Thirty-seven degrees Fahrenheit, twenty-five mile per hour northeasterly winds, and a motley brew of cloud cover greet Cooper and me en route to the immutable shortgrass prairie of the Llano Estacado plain. A somber cloak smothers the prairie palette. Penetrating, razor-sharp, icy claws of Old Man Winter’s henchman the North Wind ripple layers of my clothing and wreak havoc with exposed skin on hands and face. Cooper seems unaffected by the wind’s mischief.
Moments later the early winter sun breaches the eastern horizon. Capriciously the amber tinted clouds part and entice the light to pour into the plain. Clusters of yucca bayonets punctuate the prairie and cast fickle shadows into the withered vegetation. Our fleeting shadows join the joyous dance of awakening. Cooper’s red coat is ablaze.
Barely perceptible flight calls of geese draw my attention into the gray skies. Long shifting curved lines and wedges of Canadian Geese emerge from the direction of the rising sun. The noisy bunches appear intent on traveling in a southwesterly direction. They understand the cold whispers of the north wind--polar air masses and snow are on the way.
© Ilija Lukić 2011
Moments later the early winter sun breaches the eastern horizon. Capriciously the amber tinted clouds part and entice the light to pour into the plain. Clusters of yucca bayonets punctuate the prairie and cast fickle shadows into the withered vegetation. Our fleeting shadows join the joyous dance of awakening. Cooper’s red coat is ablaze.
Barely perceptible flight calls of geese draw my attention into the gray skies. Long shifting curved lines and wedges of Canadian Geese emerge from the direction of the rising sun. The noisy bunches appear intent on traveling in a southwesterly direction. They understand the cold whispers of the north wind--polar air masses and snow are on the way.
© Ilija Lukić 2011
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| Prairie Shadows (Cooper and El Llanero Viejo) |
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