Return of the Swallows
Today is St. Joseph's Day, when the cliff swallows traditionally return to Mission San Juan Capistrano. I say "traditionally," because the only swallows nests you'll find there today are the fake ones tacked in place for purposes of "historical interpretation." (Picture and excerpted blog entry via OC Historical Roundup)
I'm writing today about my 4th-grade field trip to Mission San Juan Capistrano, the "crown jewel of the California missions." And in revisiting that experience, I find myself waxing nostalgic about the swallows–and to a broader significance, what it means to "migrate" and then return to one's original nest.