinta Mazatlan, the McAllen wing of the World Birding Center. Quinta Mazatlan is a beautiful old adobe mansion, but we didn't spend much time inside. There are walking trails all around, and we're told that we'll see more and more birds as migration from the north continues.

Spontaneous field trips are just as fun now as they have always been. We saw only a handful of people until leaving, when a group of very cheerful seniors greeted us on our way out. But in all honesty, I think next time I'll return by myself, find one of those hidden benches, and just be still...
with my camera, of course.