Around 7:30 p.m., I went out to my driveway and pulled a
little stool to the street end, placed it against my car's rear bumper, and
stretched one arm along the bumper. I enjoy looking at the display of clouds. My
cat came out and stretched out on the driveway nearby.
At that time of evening, here in Vegas, usually between 7:30
and 8:30 p.m., skywatchers are treated to a lazy string of helicopters headed
home from their tourist tours. If I'm not mistaken, I think they are tours of
the Grand Canyon. When I first moved here in '01, Jane and I used to sit on the
front porch and watch them. Back then, we were lucky to see six or 10. These
days, it is not unusual to see 20 to 25. They aren't spaced at precise
intervals but they never tailgate (or should that be ruddergate?) each other.
Nice and easy. I get a kick out of counting them.
Then I saw this bumpy cloud bank.
When I first saw it, it was definitely the head and
shoulders of a rooster, then it shifted to a hen, and then to a duck. From the
duck it became almost a seahorse but quickly became a bleating lamb, mouth
open, and then to a cow's head, lifted to moo.
I was totally fascinated at this point. The bank of clouds
moved so slowly it didn't seem to move at all. I was gauging the distance
between two tall palm.
When I glanced next, it was a dog's head. At first I thought
it was a Schnauzer but decided it was more boxy, like a Scottish Terrier. That
shifted into a three-quarter back view of a reclining cat, little ears pointed
upward, and then into - nothing!
I wasn't exactly disappointed, but maybe, in a
little way, I might have been. I was so delighted with this show, so quiet, so
varied, so artistic, and so "free!"
Considering my past few days, it was a really nice, peaceful
and soothing gift from above...
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