Disappointment Valley | Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Fauna and flora

5 08 2023

Something a bit different today. None of these pix were taken within Spring Creek Basin, but they were taken outside the basin in Disappointment Valley (the basin is a tiny corner still considered part of the valley). … Do lizards and bees count as fauna?!

When I saw this little critter on the edge of the road, I wondered whether it was alive. It was completely still, and though somewhat flattened, not *squished*. I took some pix and went on my way. When I returned about 30 minutes later, it scampered away as I approached! I was startled but relieved! I so love these little critters (this is not the brightest collared lizard I’ve seen, and it was little/short, which makes me think it might have been a youngster).

This bee on this sunflower is different than THIS bee on THIS sunflower:

The top bee was just a little bitty bee, and the bottom bee was a great big gigantic bee! Both were so completely immersed in their bizziness of pollen gathering that I was able to hold my phone quite close to them to snap pix (I took multiple to try to get some sharp – voila!).

Follow this link to a recent Colorado Sun article about bee research at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory near Gothic (near Crested Butte), Colorado.

I don’t know a thing about bees, but the article is fascinating … and bees are, too. I’m glad they’re doing their bizziness here in Disappointment Valley!

Comments : 14 Comments »

Categories : Disappointment Valley, Wild flowers, Wildlife

Before the lightning

1 08 2023

Didn’t I say it was super cool?

The almost-supermoon (technically rising today, Aug. 1) would have risen slightly out of frame to the left; you can see how there was no way it was going to be visible through that heavy rain-cloud layer.

There never was a fully-arched rainbow, and the intensity varied depending on sunshine/clouds from the west (the above is looking southeast), but it wasn’t till late in the show when the faint second arc appeared.

The lesson is clear: Mustangs are always the gold. 🙂

Comments : 15 Comments »

Categories : Brumley Point, Disappointment Valley, McKenna Peak, Rain, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple Butte

Promising

29 07 2023

The upper atmosphere is trying to gear up to potentially, eventually, maybe – at some point – give us some rain. Soon (we hope).

The evening was punctuated with a few small, very faint rainbows, catching some elusive liquid suspended in the air. The above – do you see it? – was not only the biggest I saw, it was the first of the evening.

Long-maned Sundance, napping, which is to say, perhaps, waiting impatiently for the sun to set, relieving us all with a bit of … if not coolness, at least a cessation of boiling heat. The background was so gorgeously beautiful, but I had to use my phone (as opposed to my camera with its long lens) for the wide view.

Post-sunset in Spring Creek Basin’s wildcat valley, bands were peacefully grazing while rain fell (or seemed to fall) over the Glade to the south.

And as I left them to their evening repast, I found this guy:

Hollywood alone, within sight of the horses in the image above.

Just another low-key evening in Spring Creek Basin. 🙂 The moon is about half-full. Who’s ready for the full, super sturgeon moon?!

Comments : 11 Comments »

Categories : Brumley Point, Disappointment Valley, McKenna Peak, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple Butte

Happy belly

27 07 2023

Stout Sundance isn’t missing any meals. Looking gorgeous in the lovely light.

**********

The powers that be have finally cottoned to the news the rest of us in western Colorado have known for a while now: It’s really dry out there: “Colorado’s drought is back after only a short reprieve.”

The U.S. Drought Monitor also agrees that it’s at least “abnormally dry” here now.

Also:

Versions of these signs are up all over our public lands currently. Despite the handy illustrations, some people still can’t seem to understand the restrictions (don’t ask). On a town errand yesterday, I ran into some Forest Service and BLM fire folks out of Norwood (about an hour-ish north of Disappointment Valley/Spring Creek Basin). They’d knocked down at least four lightning-started fires in the area the day before, one of them told me. (No rain for Spring Creek Basin … but thankfully, no lightning, either.)

No joke: It is DRY out there, it’s super hot (OK, not Phoenix- or Texas-hot … we’ve had only a few days up to at least 101F), and the wind is bellowing like a furnace day after day. Depending on the source, we have some possible rains (“t-storms”) coming next week. I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re beyond ready and hopeful.

Comments : 12 Comments »

Categories : Disappointment Valley, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple Butte, Wildfire

Sunset hue

24 07 2023

Dundee, in Buckeye’s band, still in the late light, the same evening as yesterday’s post. She’s still the most watchful of Buckeye’s girls.

Round Top in the background, and Disappointment Valley’s southern ridges in the farther background.

Comments : 12 Comments »

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

Bringin’ the sky-magic

12 07 2023

For the last very long – days and days and days and weeks and days and weeks – we’ve had solid blue skies. Every. Single. Day.

We finally got some clouds. And when Disappointment Valley does clouds, boy, does it do spectacular clouds.

In order of appearance from around 5:30 or close to 6 p.m. to after sunset:

Looking west.

Mustangs grazing and napping under the relief of clouds.

Silver linings.

Do you see the rainbow?

Rain – or at least virga – to the west.

More mustangs. More napping.

When I left the bands pictured above, I thought I might have a chance at any late surprise light with the bands pictured higher above. But they had moved quite a bit, and the clouds were heavy, and sunset was imminent. But as I left Spring Creek Basin, rain was drifting eastish along the southern ridges of Disappointment Valley. Then I dropped below the rimrocks (the basin’s western boundary), and holy rainbow! You’ll have to take my word for it that it was SUPER intense, and the photo above doesn’t do it justice.

By the time I got to the main road, that “surprise” light was glowing, and the rain had moved away from the southern ridges.

Meanwhile, to the west … this!

Bit closer view of the mountains.

Back to the southeastish, rain was actually falling over the southern/southeastern part of Spring Creek Basin.

And THIS happened. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so glad and grateful to have a cell phone that doubles as a very wide-angle camera.

We ended the day with some post-sunset magic.

And 0.01 inch of rain. 🙂 Enough to make part of the road … actually … WET!

Comments : 16 Comments »

Categories : Brumley Point, Colorado, Disappointment Creek, Disappointment Valley, La Sal Mountains, McKenna Peak, Rain, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon, Temple Butte, Utah

July super buck moon

3 07 2023

The moon is actually full at 5:39 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time, but I’ll tell you what, it definitely looked SUPER coming up at 8:49 last night!

“The first of four supermoons to rise in 2023, July’s lunar display will appear to be brighter in the night sky than any other full moon event that has occurred this year.“

“Nearly a hundred years ago, the Maine Farmer’s Almanac began referring to this particular moon as the ‘Buck Moon.’ They attributed this moniker to the Algonquin peoples of the northeastern United States.“

I hope it shines brightly for you, wherever you are. It’s as gorgeous as fireworks … and quite a lot more peaceful. 🙂

Comments : 12 Comments »

Categories : Disappointment Valley

Ready for the rest

2 07 2023

Buckeye and his band leave the main water catchment on a nice – though buggy – evening in Spring Creek Basin. I don’t think we have fire haze here … but there’s definitely a lot of dust in the air with the recent weeks of strong winds.

Comments : 14 Comments »

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

Some green, some purple

30 06 2023

Despite a nice hike with fabulous views, I didn’t find any horses along the route I took. But I DID find fabulous grass, and I thought that might just as well make a nice subject for a post, especially during these hot, dry, windy days (did I mention hot, dry and windy!?).

Looking northwestish toward Filly Peak with Utah’s La Sal Mountains on the horizon. Grass in the foreground is a mix of Indian ricegrass and galleta.

From the same spot as the above pic, this is looking eastish – more of the same Indian ricegrass and galleta. If it looks lush, it kinda is. It’s amazing, given the (hot, dry, windy!) conditions, but there ya go!

And some bonus images:

Reader Sue Story and her husband, Denny, were out to the basin last week (great to see ya’ll!), and after their visit, Sue alerted me to some luscious 4 o’clock plants in the north/northwestern part of Spring Creek Basin. The wind has scoured many of the plants growing in the open and along the roads, but a couple, growing within the protection of juniper trees, still look fabulous.