Long-locked lovely

11 07 2022

My, what a lovely long mane you have, Reya dear!





Peaceful girl of an evening

10 07 2022

July, what?! It feels like spring with the grass growing! Well, and it’s hot … so I guess it’s really summer after some monsoon rain.

And have you heard? We have water. 🙂





The relief of full ponds in droughty desert

9 07 2022

A visual selection of newly full ponds in Spring Creek Basin:

Courtesy of Mother Nature! We’re grateful. 🙂





We have water!

8 07 2022

When we get enough rain to fill roadside ditches (which is infrequent to rarely occurring), the frogs/toads start singing! I’ll be the first to admit that I know *nothing* about frogs and/or toads, including how to tell which is which. I think these probably are toads. …

Ah, scratch that. Now I think they might be a variety of “spadefoot” (is that a toad or a frog? apparently, it’s something else altogether). One of the characteristics is “a vertical pupil like a snake, while toads have horizontal pupils.” Very clearly, the critters I saw have very vertical pupils, though the pix I saw showed them rather round (!). Also, “their skin is much smoother and has very few or no warts.” And “their back feet have bony, sharp spades that are used for burrowing into soil, sand, or loose gravel.” I couldn’t see their feet very well – they were in a nice bit of water that must have seemed extravagant to them – but surely they ought to be able to burrow into something during the (mostly) dry times that we (mostly) have? This is the website where I found the above information, and I think they might be Mexican spadefoot.

These two were feeling amorous. 🙂

Those eyes!!

It’s pretty nice to have water around again. 🙂





Gaining

7 07 2022

Well, yesterday got exciting. The above pic of Buckeye doesn’t reflect the crazy rain event over an apparently localized area of Disappointment Valley and Spring Creek Basin, but he and his band were grazing what I swear was growing-right-before-our-eyes grasses after the amazingly crazy rain event!

It was a little nerve-wracking while water was gushing down arroyos and along and over parts of Disappointment Road and into Spring Creek (which, with its tributary arroyos, drains Spring Creek Basin) and Disappointment Creek … but I’m pretty sure that our world already looks a little greener. 🙂





Mud monster mare

6 07 2022

With greatest respect – and a wide smile – do I refer to Cassidy Rain as a “monster” for her mud-caked appearance. … To have mud to roll in is a great and wondrous thing! As is the rain we’ve finally gotten in quantities enough to assuredly measure.





Nature’s light show

5 07 2022

No offense to the rockets’ red glare … but I like Mother Nature’s style. 🙂 And it’s a lot more peaceful!





Independence Day

4 07 2022

On this day of celebration of American independence (from persecution) and freedom (for everyone), let’s not forget to celebrate what makes America *uniquely* America: Our differences are not meant to be destroying factors but unifying ones; our strength manifested by our varying perspectives.

Let freedom ring … for us all.





Kiss of light and love

3 07 2022

A mama/sister/auntie’s love, as gentle as the kiss of last light upon the land as day fades. Breeze familiar and soothing, light as breath.

And there was this also:

Still not a lot of rain over us, but it has to rain *somewhere* to produce a rainbow … ? 🙂

How blessed are we to witness such beauty?





Slipping into sleepies

2 07 2022

You know that mid-afternoon fade we humans sometimes suffer? I think Piedra was feeling her own fade in the early evening this day. 🙂 And why not? It’s a beautiful nap spot!