Aki runs along Mendenhall Lake like something is chasing her. I look for an enemy but only see crisp alder leaves cart-wheeling past her. Then I realize that she is chasing the leaves.

It’s a sunny day but we are in the shade of a small cloud that has taken control of the sun. Each time it changes form, the cloud directs a spotlight on a different section of the moraine. The cloud isn’t big enough to keep the sun from illuminating the glacier and Mts. McGinnis and Stroller White. But it manages to tantalize me with shafts of light that hit patches of yellow-leafed willows, Nugget Falls or a small iceberg. The light shifts each time I try to focus the camera.

Finally I figure it out. The cloud is my tricky teacher. After learning its lesson, I put away the camera and watch the light show, and the crisp shadows the cloud throws on the mountains.