SOLVED. YA Fantasy: Siblings visit aunt and uncle in the country and discover they can ride along in the minds of animals

[Jeanette]

This YA fantasy series was geared toward children and young teenagers. It was about siblings (two sisters and a brother, I think) who go to visit relatives (I think a young aunt and uncle) in a remote location. The children discover they can ride along in the minds of animals and learn about the natural world. I remember one passage very distinctly talking about the forest near the house and how one section had been cut for timber and regrown with evenly spaced pine trees, very spooky. The other section of the forest was old growth, very light and open. There was one line that went something like: "I hate starlings, they always fight dirty."

I think I read this series in the late '90s, about the same time I discovered Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" sequence. But I'm not sure they were written at the same time.

[Jeanette]

This is The Magician's House Quartet

[Rainbowheart]

Glad you found it!

The Steps Up the Chimney for the link to the first in the series.