December | 2023 | Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Snow so close

11 12 2023

From about mid-Spring Creek Basin looking northwest not long before sunset Friday evening. You know, the day we were supposed to get snow.

The passing snow squalls were “this side” (eastish) of Utah’s La Sal Mountains.

Later, very just most immediately before sunset shuttered the light on the rimrocks above Spring Creek canyon, the snow had passed, but the light was still gorgeous.

I was hoping sunset would light up those clouds like it did the previous night, when I was driving and had no camera to hand but my phone.

The cloud/sunset light show never really materialized (some subtle color), but THIS color is always gorgeous and rewarding! (Some snow ON us would have been greatly appreciated.)

Because I’ve referenced it, and because it deserves to be seen, this was the light show Thursday night from U.S. Highway 491 heading north from Cortez, Colorado:

The best camera is the one in your hand. The best light is that in front of you, wherever you are. 🙂

Comments : 14 Comments »

Categories : Disappointment Valley, La Sal Mountains, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek canyon

Bright-eyed boy

10 12 2023

Storm. My handsome heart.

Comments : 8 Comments »

Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

Glorious bay, part 2

9 12 2023

I mean, really!

Comments : 8 Comments »

Categories : McKenna Peak, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple Butte

Glorious bay

8 12 2023

Oh, I do love a rich bay mustang against the glorious white of pristine snow! Madison the beautiful.

(This post refers back to fresh-snow scenery from the last storm. I have this one and another that I’d like to share before the next snowstorm hits Disappointment Valley!)

Comments : 8 Comments »

Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

Shadow drinker

7 12 2023

Shadow approaches the running stream that is Spring Creek for a drink.

With daytime temperatures at or slightly above 50 degrees, there’s liquid water for the horses to drink from shady-spot snow still melting.

Love her natural (probably greasewood) mane adornments!

(Although this is down in the Spring Creek arroyo, you can see the lack of snow, which is the current land condition. There are still infrequent patches of snow in the north-facing and/or shady areas, but mostly, the basin is free of snow, though still damp to muddy in most places. We have snow in the forecast for Friday.)

Comments : 6 Comments »

Categories : Spring Creek, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

Down low

6 12 2023

While standing on the lower side of a little hillock, waiting for horses to appear from the other side, with McKenna Peak and Temple Butte in the background, Skywalker sauntered by at about eye level.

Hi, big guy!

Love his snowy muzzle. 🙂

Comments : 8 Comments »

Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

Feelin’ frisky

5 12 2023

Who *doesn’t* feel frisky with a couple of inches of fresh snow on the ground and warm sunshine on your fuzzy coat!? Odin is full of spunk. 🙂

(The snow is mostly melted into the needy soil again, but you won’t blame me for sharing more pix from the day we had a snowclad basin during the next few days.)

Comments : 14 Comments »

Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

Bonus gifts

4 12 2023

Not only did we get the gift of snow Friday, I saw Hollywood on Saturday. 🙂

He’s thin (much more thin than I’d like to see him at this time of year (or any time of year)), but he seems to be relatively OK. He drank at the edge of a frozen pond, then walked away on a trail to the spot where I found him napping in the (relatively) warm sunlight. He didn’t acknowledge my presence much at all (which was OK as it meant he wasn’t bothered), and I was able to walk around and get a good look at him. I couldn’t tell about his eye (napping, he had both of them mostly closed), but other than being thin, he doesn’t seem to have any particular injuries.

He did pick a very scenic location to stop for a midday nap. 🙂

Bonus: Hollywood’s scenery looking across Spring Creek Basin and Disappointment Valley to Utah’s La Sal Mountains, looking pristine under a cover of fresh snow.

Comments : 16 Comments »

Categories : La Sal Mountains, McKenna Peak, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon, Temple Butte

Velvet and cream

3 12 2023

If anybody looks as though he’s put on his very finest winter coat for the season, it’s Maiku!

He wasn’t too interested in posing in his snowy world, being much more interested in finding edible bits, but he’s still awfully handsome.

We had a very nice little snowstorm Friday, and the area got anywhere from an inch to at least 4 inches. It didn’t melt right away like the last (first) snowfall. It’s sooooooo beautiful out there!

Comments : 17 Comments »

Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs