dkm

On the artistic side: The composition and handling here are wonderful. I love the placement of the whiskers, and the green of her eye.

On the technical side, you don't give any tech data. What f-stop did you use? You probably needed something like f22 to keep the eye and whiskers both sharp. The trouble with macros (and closeups) is the closer you get, the smaller dof. This in turn would extend the exposure time, and the chance that Sarah would move.

I like this a lot. :) Nicely done.

Definitely an unusual point of view. I like the way the bridge is treated not as a feature but as a part of the landscape, which of course it is.

As for the sky, I understand completely your problem with timing. It's hard on a short visit to see everything you want at the "right" or best time. Treat it like a scouting trip, now you have an excuse to go back. :)

One suggestion I would make though is to get an ND grad filter. It would help you hold color in the sky by reducing the contrast. You can approximate its effect after the fact in PS, but the filter itself is better and not expensive. (Get the square one, not a round screw-on.) Once you've used one, you'll wonder how you ever did without it.