Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

On that last visit to the horses, from which I ended up with 2,000+ photos, from which these last several batches of posts have come, I came upon Bounce’s toward the end of the day. It was about midafternoon, really, but I stayed with them longer than I realized, and the sun was sinking when I finally left. I saw all but four bands that day, including some I hadn’t seen except at a distance all winter. I was looking specifically for Bounce’s … and they were my last, ultra-glorious visit of the day.

I have two basic, personal “rules” of visiting the basin: Don’t flirt with wet weather, and don’t set an agenda.

So “looking specifically for Bounce’s” – or anybody – was breaking the “rules.” But sometimes some rules are meant to be broken (like “the rule of thirds” and “always shoot with the sun at your back”). And I just had a feeling … and “in the back,” where I thought they might be, sure enough, there they were.

Hello, lovely. It’s been awhile, eh?

Whisper is so big and so dark that when I first walked out, I was constantly looking between him and Bounce to determine which one, in fact, WAS Bounce.

But when I got closer, more characteristics – youthful – started to reveal themselves. Whisper was close to Alegre, and Bounce was farther out. In fact, I’m not really sure when Bounce realized I was there. I sat down up from Alegre, and I ended up there for goodness knows how long.

Definitely March. Gorgeous and sunny, but the wind – and it was stiff – had a chill edge to it; I should have worn my jacket. The La Sals were visible in the distance – unlike the previous day, when they were wreathed in clouds – but I stayed long enough that their crown became a shroud that hid them, eventually, fully. A storm brewing!

Not much later, even this view of the La Sals would be gone, hidden by snow clouds.

Over the basin, brilliant sunshine – to the northwest and across the north: clouds. Looking east, a normal sunny blue day in Colorado; looking north-northwest (toward the mountains) … something a little special with the light.

Lovely light on lovely Alegre.

And bugs. 🙂 I don’t know what they were – something I imagine the trout would rise to gobble (if there were trout in Spring Creek Basin!). Tiny – half an inch long? – mostly sheer shimmering translucent wings, bodies teeny. They came through the air with the wind all at once in a flutter of half a dozen, in waves, every so often. One landed near me … at least a couple kissed Alegre on her lovely nose.

Her reaction after her “kiss.”

There’s Bounce yonder … mountains winked out of sight …

We had mostly sunshine …

… and a few moments of cloud cover. Is it weird that all the shapes I saw in the clouds were carnivores – and upside down?

Is she not the most gorgeous of girls?

She paused her grazing for a nap …

…

… and we all napped together.

The ground, rocky as it is in that area, was surprisingly comfortable. The chill-tipped wind, not so much. I think I really would have drifted peacefully into full sleep except that I was shivering. ‘Legs stood close by, eyes mostly closed, checking on me now and then as I raised my head to check on her. I got the feeling a foal might have … mama standing protectively nearby … all right with the world. About a month now, and our first foals of the season will be feeling just that!

Bounce disappeared from sight. The ground dropped off between us and him – Whisper, in the photo above, is standing just on the edge, I think.

I can’t come up with a word for how wonderfulgorgeousbeautifulsublimephenomenalmagnificentastoundingbrilliantfantastic it was.

This is the first *I* knew that HE knew I was there. He may have known before, but neither Alegre’s nor Whisper’s behavior would have tipped him off – and he does look a little surprised, eh? 🙂

He went out of sight again … and awhile later, I looked over, and he had come up – just his head in view – behind Whisper. The next events were funny!

Staying just like that – just his head in view (I was still lying on the ground), he nickered at Alegre. She ignored him. He nickered again. She was grazing – ignoring him that I could tell. More nickering … she eventually grazed her way toward – but not to – him.

One of the funniest things I’ve seen yet. 🙂 She wandered on up the hill and above me and around the other side of me while he stood on the edge of decision.

How handsome is he? Shooting toward the sun as it was just above Knife Edge – my camera did not want to focus on him. This is him finally following Alegre.

Whisper followed, too, of course.

Handsome daddy Bounce + gorgeous mama Alegre = one good looking boy!

Bounce and Whisper. The boy will be 2 in May.

See the grey muzzle? Showing his wisdom. 🙂

Glorious

And that catches me up on my last visit!

It’s a tricky thing in the mountains to say too early “It’s spring!” But that’s just how it feels. I’ve lived here long enough now to know “the rule”: Don’t be hasty ushering in spring because that’s just the time Mother Nature alerts you that she’s the ruler of the universe and decides to go cavorting with Father Winter after she’s teased you with melting snow and 60-degree weather and glorious sunshine (do I say glorious a lot?). That said, it sure feels like spring! We had a pretty mild winter, though … which portends a rather dry summer.

Fuzzy coats are still fairly thick (and that’s another sign that it’s not quite over yet, winter …), and the horses look – say it with me: glorious. 🙂