As lightning shook the valley, in the lush green-tinged, straw-colored cow pastures of my neighborhood, a guiding light passed through the storm clouds to guide this cow families retreat to safety. It was a moment out of a storybook. In this one scene, I had captured everything I have come to love about monsoon season in this small alcove in southern Arizona.

It is here that billowing white and blue-gray clouds fill the sky each morning as solitary cotton ball sculptures only to merge as the day goes on into a thunderous collective. It is here that the sky island rounds ring the valley in a protective wall of towering beauty. It is here that the cows graze peacefully, calling periodically to one another in familiar moo's and bellows so that they can form a group and move to the next fertile section of feed. And, it is here, on more days than not, that the heat-laden tranquility of the day is interrupted by the 3:00 pm afternoon light show as the sky empties its pent-up fury in seasonal rain and lightning.

I imagine each person must define what their paradise looks like. It is here that I have found mine. I am so very blessed to have been afforded this gift.

The Cow Pasture
©RGallucci Photography
Shoot Date: August 22, 2018
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Aperture priority ¹⁄₁₀ sec at f/8.0 1 EV
Lens: EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM @ 23 mm
ISO: 100