Summer Slips Away

​September 14, 2025

"What time is it?"  Skye asked in a low voice.

"3:25."

The alarm call of a ground squirrel had blown Coyote's cover from nearly a quarter mile away.

"Three o'clock Charlie"  Skye said.  "But you'd think if they were looking for a meal they wouldn't walk up the middle of the road."

There was no being stealthy now.  Every rodent and bird around knew who was afoot, and where.

"Maybe they were just headed home for a nap"  Grace mused.  

Mountain mahogany wore the afternoon sunlight elegantly.  The girls moved toward Mustang Rock at a leisurely pace.  The chores were done, the guests were gone, the day was theirs now, but there was precious little left of it.  Not enough to rush for.

They saw Rain Man first.  He looked healthy. They strained to see his ears.  Indeed it appeared that the hair inside his ears was a pure white, a color associated with deafness.  But was that somehow offset by the black rim around his ears?  Or might this be why someone was able to capture him?

The girls were not exactly hidden from view in their present location.  Rain Man had seen them.

Then the strawberry roan mare from Crazy's band appeared.

"I bet Crazy wouldn't let his mares go without a hell of a fight" Skye said.

Grace didn't answer.  Skye was probably right.  ButRain Man was much larger than Crazy.  Large enough to make it matter.

Lady Godiva appeared.

Moving out into view, Crazy appeared at last.  He looked no worse for the wear, and moved among the mares.  He was still in charge.  Rain Man was still the subordinate, the second in command, or perhaps even third behind the lead mare, the sweeper.

The horses moved to higher ground.  The girls followed, in a fashion, moving across the tops of small rock formations to get a better glimpse of the horses.

Crazy turned to face the girls, the terrain between them a safe barrier.  His harem followed suit.  They watched each other, horses and humans, for a few minutes.  Then the wildies moved off, across the rock escarpment and down into the dry creek bed below, where they could vanish into the thickness of tall brush, trees and evening shadows.  

The girls watched the sun slip behind the trees.

"We should do a campout before winter"  Skye said.  "With everybody."

There was a long bit of silence.

"The first day of autumn is a week from now"  Grace said, perplexed with the reality of it.  Where had the summer gone?

The sun slipped behind the mountain.  it was only 6:45 pm.

Grace thought she heard something as they walked back.  They stopped, looked, listened.

"What was it?" Skye asked as they started walking again.

Grace shook her head.  "Nothing."

Summer over.  Autumn's approach.  The signs were everywhere. The girls walked back in silence.  Until Skye broke it.

"Do you miss Dude?"

The girl might have been innocent, but she seemed to be saying a lot of things that left Grace without words.

"I got used to him being around"  Skye continued.  "I kind of miss him."

"It is definitely quieter without him here"  Grace finally answered.  
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