Shadow plays down the ridge. We await its transformation.
The Gutierrez Canyon Open Space overlook bakes in the afternoon sun. My husband lies on the rock. I tell him he looks like he’s on a funeral pyre.
Shade. One could nap on the pyre now. I recline on rock, monsoon breeze cooling me, and consider it. Huge puzzle piece clouds slide over, lock into each other.
Guadalupe and Mosca Peaks stand bruise-blue on the horizon. The hue communicates the rain we can’t see.
Narrow trails twist through pinon and juniper spiked with moss and lichen. A handful of crows bleat furiously as we pass. My husband suspects a predator nearby, maybe a bobcat. When we pass back by, the crows crank a new symphony. Maybe it’s us they’re protesting.
Something’s been about, though. A rabbit, recently bloodied, lies dead on the trail, a warning.
We pass no one, see nothing but life and death.
Hike length: 5 miles
Difficulty: moderate
Trail traffic: none
Wildlife spotted/heard: beetles, butterflies, hummingbirds, crows, hawk, nuthatch, sparrows, striped and spotted lizards, dead rabbit
Woman Seeks Elevation 
That lizard appears blue and grey. Are those its main colors? Tell Will not to fall over the side.
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Those were indeed its main colors! Never seen a lizard with that color combination before. William gets closer to the edge than I do, but has enough restraint that he has yet to fall over.
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