My husband Will and I were returning from a two-week vacation in the Mt Shasta/Redwoods area of northern California in June of 2004. We were talking about how our lives had been changed by this trip as our plane soared high over the clouds. I leaned forward in the seat to get a magazine and glanced over my shoulder to see the sun setting in the wings of the plane and noticed the large ringed vortex of clouds. I thought how unique and how appropriate it was to end our trip with this photo. I had taken several photos through the window of the plane and it was very hard to choose which one for this publication!

I had not looked at the photos from our trip until I read the theme for this issue. The Silver Bird's bird's-eye view looking over my shoulder, westward to California as we traveled eastward back to New Hampshire seemed like the right photo for this theme. Even now when I see sunsets and cloud formations, I think of when we were saying goodbye to California and this photo!

Joya Clark
OwlWoman.com