Big-belly girl
No ETA on Jif. Surely that belly is hiding more than an overabundance of high-quality forage?? This photo was taken last weekend, but there has been no change … and yes, Chrome, seen behind her, is still with the band.
Think all out-of-season births are caused by PZP? It would almost be nice if the explanation here was that easy. 🙂
In this case, the family was mine – literally. My mom and dad’s 40th anniversary (!) was last weekend, so they decided to come to Colorado for their first summer visit ever. My uncle T and cousin K also came – for their first visit to Colorado ever! Naturally, a visit to my four-legged family was high on the list.
It would have been top of the list but for the rain the visitors pushed into Colorado ahead of their visits from points southeast and west. We waited a day to allow the basin to dry out, and except for the washes across the Disappointment Road as we drove there, all was otherwise dry …
But almost immediately we saw the most beloved horse – of this family, anyway! – in the basin: Grey/Traveler’s band, still shadowed by Chrome. They were very near the road to the old trap site, and Kreacher and the girls were also close by, closer to the shallow pond – the only pond that has water currently.
All at ease
The boy with his girls and one little boy. Yes, yes, you see only two little bodies; our dear Jif is taking her own sweet time.
Shadow-Chrome
There’s Chrome at right, looking pretty worn out. I guess his plan isn’t working against the old man of the basin. The horses were considerably calmer than the first time I saw Chrome with them. Ahh … the young men, always thinking their youth is more than a match for wisdom – usually wrongly.
Away, the girls
After we had watched the horses for a few minutes, Kootenai decided to leave, so she turned and led the horses toward the pond. They paused there but didn’t drink. They ended up at the catchment, followed by Traveler’s band.
Keepin-up Kreacher
This is one young man who knows who the boss is! He followed his girls, lickety split.
Traveler’s band looked quite calm, so we headed on to see who else we could see.
Steeldust’s band was up on the northeast hills – we could see them through the binoculars. All was looking good for us getting to where they were … until we came down the hill and around the curve and stopped dead at the wash of mud and boulders where the road had previously gone over the first Spring Creek crossing. Uh oh. To be sure, there were only four boulders, and none were very big – except the first one, closest to the Jeep side of the crossing – but the whole situation stopped us as if we’d been facing a raging river. There was a bit of water still flowing from previous rains, which is always good for the horses, so it was hard to be totally upset that I’ve been able to take everyone else out to the basin to see the horses, but then when my very own family comes, I get stymied at the first major arroyo! 🙂
I do have to mention the bet my uncle lost. He bet that the dry pond by Flat Top would have water in it from the recent rain. Unfortunately, I won.
But of course, all was not lost. Grey/Traveler and his band and Chrome and Kreacher and the girls were calmly grazing west of the catchment, so we got to see them again as we drove out. (Oh, and Cinch and Bruiser were up on the hill with Steeldust’s band.)
We headed down the Disappointment Road with the high hopes of seeing the pintos. Not too far into Dolores County, my dad sounded the horse alert: David and Shadow RIGHT inside the fence RIGHT off the road! So we had a nice little visit with them while they grazed and browsed on greasewood. Shadow barely looked up, and they eventually let us slide on by while they kept on doing what they were doing! Cool!
Unfazed Shadow and David
This was our view – David looking at us and Shadow … well, not.
Two faces
Ah, and there they are, both looking at us calmly. You can see the fencepost at right. We didn’t get out of the Jeep – just shot right out the windows.
Just a little farther down the road, we had the other great good fortune to spot the pintos back in the “valley” below their old favorite hill. Mesa was on the east side of the arroyo, and the rest of the band was on the west side. We couldn’t see everyone because of hills and trees, even when they crossed to the east side of the arroyo, so I wasn’t able to get a good look at the as-yet-unnamed colts, but it was good to be able to point out those ponies that are seldom within view.
Mom and Dad, T and K, thanks so much for “meeting in the middle” and allowing me to show off my “other” family. 🙂
So … I should have posted these pix before the ones of Seven’s band and Chipeta’s new colt, but I wasn’t going to post these until I could relate the story of the whole day … and it looks like it might be awhile before I can get to all the pix, so I hope you enjoy the teasers from last Friday until I can get to the rest. I have some really lovely images of stunning Corona and her mama, so I promise it will be worth the wait.
The water situation continues to depress me, especially after seeing all the nice ponds in Sand Wash Basin – with water, not just cracked, dry depressions in the ground where water should be. Grey/Traveler was being harassed, but the fact that it was by bachelor Chrome was just something I couldn’t do anything about. Kreacher picked up the chase at the end of the day, even leaving Mona and Kootenai far behind to keep up with Grey’s band and Chrome. Maybe they didn’t want any part of it, but they always followed. When Aspen was with his band Sunday, it was at a respectful distance, and the horses were relaxed and not moving too far.
But on to happiness. When I checked Wildcat Spring – yes, water – I spied Hollywood on a hill above me, just watching me. Ha. I haven’t spent much time exploring the hills in that area, so I walked on up. The ponies have a good network of trails up there. Poco and Roach are still with them; I did take pix but didn’t tweak any of them yet. It started sprinkling out of the clear blue sky – have you ever looked straight up and had rain falling into your eyeballs, looking silver against turquoise? There was a big cloud, but it wasn’t directly above me … and I learned something new a little later: It’s hard to plan for rain coming when you can’t see it coming. I found a seat under a juniper to hang out with the ponies for a bit.
Hollywood and girls and boy
The theme of “do you think you could stand just so” kinda started with Piedra acting shy behind this little bush. This was taken from one of their trails on the side of a hill looking across a sharp drainage. The spring is basically downhill and to my left. Poco and Roach were in the trees not too far up their hill.
Photos of the babies with their mamas are lovely and aww-inspiring, but I love to see the daddies interacting with their offspring.
Sage walked over and stopped at a respectful distance. Piedra did comply with my photo direction here; she had just walked out of the frame to the left.
Then Sage made his approach. At first, Hollywood acted a little annoyed and flattened his ears.
Now look at his ears. He thinks there might be something interesting about the little mister.
Then Hollywood decided Sage was quite sturdy enough to use him as a rubbing post!
Sniffing him again. Check out the ears.
Synchronicity of tails.
Do you love those misters?? 🙂
Edge of the world
Piedra, Sage and Baylee. You can see part of the road in the distance and part of Filly Peak at far back right.
All together
Including Hollywood in the shot, and you can see more of Filly Peak in the background … which should maybe more appropriately be called Humpback Hill?
Hollywood and Baylee
This is looking almost west … like west-west-southwest-west … and the other end of Filly Peak.
Elder mister
He’s not very good at hide-n-seek. But he’s awfully cute. 🙂
It did rain then a bit later – heavier – but it was also still sort of sunny in most places. I could see the “haze” against the western hills outside the herd area that said rain, but it was weird. But the road was also starting to get gummy already by the time I got to the catchment! When I first got there, I saw Kreacher’s band and Cinch and Bruiser (as not-good as the water is, it’s better in the north than in the south, apparently), then Grey/Traveler’s out on the corral hill. Wouldn’t you know it, by the time I got to the flats below the catchment on my way out – in the rain – and did I mention the road was getting gummy and a hit to the brakes meant a bit of a slide in the wet before actual stoppage – they were right off the road? Confirmed that it was Chrome with them – and so Twister still away (and he’s with Hook, at least) – and no foal for le petite dun Jif. OK, OK, I’m leaving already. I went down the county road to see if I could catch enough of a glimpse of the pintos to see Chipeta and/or walk in to them – nada. A couple of hours later, it was sunny and warm and breezy enough, I decided to try the road into the basin again – no problem-o.
Horses and hills and sunshine and shadows
Left to right: Cuatro, Two Boots, Iya, Grey/Traveler, Jif. Houdini and Terra (still OK) were to the right. Chrome was to the left … and now for a wider view …
Love that after-rain light
I know the horses are small, the land large, but can you make out who’s there? I love the graphic quality of these photos, by the way. This is looking sort of east-east-northeast-east. I don’t think there’s ever an easy single direction anywhere out there! They’re up in the area by the catchment – I think I took this from some point alongside Filly Peak – but although I have confirmed Kreacher and the mares drinking from the catchment troughs, I haven’t yet seen Grey’s band drinking there (and to go slightly off-topic for a minute, I did see Cinch and Bruiser very close to the troughs Sunday). Chrome was (mostly) dogging them pretty hard – he’s the grey at far left in these seemingly quiet moments – so they kept moving and moving – they went down off the “edge” south of the catchment to the flats, then ended up moving toward Spring Creek – north-northeastish. And in the foreground? Left to right: Kootenai, Kreacher and Mona. Just “above” Kootenai are Terra and Jif, and then Houdini out to the right. Horses to the left of Jif same as in the picture above this one.
From here I also spotted Steeldust’s band up in the north hills above the northwest road. Those ponies think they’re mountain goats lately. Driving out to see them, I found Duke, Raven and Corona! Now that was a hoped-for treat, having just seen Raven’s former band stallion and Corona’s likely daddy in Sand Wash Basin!
I hate to leave ya’ll hanging, but as of now, I have just one tweaked photo. Time … it’s all a matter of time. A full-time job, a taking-its-sweet-time computer. I’ll put up more soon; I promise.
Duke
This might be one of my favorite pix of the boy. Isn’t he handsome? They were watching Steeldust’s band in the trees up on the hill, so I walked way out around them to get better light.
And it’s late again …
I must have been happy to see my ponies – I took lots and lots of photos – I was on my second memory card before I left. Always great to visit other horses, but it’s great to be home. 🙂
Terra
All seems to be mostly well with this baby girl. I wouldn’t say she’s 100 percent – still seems to step a little delicately – but she’s not limping at all. Doesn’t she look fabulous?
The other big news comes from the same band and is about Mister Twister.
Little boy among big boys
Whether Traveler kicked him out or whether he thought the boys were cooler than hanging out with all the girls, I dunno, but our young orphan was with the bachelor boys: Aspen, Hook and Chrome.
Alegre and Whisper
Bounce and Gaia
Looking up the hill at Cinch and Bruiser in the trees.
Bounce and family
All together just over the hill from Wildcat Spring.
All but Jif
Grey/Traveler’s band off the east-side loop road.
Iya and Jif
Jif
Waiting on the belly.
Cuatro
Growing into his legs.
Nippy
It’s always the same with little brothers, isn’t it? Fortunately for Terra, Cuatro was only annoying in passing. Iya at left.
Brother, sister
Not to mention … aunt and nephew?
Cuatro, Houdini, Terra
Let’s break it down: Houdini is Cuatro’s grandma and Terra’s mom. Cuatro’s mom is Terra’s half-sister. Possibly, Cuatro and Terra have the same sire; I’m only certain Grey/Traveler is Terra’s daddy. Whew.
Grey boy and babies
Terra lying down at left; Cuatro at right. Two Boots behind.
Aspen and Chrome
Chat
Bounce and Twister
Lets go, little buddy
Steeldust under the trees
Seeking shade
Sable and Mahogany
Ember and Sable
Storm
Alpha and Storm
Hannah and Sable
Don’t panic. But it’s been on my mind and will be till I see her again. Terra-love was limping on her right hind leg this weekend. I couldn’t see any obvious injuries or swelling, but binoculars never give you a close-enough view when that’s what you want to see.
Stiff
Not a good image, of course, but can you see how “humped” she looks? Think good thoughts for our little girl, people. Thanks-a-bunch.
Artist Karen Keene Day was back in the basin to visit the horses. While she was inspired by the wild ones for future artwork, her husband put inspiration to canvas during our weekend trip.
It was another good day for seeing horses. We even saw David and Shadow! The horses are staying close to the water, in this case Wildcat Spring. The small pond off the road to the old trap site still has water from the latest rains, but I haven’t seen horses drinking there. Kreacher and the girls are taking full advantage of the catchment, but they seem to be the only ones. Wildcat Spring is the current “neighborhood watering hole.” Bruiser and Cinch are still up with the northern gang.
It’s warm, and afternoon rain is always something to be aware of. The bugs are out – but not as bad as last year. They seem worse in the south than in the north. The cheat grass also doesn’t seem as sticky. Something to look forward to, I guess!
Corona
Isn’t she a stunning little girl?
Most of the bands were east of the section of road between the intersections. We came first to Duke, Raven and the beauty above. Then Steeldust’s band strolled by us like a wave.
Daddy and baby
Steeldust and Hannah.
Mama and baby
Mahogany and Sable.
Buckskin and bay
Luna and 2-year-old Kestrel and Mahogany and yearling pinon.
Mamas and babies
Luna and Hannah, Mahogany and Sable.
Ember
How she’s changed. She actually looks quite a bit like her big sister, Kestrel, except for her color, of course!
Coupla boys
Aspen and Chrome following the big band.
Wait for me!
Hook-at-the-trot. While we were watching Steeldust’s band walk past – and Aspen and Chrome follow – we looked over to see Hook, apparently forlorn at having been left behind.
Horses and hills
Still le petite Jif hides her treasure from the world. Terra is lying down by Houdini.
The misters
Daddy and Sage. Aren’t they handsome fellows!
Family bonds
Daddy Hollywood stands very nearby as Sage takes an afternoon snack from mama Piedra.
Admiring the scenery
What does he see out there? Does he see something faraway? What’s on his mind? Lizard mesa in the middle distance; the east pocket beyond.
As we drove out, not only were purple clouds rising over the western hills but thunder was rolling, and lightning was striking – not near(ish). We were privileged to see David and Shadow off the county road near dysfunction junction. I left Karen at our lodging and went back to look for the pintos.
Kiowa and baby
Did I say I thought the foal was a filly? Then I thought it was a colt. But as it turns out, none of my pictures were close or clear enough to really determine, so baby’s gender remains a mystery. And a little more research into the timing of Copper’s take-over makes it very possible – and given the foal’s color, likely – that he is baby’s daddy.
Surrounded by spots
The little holds his or her own.
Mama-to-be?
Wouldja lookit the size o’ dat belly, la! Time will tell.
And such was the day. We didn’t see Bounce’s or Seven’s. I hope to not see Terra limping this weekend.
This past weekend, I got to see the horses through new eyes: the eyes of two people who had never before seen horses in the wild. So cool! Naturally, they have joined the ranks of those enveloped by the magic, and I’m so thrilled to have been there to witness it. C and L, of California, thank you so much for coming out to see our wild horses of Spring Creek Basin!
We first spotted Kreacher and the girls, way up high above Spring Creek canyon, then spotted and made our way toward Steeldust’s band, up in the trees near the road to Horse Park. Bounce’s band was close by the road, so they were the first objects of our up-close-and-personal visit.
Who you lookin at?
They were very at ease with our presence; that little black body at Alegre and Gaia’s feet is Whisper, flat out taking a nap.
Got bugs
I missed Bounce actually bucking to get rid of some big mongo bug, but if you’re planning a visit, be aware of the hordes of bugs.
All well
Ignoring the bugs for a while.
Band ne Steeldust
Then we walked just up the hill and found Steeldust’s band – with bachelors Aspen, Hook and Chrome – napping under the sunshine and periodic clouds. Mouse and Comanche, of course, as usual, were with the band.
Horseplay
Ya gotta watch those boys! Always wantin’ to play! Aspen looking on while Chrome tries to tackle Hook, who just walked away from the cheeky pal.
Hannah
Three months old tomorrow!
Sweet face
Hannah with Mahogany, Pinon, Sable (not very well seen), Butch and Ember at far right.
Lunch time
Love Luna’s expression here while her baby girl nurses.
The ponies finally started waking up and moving on to graze, so we went on to see what we could see. Seven and his band are still in the east pocket – babies seen long distance but look good. Oh, I forgot that first Bruiser and Cinch and then Hollywood’s band – still with Poco and Roach – had appeared out in the open below Steeldust’s band while we watched them.
Cinch and Bruiser
Muddy boys. In fact, it took me a few minutes to first identify them (from a considerably farther distance than this photo was taken from) because of the glare of the sun and the coating of mud on Bruiser!
Steeldust’s band went to water at Wildcat Spring, so we waited for them to drink, then we walked back to see what it looked like. Steeldust’s band and the bachelors were still in the area, standing up on the near hill … so we walked on to see the water … and unfortunately surprised Grey/Traveler’s band there drinking. 😦 They ran up the opposite hill and over to the open area by the road. Argh. Sure never expected to see them right there, drinking immediately after Steeldust’s band, or we wouldn’t have gone back at that time! Waited a bit, then drove around the curve to get a look and make sure everybody was well and good – and they were, calmly grazing.
Traveler and family
You can see Jif, still sporting her big belly, at left.
We drove into the far northwestern portion to see if we could find Duke, Raven and Corona – and did! Almost to the boundary fence. We backed way up to keep them from feeling crowded against the fence, but they came out for a better look – and better viewing!
Raven and Corona
Corona – like all the babies – is growing fast!
And with that, we had seen all but the pinto band and David and Shadow – not too shabby for C&L’s first visit to see wild horses. THIS WAS SO COOL! 🙂
They might have been waiting for me, as close as Steeldust’s and Hollywood’s bands were to the entrance when I returned to Spring Creek Basin for the first time after my recent vacation. They were working their way up the main drainage that comes down to Spring Creek from the upper north hills. Spring Creek has some water in places; the arroyo they were in is dry.
Some good news: The little pond by the road to the old trap site at Spring Creek has water! The proof of recent rain is evident, but the roads were all dry. It’s pretty green, and even though most of that is vegetation like four-winged saltbush and greasewood and sage and etcetera, there actually is some grass – besides the gone-to-brown cheat grass.
The ponies are in great shape. The babies are growing stout and healthy, and even the stallions, who got a little lean last spring sparring for the girls, look super. So good to be back!
Sage
The little mister is trying to give us a glimpse of his true color … but what will it be? Keep in mind his dorsal and zebra stripes. Mama is grey – likely born bay; Daddy is dun … grandma may have been grulla (that is to say, the mare I think is grandma was grulla).
Watchful
Steeldust and his band pay close attention to Hollywood’s band and friends Poco and Roach.
Siblings?
Little Hannah, now almost 3 months old, with big sister Ember, barely seen behind Butch, with Sundance at right. Brothers? Hannah and Ember’s brothers? You can see Sundance is still keeping his “pink” shade, while Butch is tending more toward grey now.
Must be lunch time
Storm, 11 months old, is still nursing from Alpha. At left, you can just barely see Hannah’s chinny-chin-chin as she nurses from Luna. Two-year-old Kestrel (who no longer shows signs of a bulging belly) is in front; big daddy Steeldust is in back.
Pinon and Storm
And a little action: Although Pinon is two months older than Storm, Storm’s mama is an “alpha” mare – that would be Alpha! – and he inherits some of her status. He’s a big boy, outgoing, confident and strong. And look how grey he has become!
Heads and tails and a baby face
Extended family
Comanche at left, Steeldust’s in the middle, Hollywood’s at right. Poco and Roach were out of the frame to the right. Steeldust’s is Piedra and Baylee’s original family band; Mahogany is Baylee’s dam, possibly Piedra’s … possibly Sage’s grandma! Fun. I love watching their family interactions. This is looking to the northwest. Between the nearer green hills and the hills dotted with pinon-juniper is the little valley through which the upper northwest entrance road runs.
As I headed into the heart of the basin, clouds were looming over the western horizon, but I was prepared to wait out any rain from inside the basin (serious danger alert: you better be prepared with food, water and possibly sleeping bag and extra clothes if you’re going to do that; know that the roads will – eventually – dry out, but it might be several hours, even the next day). After three weeks away, I really wanted to re-connect with Grey-my-boy.
I spotted Bounce and his girls and little boy up on a clear hill near the road to Horse Park. My, they were up high(er than usual). Then, below them and more west or northwest, ghosts in the trees … Grey/Traveler and Houdini and the fam! They were headed down out of the trees toward Wildcat Spring. By the time I got around to that area, the horses were on the trail to the open from the spring.
Time to play
When I got to them, I was surprised to see a couple of the youngsters playing “chase.” Now for the cool part: That’s Twister – 2 years old – chasing 2-month-old Terra! Houdini was already across the road (to the right) by this time. Cuatro, infected by the fun, was trying to get mama Two Boots (also 2!) to play, but she wasn’t nearly as accommodating. Jif leading and Iya bringing up the rear.
Playful Cuatro
Catch me if you can
Hide n seek
I love this scene. Daddy Grey in the foreground – ears up, happy. Cuatro at right, trying to get mama to play. Then, see that butt? That’s Twister. See the sly little girl hiding around the tree at left? Ha! A couple of moments later, she took off for mama.
All right with the world
Grey/Traveler, Terra and Houdini
Jif with da belly
Someday soon …
Two Boots and Cuatro
Just about now it was starting to rain, so I headed back to the Jeep – all the better to protect the camera, see.
It rained for about an hour and a half – a nice, gentle, excellent rain. The ponies mostly stood napping as it rained, but as the rain started to ease, the horses started grazing, moving back toward me but not all that close. The ground was wet, with puddles, but it wasn’t sloppy muddy. It had cooled down quite a bit, from the 70s to the 60s, so I put a jacket on and started to head out toward them … when I heard a sound – loud, like ATVs.
Watching
I kept watching back around the curve of the road for people on four-wheelers, wondering why they were out so soon after it rained (but look at me, waiting out the rain IN the basin). The ponies watched, too …
Away
But then they started running …
… and then I realized why.
Bird of prey
To wild horses, especially those that have been rounded up by helicopter, helicopters might as well be hawks, the horses, rabbits. “Mad” doesn’t begin to describe my emotion watching that helicopter cruise over the basin – over Grey’s band, over Bounce’s band and over, as I found out in the next moments, the bachelors (Aspen, Chrome, Hook, Cinch and Bruiser – yeah, they were back in the north). Traveler, Bounce and Bruiser all were gathered in 2007 – with their families, by helicopter.
I don’t know the origin of the helicopter, private or otherwise, or on-the-ground launch site. It came from the west and flew almost directly east. How low was it? Low enough. I’m willing to entertain the thought that it was related to some kind of firefighting effort – bless those brave folks – but way not cool to fly a helicopter so low over a wild horse herd management area.
Still running
They ran from about the middle of that big open area west (southwest?) of the east-side loop road to the road past where it curves south.
STILL RUNNING
They’re on the road now … still running. I don’t know that it’s possible to convey the distance with photos, but they were running after the helicopter – and the sound of it – was gone.
Bounce’s band just disappeared. I became aware of the bachelors when they came galloping down out of the hills and into that open area.
Running away
They ran in the opposite direction from the helicopter, got to the cottonwoods in the Wildcat drainage and finally stopped. Then they headed toward the arroyo and the east-west hill.
Rollin
They found the spot to roll in the mud – yummy! Cinch had already rolled; Bruiser went all the way over!
Thats the spot
There’s Cinch checking out Aspen.
Telling secrets
It’s gotta be the sweetness that keeps the spotted boys coming back …! Is this weird: Cinch and Bruiser come to the north, but I’ve never seen the northern boys in the south. First thing that comes to mind: water.
The clouds disappeared, and the sky was bluer than blue (well, it was). I wasn’t driving anywhere any time soon, so I followed the path Traveler’s band had taken. They got to the dry pond around the curve (still dry), then headed toward one of the saddles of Lizard Mesa, up and over. I found them grazing on the east side of Knife Edge.
But this is the real news:
Water, flowing
How cool is that! OK, so it’s pretty cool. Hard to tell, I know, and it was muddy, but no one looks down their muzzle at flowing water in the basin – unless it’s while they’re sipping.
Water - more - flowing!
What can I say, flowing water deserves photographic celebration.
I went on up to the crest of the east-west hill to watch Grey/Traveler and family, and I got another surprise: Seven’s family was on or near the west-side loop road! How ironic; can’t get to them because of the mud, and they wouldn’t have stayed on/near the road with company of the two-legged variety anyway, but there they were. I watched them (both bands) through the binocs for a while and did finally see both of Seven’s foals – Ze and Liberty – so I headed west along the top of the hill back toward the Jeep. Beautiful, glowing light. Lovely visits with the horses – dumb, crappy, insert-bad-name-here helicopter notwithstanding. Did I mention I was glad to be back?
You can get lost in the basin. Not geographically (too many landmarks) but in thoughts and emotions. The magic of the basin, when it envelopes you, does it subtly, gently. It’s the horses – they have their own magic – but it’s the light, too, and bucking the “nothing is out there” myth, the air, the breeze (against you when it brings dust, dries out ponds; your friend when it keeps the gnats away). It’s miles away from people and what doesn’t matter.
I was lost in THAT place walking across a bench above the arroyo (flowing water!) toward a hill when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye: Alegre … Whisper … Gaia … I froze, camera on the monopod over my shoulder (I cleaned out my Jeep for the trip home, so excited to get back to the basin, forgot to replace my backpack; I know, I said I was prepared – mostly!), and watched them come up out of the arroyo. I thought Gaia saw me, but Alegre – leading – didn’t until she had come many steps closer … to me … frozen in … THAT place … in wonder … in the magic.
Then ‘Legs saw me, and Bounce came up at the same moment, and they changed course and trotted up the hill in front of me.
Mama and her boy and her girl
Those horses … that light … that place.
Sweet girl, lovely mama
They stopped at the top of the hill. I was glad to see them at the end of the day, and again, after the helicopter.
Bounce
Magic.
Doesn’t get much better than that.
Almost three weeks ago, I was in the basin. Almost on the eve of returning, here are some photos from that last trip to whet your apetite – and mine!
Sharing a scratch
Mona and Kootenai and their dashing beau were right by Filly Peak – again.
Kreacher
The dashing beau.
Ladies and the lad
Looking sort of east-northeast from the north side of Filly Peak and the road.
Spots in a sea of green
Cinch and Bruiser came up to the north country to have a chat with the bachelor 3 – Aspen, Chrome and Hook – and possibly to get some water from the last pond on the place (which is now dry).
Bachelor 3
Cheeky boys: Chrome, Hook and Aspen
Friendly
Aspen and Hook
Looking out
From beyond the pond – which is unseen in the foreground – looking westward toward the heart of the basin. Hollywood’s band – with Poco and Roach – are at left, and Steeldust’s are at right. They’ve left the pond and are heading back toward the road and the open areas to graze. You can see the doubletrack that leads from the road to the pond.
Once red, now grey
Storm-chaser has mostly shed into manly grey. That’s Comanche at left.
Storm spots
On the way home, the spotted ponies were visible from the county road. Visible above are all the critters save the two bay solids: Copper and Mesa
Spotted lasses
Reya (2) and Spook (1) and Copper in the background.
Dark or darker
Ty of the unknown color.
Can’t wait to get back.
That’s the bait, but the truth is, so much has happened, I don’t think I can possibly catch up on all the details. So I’ll hit the highs, and at this time of year, that means babies. It also means the stallions are restless. Everybody’s on the move.
Roja and Ze
How far behind am I? This was taken three weekends ago.
Seven, Roja and Ze, Molly
Proud papa stands guard.
Ze and Daddy
Are they cute or what? Look how stout Ze is. This was taken the day after the first two photos.
Last weekend was mostly a visit of observation. I fully expected new foals, and the horses proved once again that I am not privy to “pony time.” But here are a couple of glimpses.
Bounce
Ever-photogenic black beauty.
Gaia and Alegre
Look at the tummy on mama. Spoiler: Not yet.
Kreacher and girls
They’re at the pond below the roller-coaster ridge; I was up on the ridge. Who’s missing? This was my second sighting of the band that weekend, but I hadn’t been able to find them at all the previous weekend. I think I wrote in an earlier post that they went to the saddle between Round Top and Flat Top, where they eventually met up with David and Shadow. I tried to find them to see if they’d lead me to Raven, but they disappeared. The day before this I had seen Duke. A couple of days later, Lynn and Kathy spotted him with Raven and her baby, Corona.
I posted the pic of Raven and Corona from a quick after-work trip last week, but I didn’t get too close to ’em, and I’ll have some better pix from this past weekend. So moving on, here’s your first look at Piedra and her baby, born last Wednesday and first spotted by Lynn and Kathy, here on their vacation!
Piedra and Sage
What an upstanding young man! Lynn and Kathy gave him the appropriate name Sage, and first-time mom Piedra is proving an excellent mother. She’s going to have to be – this youngster is going to keep her on her toes! His little tail was constantly twitching, swishing, switching.
Together again
Two for one: Guess who persevered? At some point, Hollywood managed to get rid of Aspen and get Piedra and Baylee back. Hollywood is Sage’s daddy.
Baby and Mama
To take the first two pictures in this series, I was sitting on the edge of the arroyo across from the finger hills, not far down from the road. Piedra wanted to come back up onto a flat area out of the arroyo, but Hollywood was quite insistent against that idea. He was oddly agitated even before this, when I first saw them and chatted with Lynn and Kathy about the day’s goings-on – some of which I’ll get to in a minute. So Piedra finally started walking the other way, in the bottom of the arroyo, toward Steeldust’s band but also toward the bachelors Aspen, Chrome and Hook. I went back up to the road to get a broader look, and the next thing I knew, Piedra and baby Sage were walking right toward me. Aspen and the boys were coming, but closer was …
Hollywood and Roach
Your eyes don’t deceive you; that’s Roach. He was wreaking havoc running around and around Steeldust’s band – and had been all day, Lynn and Kathy said. He wasn’t all that far out of his home territory, but considering that I’ve only rarely seen him out of his home territory, he may as well have been on the moon.
Chrome and Aspen
But these boys and Hook were on the way, and when they got close, Roach went back to his vigil around Steeldust’s band.
Jumble
There’s a lot going on here. Roach – background – circling Steeldust’s band. First Sgt. Comanche – broadside at right – is circling between him and the band. Lt. Mouse – facing me at right – is moving Kestrel, Mahogany and Pinon back to the main band.
Roach and Comanche
My experience with Roach has been with a very calm, laid-back boy. I’ve never seen him so frantic. Poco hadn’t yet left their home territory, but he would the next day.
Roach
I was sitting on the ground at a sort of confluence of arroyos while all this was going on. The band was across a wide-ish arroyo to my right, and there was a smaller arroyo in front of me as I took this picture. Comanche had chased Roach across the main arroyo but not followed him, and at this point, Roach was coming toward me, then went to my left, where he stopped … then turned around and went back the way he had come. I hated to see him so wound up.
End of day
And with this image, I’ll end this post, though it wasn’t quite the end of the day. When Roach went back around, he crossed the arroyo and ran between me and the band, which effectively sent the band swirling around in the other direction. They crossed that arroyo and went up toward the road. Then they came back to me. Then they swirled around away again. Roach was still with them the next morning, but Poco ended up following Kreacher, Mona and Kootenai to the area from near the double ponds (!) … and after some more chaos, they reunited. They were together up on the east-west hill the last I saw them.
To come, I’ll have images of Duke, Raven and Corona, as well as the newest member of the Spring Creek Basin family: Houdini and Grey/Traveler’s stunning daughter, Terra.
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 