SUnday

September 7, 2025
Grace stopped here and there, looking for the perfect vantage point.  Up on the rock ledge would do nicely, but getting there would take some determination on the part of their little Jeep.

"To me these are kind of the weirdest clouds" she mused.  "You can see the atmospheric moisture getting pulled together to form them.  They take on all these crazy shapes.  Completely unpredictable.  Perturbed and disrupted by the same forces and elements that create them.  That's what it feels like to me, anyway.  And they rarely become thunderheads.  In fact maybe never.  But don't quote me on that."

"A good thunderstorm would be awesome."  Skye alternately attempted to photograph the clouds with the iPad,  and pasued to enjoy the changing light.  Sometimes they were momentarily cooled by cloud cover.  Mostly, it was still hot, and the humidity reached down to the ground.

"That's a rhinoceros fish chasing a shrimp"  Skye said, capturing a cloud formation.  In a moment, it was something different.

"Coming down is going to be a lot easier than getting up here was"  Grace said, riding the brakes, leaning back in her seat, and hoping she'd gauged the path properly.  "Got a hold of that iPad?"

"Yup."

Going up the rocks had been slow and winding and at one point not entirely certain.  Coming down was another matter.  The iPad slipped gently to the floorboard.

Skye put her hand on Grace's arm, motioning toward the quail.   They made a frantic scramble for cover.

A male stood watch while the rest of the family slipped through the grass, and away.  They would choose another open location to continue foraging, but one farther from Skye's view.  

Grace saw the deer before Skye did.    They were a considerable distance away, somewhat consumed by the landscape.  As Skye tried to frame them, there was a great commotion among the quail.  A Cooper's hawk had swooped down upon them, sending them scattering in every direction, but coming away with empty talons.

The deer vanished.  The girls parked the Jeep, walked about, looking for the tell-tale signs of a bird hunt, the blast of feathers that are released on impact.  Skye came across a single raptor feather.

"You think it's from the hawk?"  she asked Grace.

"Not sure.  I think it's a butt fluff off of a raptor.  Could be the Cooper's hawk?  Might also be an owl feather.  The boss will either know, or know someone who does."

The night was lovely.  Quiet.  Grace was restless.

"Let's go watch the moon rise"  Skye suggested.

It took a little bit to get themselves sorted.  The moon was already rising as they reached the ridge line to the east of the ranch.

"We should do this more often often" Skye said softly.

Grace nodded.
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