Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Even Shadow ponies seek shade on hot, dry, smoky days when the haze blunts the sunshine … though not the heat.

There’s a ridge in the background of this photo – beyond the big juniper tree (with multiple trunks). Can you see it? Admittedly, it’s difficult to see, though it’s probably only a mile or two as the mustang trots.

The smoke is bad. I talked to someone in Grand Junction (the Pine Gulch Fire is burning about 18 miles north of that city) the day before yesterday, and he said, “We’re in the belly of the beast.” … How much more terrible and awful must it be there, when we can barely see our local landmarks here?? (Grand Junction is about three hours north of Disappointment Valley as the vehicle drives.)

The La Sals (to the northwest) have been invisible for a week; even Temple Butte and McKenna Peak (to the east) are getting really hard to see.

Since Friday, we’ve had smoke in our air. Yesterday’s air quality was the worst so far.

It’s apparently coming from at least a couple of major fires north of us: the Pine Gulch Fire, north of Grand Junction, and the Grizzly Creek Fire, which has closed I-70 through Glenwood Canyon.

It’s dry. It’s hot. Our prayers are with those evacuated from their homes and/or on standby – and not only those folks in Colorado. Firefighters are struggling against forces of nature and difficult terrain (see above: it’s hot, it’s dry).

Stay safe, folks.

You know you are. 🙂

Terra the beautiful watches a bachelor stallion from the protection of her band. She’s not worried. I love her quiet concentration.

Alegre and Maia think a little speed can evade the lens of the admiring photographer.

Oh, how wrong these beauties are!

Comanche and Kestrel are royalty in Spring Creek Basin. They’ve been together since 2008 – even finding each other after their respective releases after the 2011 roundup. He may have other mares, but Kestrel is his lady.

This year marks 51 years of marriage for my folks, Nancy and Dave. It’s a good thing their big 5-0 was last year for a big celebratory trip; this year is just a little wee bit, uh, nuts. 🙂

Showing horses around northeastern Ohio is how my folks met when they were teenagers, and, almost always since then (it was hard to pack our horses to Germany, so my mom’s parents kept them for us for three years), they’ve had horses ever since – and still. My dad confessed the other day that he hadn’t ridden for a while, but it has been 100-plus holy-hot degrees in Texas lately, so I don’t blame him a bit.

When you find the one you love, you keep that one close. Comanche and Kestrel would understand. 🙂

Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad! I love ya’ll!

If you don’t believe in the beauty of the natural wonders of this Earth … I invite you to move to Mars. I hear it’s nice there in the summer.

Oh, Winona. She’s not just a national treasure, she’s a planetary treasure!

Sooooooooooooo pretty!

In case you can’t tell, that’s me on the far right, sitting on the ground. 🙂