Diggin’ it

21 01 2019

Killian; McKenna Peak and Temple Butte

Lower Disappointment Valley has melted into basic brown again, for the most part. High temps melt snow, which creates mud, which leads to undriveable roads.

Naturally, we’re craving colder temps and more snow. 🙂

As I type this Sunday evening, we’re hoping Monday’s forecast for snow proves accurate, even down here in the “low lands.”

Above, Killian was digging through the (fairly) new snow to get to the grass beneath. They’re working a bit harder for their grub this winter (!), but they take it all as it comes. They’re WILD, after all! 🙂





On the move

20 01 2019

Maiku

Handsome little Maiku is on a mission … known only to him. The band he’s with was to the left, and he went trotting away from them. Ah, the mysteries of mustangs.





Aware

19 01 2019

Spirit

Today’s inspiration comes from an email from a local environmental group that is as profound to that audience, dedicated to protecting high-elevation Colorado, as it is to us, protecting Colorado’s high-desert mustangs:

And finally, just a snippet from the poem “Sometimes” by late poet Mary Oliver.
4.
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
(Thank you to a former journalism co-worker who introduced me to the poetry of Mary Oliver. :))




Fuzz bug

18 01 2019

Corazon

We’ve gone back to grey and drizzly. We have less snow and more mud. The more (moisture), the better. 🙂





Always the brave

17 01 2019

Spirit and Puzzle

The morning started sunny – which is less normal this month than almost ever in Colorado – then turned cloudy. We have some moisture in the forecast, so cloudy is good, and if clouds bring ANY kind of moisture while we continue on in the D4 (worst) drought category, clouds are good.

You can see by the grassy patches under Spirit’s and Puzzle’s hooves that our snow is melting, so more clouds and more moisture would be welcome. Though I’m sure the ponies enjoy easy access to even the slight offering of last year’s marginal growth. 🙂

A side note: Check out Spirit’s little under-eyeliner of brown. What a sense of fashion and makeup that little girl has!





Arched

16 01 2019

Tenaz

There’s always something about a beautiful bay mustang.

There’s something even more magical about a beautiful bay mustang during a snowfall.

Tenaz was defending a young mare from a young stallion. Chivalry; it ain’t dead, folks. 🙂

**********

Karen and Shaun Mason are visitors to Spring Creek Basin who compiled a 2019 calendar of photos of the mustangs. They’ll donate $5 from every calendar purchase to the Colorado chapter of the National Mustang Association, which supports the mustangs of Spring Creek Basin and elsewhere in Southwest Colorado.

The images are gorgeous and “processed in photographic oil,” which gives a really lovely, painterly quality to the photos.

If you’re in need of a calendar that really is art, check out Karen’s and Shaun’s!





Seeing mustangs far in the trees

15 01 2019

Long, far mustangs

Do you see them? They were hard for me to find, and I was looking hard. Slightly left and above center, there are some black bits smaller than the trees. There are actually two bands and a couple of bachelors up there.

They were the first to get the sunlight when the sun finally rose above the deep cloud bank lingering to the southeast. On the “flats,” there’s still an average of maybe 3 or 4 inches of snow

We’ve had lots of melting as well as some tantalizing drifting wisps of snow falling. More is in the forecast. 🙂





Little Red

14 01 2019

Tesora

She doesn’t have a riding hood … but little red Tesora doesn’t need one. 🙂





Spots and waves

13 01 2019

Chipeta

Chipeta looks almost as though she’s moving through ocean waves in the snowy expanse of Spring Creek Basin.





Marvelosity

12 01 2019

Something a little different today …

Snow in Spring Creek Basin

Snow in Spring Creek Basin

Snow in Spring Creek Basin

Warm temps are melting the snow. There’s still quite a bit, which means plenty of mud in uncovered areas … like roads I’ve previously driven on. 🙂

We got a little more unexpected snow, but we’re still having above-freezing temps. Moisture is seeping into the ground. We can always use more!