An Early Father's Day Surprise

This one was for the Father of my once-were children :o}

Wetlands

Darrell and I (known as Grandpa, or Abuelo and Grandma, or Abuela Harmon to the kids) loaded a bus yesterday with Mrs. Harmon's (Bethany L) 3rd grade class.  Having just studied wetlands, all five 3rd grade classes at the school went for a field day to explore the real thing, just a short drive away.

We all donned rubber boots in order to trudge through the water, sometimes reaching higher than some of the children's boot tops!



It was like being in a jungle...........  or our yard at home!

We learned about things like pH.....

.....did some net fishing and examined specimens we caught under the microscopes.....

.....saw pelts of some animals that live in wetlands, then made plaster animal tracks.....

.....had a plant walk, learning the different plants that thrive on wetlands, and guess what?  Most of them are right here in our yard.  Hmmmm.

We also heard about the different birds, most of which I have spotted here and knew the names of :o}

Our yard isn't entirely like this.  But some of it certainly would qualify as a wetland I think.  But we've left most of it natural, so I believe we are okay ;-)

It was an educational and fun day, albeit somewhat long!  Everyone was tired and a bit cold by the time we returned to the school, but glad we had this experience.

That Bird

That bird?  The one I couldn't identify?  I browsed a bird book at the Antique Rose Farm while I was there Saturday selecting a fragrant yellow rose for the spot next to the house that I removed a lilac tree from last fall.  It is a juevenile Spotted Towhee!  How 'bout them eggs?

Spring Birds

Last week the Black-Headed Grosbeaks returned from their winter migration down to Mexico, Central America and South America!

The males are so bright and colorful!

These are males.  The female is muted in its coloring.

I am unable to indentify this new bird to our feeders.  Does anyone out there know what this is?  It is fairly large in size.

Another shot to help you identify it :-)

We have also seen a number of Dark-eyed Junco fledglings recently.  The Juncos spent the winter here, so must have nested here also.

First BBQ of the Season

A Mexican BBQ was the fare for a wonderfully sunny Mother's Day this year :o}  It tasted just like the food we made at The Little Mexican Cooking School !  Thanks to Ryan, Scott & Bethany Lynn!

Adios

Very difficult.  So sad.  Saying farewell to the beauty and warmth of Mexico.  Arriving home to heavy rains, marble-sized hail and even a bit of snow yesterday............. *sniff*

Dessert de Mexico

Strawberry Flambé

Bethany Lynn took a video of the flaming of this dessert.  It was pretty impressive!