Strands of moss twisting in the current
Big-lipped carp greedily sucking in dead mayflies in the foam
Layers of gravel in a steep cutbank – laid down by a forgotten deluge
A mule deer mother and her yearling atop a high ridgeline, ears up and alert
Osprey screeching above the cliffs, bound for downriver
Deep water pushes heavily against a bluff, turns back on itself, and slips away
Water-worn stones reveal the unrelenting past
Pelicans riding thermals, so high their white undersides resemble distant jetliners
Silence, then a breeze, and the sound of sheets being removed from a bed, it’s the leaves
Silver flashes in amongst the cottonwoods
A brown spider walks across my bare foot, a butterfly lands on my chest
Wind coming up, temperature cooling down, time for dinner