We’re in a large RV park that reminds us of the Siesta Bay Resort near Fort Myers.  Palms, flowers, and noisy blackbirds grace the grounds.  The temperature is now 74 degrees and a fresh breeze feels cool.  We have been exploring woodlands, marshes, and scrublands of the lower Rio Grande Valley and enjoying the associated subtropical flora and fauna. 

We have added three birds to our life list, Blue Bunting, Northern Jacana, and Groove-billed Ani.    That is a good number for a year and it is only February.  Of course adding birds becomes harder and harder.

The border is close but we have been stopped only once by the U.S. Border Patrol. 

We have been buying water here.  The tap water seems rather alkaline, tasting a bit of mud and metal. Chlorination makes it worse.  Water stations are all about so I guess many people prefer to pay a quarter per gallon for the little water needed for drinking and cooking.

It seems all of Minnesota is now in South Texas.  I hope somebody turned off the lights.

Pretzels, seltzer, and rye bread are hard to come by here.  I never realized our taste had become so regional.  Grocery stores are few and far between.  One chain, H.E.B. has stores in every town.  Walmart provides competition.

We’re three weeks in “the lower valley” making a short hop each Sunday.  Last week we stayed at Brownsville.  There we drove to the beach and walked three miles south to the mouth of the local river.  Across the way were Mexican fishermen.  We waved across to each other, we across the Rio Grande River and they across the Rio Bravo.  A flock of lovely Bonaparte Gulls sat on the water nodding their heads to catch small creatures.  The border meant nothing to them.

The entire region is part of the river delta and old channels are everywhere.  Sections of these channels are full of water and thus oxbow lakes or resacas as they are called here.  Three species of kingfishers perch along these waters.  Elsewhere in this country there is only one species.  That is a good reason for visiting south Texas in the winter time.

In some ways this area resembles south Florida.  The weather is warm and sometimes moist, palms and flowers adorn the parks, and much Spanish is spoken.  In others it is completely different.  Cold snaps are sharp and the humidity can vanish, the woodlands are thorn scrub, and the Spanish is Mexican not Cuban.  Security is more of an issue, but we don’t feel particularly threatened. 

The climate will become more and more arid as we move west.  During these three weeks we are  making short moves each week.  Brownsville last week, Weslaco this week, and Mission next week.  Each move takes less than an hour.  This part of Texas is warm in February and has the largest potential for rare birds.  The move from Brownsville to Weslaco and then on to Mission are east to west.  The Rio Grande runs southeast but here flows east and then slightly northeast to the Gulf of Mexico.  But west of Mission the river comes from the northwest and into dryer and dryer country.  We will move into the desert to find cactus and cactus wren.  Interesting changes in scenery are coming.

We pack two plants, a Kalanchoe made from a cutting of a plant of my mother and a clump of bromeliad that makes us think of Dad Woods.  They are both showy in bloom now.  Texas weather is good for them.

Our voyage continues well with few problems.  Today we took time in the afternoon to visit a tire shop with the rig.  One tire had been loosing air.  A valve stem had failed and was replaced.  My back caused me grief last week but seems to be behaving now.  After the root canal in Kingsville, we need no more medical issues.

We follow the news loosely.  No state budget in Pennsylvania yet.  The Democratic governor wants to increase spending and taxes.  The Republicans want less of both.  They offered to keep the status quo but no deal and still no budget for 2016.

I see Trump won some more.  An unhappy editorialist complained that the candidate is too cheerful and contrasted his praise of the uneducated who support him with the President's bitter criticism of residents of small towns in Pennsylvania (of whom I am one) when he was a candidate. 

It seems likely that Mr. Obama really does hate us, but Mr. Trump shows no obvious prejudice.  Sure the Democrats suggest he is racist because he opposes illegal immigration, but his manner, words, and patterns show no particular prejudice, and he seems decent and welcoming to all. 

The conservative editorialist complained of this and of Trump's universal popularity despite his not being a "true conservative."  I'm sure that is disappointing to him, but that is not what is disappointing about Trump to the Republican Party elite who hate Trump because he is not one of them. 

None of this makes him unpopular with me, but I have trouble taking him seriously.  He could be a reformer, but will he be?  Some of his statements and suggestions are downright silly.  Does he mean them, or does he make them to win the election?  That is somewhat dangerous either way.  If he wins, how will he govern?  Not by platitudes, I hope.  He might be a good manager, but what policies will he pursue?  I guess we should look to see what "platform" he espouses.  Perhaps he has a web site.  I guess it is time to look.

I fear that he could be a playboy president in the manner of Berlusconi of Italy, but that may be my prejudice.  I believe the Donald to be a much better man than the Silvio.  Let us hope so!