It doesn’t look like much, but they’re drinking in the bottom of the Spring Creek arroyo in Spring Creek Basin. With more moisture comes more irritation in the form of biting flies.
Evening sip
28 07 2013Comments : 1 Comment »
Categories : Aurora, Hollywood, Mona, Shane, Spring Creek, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Herdin’ girls
23 01 2013Mona and Aurora were hanging out with Bounce. Bounce is following Hollywood’s and Comanche’s bands. Bounce is Aurora’s daddy, but she’s in Hollywood’s band now. Mona is definitely Hollywood’s mare. They wandered as they grazed, and pretty soon, Mona and Aurora and Bounce were on one side of a shallow arroyo, and everybody else was on the other side. Hollywood looked and grazed, then looked and made a decision, and he trotted down the hill and across the arroyo, bluffed Bounce away and brought his girls back to the fold.
Even in his snaking attitude, he’s so cute. Look at his nostril all puckered up. I wish I hadn’t chopped Aurora’s ears off, but I was focused on Holls when she trotted up the hill between us.
And that Aurora looks just like daddy … and mama Alegre. She’s really a beautiful blending of both.
Comments : 5 Comments »
Categories : Aurora, Hollywood, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
-8 and be there
20 12 2012Not quite as iconic as Galen Rowell’s oft-quoted “f8 and be there” – nor, I suspect, will it become as universal. But at minus 8 degrees this morning, I was there, in the basin, in paradise turned white.
Seven in winter’s wonderland.
Kootenai and Mysterium
Hayden and Tenaz
Hollywood’s band walking away from the noise of a truck. What kind of crazy person would be out here on a minus-8-degree morning?
Oh, right. 🙂
Aurora with her band. For extra credit, name the horse in the background attached to those gorgeous stripes! (Aurora’s daddy, Bounce, whom she resembles so strikingly, is following the bands.)
The temperature didn’t get above about 22 degrees today. Snow-lasting temps. I love it.
Comments : 6 Comments »
Categories : Aurora, Hayden, Kootenai, Mona, Mysterium, Piedra, Seven, Shane, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple, Tenaz
Mustangs at the edge of the world
18 12 2012Seen any “Pirates” lately? Seems a good reference for this shot:
Or was it “end” of the world? Ah well. That’s a mix of Comanche’s and Hollywood’s bands on the “edge” of the second saddle of what I call Lizard Mesa. Young bachelors Hayden, Tenaz and Apollo “ran into them” at the double ponds and sent them running north. I thought maybe they’d end up at Sorrel Flats for a drink, but only the boys were there when I arrived. West of the east pocket, I finally spotted the bands on the yonder ridge, all in a line, silhouetted by the sun just before it dropped into a snow-cloud bank, which has been stalled at the west/southwest ridgeline (the top of the very far tree-covered hill you can see in the background of the above pic) for the last two or more days.
Notice, if you will, the complete and utter lack of snow on the ground.
Gentle admonition to folks within 200 miles who got a foot-plus of the white stuff: Don’t be greedy!
How does EVERYBODY get snow but Disappointment Valley!? Not a speck; not a drop. It’s not even damp.
Weatherman says another wave is coming … Cross yer fingers ‘n toes. We sure need the moisture.
Comments : 1 Comment »
Categories : Aurora, Kestrel, Madison, Mona, Piedra, Shane, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple
Another dark girl
24 10 2012This happened a little while ago:
Aurora has hooked up with Hollywood and his band.
She’s the daughter of Alegre and Bounce, and most recently was with her mother, little sister, big sister and niece in Traveler’s band. Little girl growing up.
Comments : 4 Comments »
Categories : Aurora, Hollywood, Mona, Piedra, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Meet ‘n greet
7 07 2012
Grey/Traveler greeting stepdaughter Aurora.
The band was grazing near Wildcat Spring tonight (this photo is from July 4). The trickle is doing really well, with water filling the little pool, then trickling on down, enabling the horses to drink at multiple places. Not a lot, but more than previously. And with this rain now … ! Hopefully this is the start of our monsoon weather pattern!
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Categories : Aurora, Grey, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Longest day, first light
25 06 2012Two wild babies, enveloped in phenomenal light:
Aurora
Mariah
Heart.
Bursting.
With.
Love.
Comments : 1 Comment »
Categories : Aurora, Mariah, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
More Cassidy Rain
10 06 2012At last, more pix of the beautiful girl. These are all from her birthday, June 2.
Cassidy Rain with mama Gaia and auntie Aurora.
I like Gaia’s seemingly “challenging” look here, but in truth, she was lowering her head to graze.
Like most first-time mamas, Gaia couldn’t keep from touching her newborn. Sniffing her, licking her, nuzzling her, bonding mama to babe and babe to mama.
A precious thing is the love of a mama for her baby.
Cassidy Rain with her elegant grandmama Alegre (Aurora’s and Gaia’s mama).
These may be my absolute favorites:
Mama checking on her dreaming baby.
Sweet mercy. If you don’t see in this image that babies are the most precious thing to these wild families, I just don’t know how else to convey it. (Creative note: Photos cropped for maximum impact.)
So much beauty and promise in these little bodies. 🙂
Comments : 5 Comments »
Categories : Alegre, Aurora, Cassidy Rain, Gaia, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
What matters, size?
5 06 2012Corona (Corona (Sand Wash Basin) x Raven) is 3 years old. Aurora (Bounce x Alegre) is 1.
Yes, Corona does seem thin. She’s had those jutting hip bones for quite a while. She seems healthy enough, just not an “easy keeper.” But I really took this photo to illustrate the size difference – or rather the size similarity and the AGE difference. You can’t see a lot of Aurora behind Corona, but she’s easily as big as Corona, who is two years older. Alegre is a good-sized mare and passes long legs on to her foals. Whisper, her second foal (adopted last year), was a tall boy. Bounce, in contrast, is quite a little guy, probably no taller than 14 hands. Raven is a good-sized mare, and it seems that Corona, Corona’s sire, is a good-sized stallion.
They’re close as sisters or BFFs. You rarely see one far from the other.
Just a thing to make ya go hmm. (Aren’t they cute? :))
Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : Aurora, Corona, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Family ties
14 04 2012Baby Mariah with her new family.
Even almost-yearling Aurora takes a role in protecting baby.
Mamas and their daughters. Notice Gaia shedding.
When the babies are little, mamas are constantly checking them, sniffing them, reassuring them – and themselves – that all is well. Each one so precious and unique.
Comments : 9 Comments »
Categories : Alegre, Aurora, Gaia, Houdini, Mariah, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 