Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

The beauty is nearly blinding, eh?

This is what photographers call a “high key” image, where the whites are blown out and have no detail. Interestingly, that’s also what a foot of snow looks like under a cloudy sky when you’re snowshoeing through a meandering arroyo (because it’s “flat” and presumably easier to walk through): There is NO depth of field, and you really just hope there’s solid ground there under the snow at the same basic depth as the previous step because you’re too exhausted to do anything but fall if it’s not solid. (Ask me how I know.)

Pretty Spirit shines as bright as the snow. … Also, I asked her if the deep snow was harder for her to get around in than it was for her taller compadres, but she had no answer (and she kept up just fine).

While visiting with Hollywood’s band, exhausted by the snow and trying hard NOT to think about the return tramp to the road, I spotted a couple of other bands in the vicinity. In dry times, I wouldn’t have thought a thing about walking over to visit them, too, before heading back to the road. In dry times, the distances I hike might be daunting to someone who doesn’t regularly hike the distances I hike (!).

With a foot (?) of snow on the ground, lemme tell you: Half the distance seems to take three times as long to cover.

There was no way I was going visiting elsewhere that evening. 🙂

P.S. While walking a trail is noticeably easier than walking across sage- and shadscale- and greasewood-studded ground that often feels like shifting beach sand, retracing your snowshoe path isn’t much different than breaking trail – and I did both. It’s an effort. Of all things, it was my shoulders that hurt when I returned to the comforts of home, and I could barely lift a glass of tea. … But what a MARVELOUS hike through abundant snow with visions of full ponds and waving grass dancing in my head all the livelong way. 🙂

Almost no other color could glow with such warmth in a world so amazingly and blindingly white. And it is VERY white out here right now.

Even when we get snow, it so quickly melts that it’s rare to enjoy it for longer than a few hours after it falls. It was COLD yesterday morning (4 degrees Fahrenheit by my truck), and though we had periods of sunshine (first thing in the morning), clouds quickly obscured that glorious Colorado sky. That combination means that it’s still a very white world here in Disappointment Valley. 🙂 And the snow is deep – still.

The depth of the snow is obvious by that clinging to Hollywood’s knees and hocks. His face is wet to just below his cheeks from the foraging he’s doing in the snow to find the palatable bits of vegetation.

It’s RARE for us to have so much snow all at the same time. It’s COOL to have so much snow all at once.

Well, we wanted snow. 🙂 Depending on elevation and drifts, lower to mid-ish Disappointment Valley got between 7 inches and maybe close to 2 feet of snow between Saturday night and late morning Sunday.

Wow. 🙂

Erring on the side of caution, I didn’t venture too far into the basin, and with 2 feet of snow up-valley, I was worried about leaving my vehicle on the edge of the road and hiking in. I wandered all over the place, and I hiked around a wee hill we call Filly Peak, and I found just one band.

As one friend texted: “That’s great water.” Yes. Yes, it is! 🙂

As usual, I wasn’t sure what Kwana was looking at. Trees were to my left, and his girls were behind him, to my right. Whatever he was looking at, he sure was a handsome watcher. 🙂

Hopefully by the time this publishes, we’ll have gotten some much (again) needed rain and be looking at snow. If you’re getting snow and don’t necessarily want it (Texas, I’m looking at you), feel free to pass it along to the parched places!

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Happy Valentine’s Day to all you lovers out there! … Lovers of nature, of life, of the wild, of each other. LOVE!

How beautiful they are, Alegre and Maia.

Corazon couldn’t care less that he has a giant heart on his side. But that giant external heart covers a giant internal heart that makes him a fierce protector of his family.

Spirit gives new meaning to the word galoshes. 🙂 As in, “galoshes gee willickers, that’s a lotta mud!”

Piedra apparently has been playing in the mud recently, and that has tinged her nearly snow-white coat. Never a fashion diva, however, she looks as beautiful as ever with those wise and beautiful eyes.