Some more pix of Gemma and her family, including daddy.
Gemma and mama and daddy, Houdini and Grey/Traveler
Gemma and daddy
Daddy and his girls – see how fast Gemma is greying?
Gemma and mama
Crop. Does it remind you of this:
Ah, changes.
And just something different. Maybe it doesn’t quite “work,” but I liked the shapes and the light. A different take on the familiar. All there but Terra.
Big sis Terra. Couldn’t leave her out. 🙂
Jif pauses in her grazing to look … I think she was looking at or for Cinch and Liberty. I couldn’t see them, but we all knew they were there. I love the way she seems to be surveying her home.
Just about every landscape looks better with a horse in the foreground! The pyramid-shaped feature is McKenna Peak, and that’s the unnamed promontory behind and to the right.
While those two pix featured the same horse, the next three feature the same feature …
Hannah
Pinon
Hook
Do you know the land feature behind them in each pic? These were all taken immediately before sunset, and that’s Brumley Point, out on the southeastern border of the herd area. I know a Brumley (her married name is different), and she’s one heck of a wonderful lady – her husband’s pretty nice, too! I wish I knew a McKenna (McKenna Peak, McKenna Peak Wilderness Study Area) … it’s just another connection, another piece of the history of this land and its inhabitants.
The near hill is Flat Top, and the one behind it (that you may or may not know is a separate hill) is Round Top. The very far ridge at the horizon is not part of the herd area. End of the day … the sun has set … Look closely – see them? The white “dots” are nooooooottt mountain goats! That’s Grey/Traveler and Houdini, and behind them are Terra and Gemma. Every landscape …
And just before I took that picture, I took this one:
Do you see the pillar of light?
Every landscape is magic that harbors mustangs!
The horses were at significant distances from the roads lately, possibly because of the activity going on – ponds getting dug out! Because two of the three ponds on the priority list filled up with water from the rain this summer, BLM looked outside the box and had the two dry ponds dug out – as well as the one dry pond on the list. The two “extra” ponds were still a little wet – in fact, the first one the BLM dozer guy dug out now actually has a little water in it from last week’s rain! And the other dry pond had gotten wet and muddy from a previous rain, and that one, the dozer guy eventually had to abandon – possibly for later – because it was still pretty wet and he had concerns about getting stuck. But it’s deeper than it was, and we’re dry again, so more rain could come at any timely moment for us!
This pond is right off the road in the eastern part of the basin. In the distance you can see the boundary ridge with the unnamed promontory and McKenna Peak (the “pyramid” sticking up behind the treed ridge, which is part of what I call Lizard Mesa).
Wider view …
Pushing sticky wet dirt/mud up the bank …
Farther east and a bit south of the previous pond, this area is called “sorrel flats.” It was on the original list of ponds to be dug out.
This is the pond up in the northwest part of the herd area. It rarely holds water and usually briefly, but of course, now that it’s on the list (anchoring the fifth and last spot), it has water – and for weeks. It’s very shallow – you can see the vegetation sticking up – but water in that area encourages the horses to use that area. Very pretty back there – and great views of most of the basin!
While the dozer was out, the operator smoothed some of our “rough edges,” aka arroyos that were in need of “smoothing”! This one is near sorrel flats and had become a “drainage hole” with just a Jeep-size squeezable slot to drive through (ask me how I know – there’s an arroyo crossing I call “the squish” because it’s almost always a little wet and muddy; this arroyo was in danger of becoming “the squeeze” … and then impassable!). We appreciate the extra work. 🙂
And of course, we did see some horses …
Grey/Traveler napping with his girls … (Gemma is being shy)
There’s mama Houdini and lovely girl Gemma.
Very near the first pond that was dug out (a couple of weeks ago). It was dug out deep enough, and the water is still shallow enough, that we couldn’t see it, but Hollywood’s band knew it was there – and took advantage!
We also saw Liberty and Cinch just off the road.
He trotted with her a short distance away …
… then stopped and watched again. I’m not sure what he’s looking at here, but Liberty is clearly very much at ease with him.
We also spotted these boys – Twister and Cuatro – WAY on the other side of the basin from where they were last week – and minus Duke.
Two Boots and baby Rio in the shade of Filly Peak. Driving up, I almost didn’t see them because of the glare. Chrome didn’t move too much – he’s a fair distance to the left.
Hayden and his mama, Jif.
Wonderful day – full of sunshine and good spirits … and a few tears. Glad to see the ponds dug out. Now we just need them full!
And sorrel and bay and turning-grey.
Grey/Traveler’s band and Seven’s band were grazing/napping companionably close to each other when I saw them and walked out for a visit. My “goal” was Grey/Traveler’s band, and my path took me first toward Seven’s. Always a thrill to visit with these horses, as shy and wary as they are.
Daddy and Ze and Spring and mama. Spring had just nursed, and Roja had just turned to watch my angled approach – Grey/Traveler’s band was to the left.
Interestingly, I had nearly crossed their viewpoint on my way to the other band when Roja decided that as I was going away, it was now time for her to lead the way away as well. I think I’m growing on her. 😉 Here, Seven and Ze are walking their long-strided walks to catch up to where she and Spring wait, just a bit to the right.
Every so often I get glimpses of horses that reveal their resemblance to other horses. Roja here – except her color, which she gave her daughter – is the spitting image of Molly. And look what a big, strapping boy Ze is. Good forage and less competition these last couple of years.
Hold this image of Seven in your minds … wait till you see Grey/Traveler.
They’re standing below the level of the foreground-ground, but I love the vision of them seeming to stand in grass up to their knees.
Now …
Tell me Seven is not related to Grey/Traveler.
Almost certainly his sire, don’t you think? Seven is chunkier. 🙂
Daughter Terra
Daughter Gemma with mama Houdini
Grey’s girls: Terra, Gemma and Houdini
I adore this girl!
Napping at the edge of the road … Terra loves her baby sister.
Road to paradise: Lizard Mesa in the background
Three grey girls
Grey/Traveler with his girls – he does throw beautiful babies, doesn’t he?
With all his girls …
Terra sees a visitor, the one whose approach earlier caused Houdini to head toward the road before she decided to go back to grazing in the meadow. But this time, he came all the way down, and that was the end of my visit with Grey’s family and the beginning of a wonderful sighting of …
Duke!
Doesn’t he just shine with vim and vigor??
Houdini was long gone by now, and he’s stopped to watch. Looks almost wistful, doesn’t he? His trend has been to seek company … then shun it again … then seek it … for reasons known only to him.
Loved-loved-loved seeing him … bittersweet to see him alone again. He was with Twister and Cinch the last time I saw him, as they were kind of hanging out with Hollywood’s band. Those youngsters – Twister and Cuatro now – could learn a lot from this elder statesman.
When I headed back toward the Jeep, he followed me at a distance … but then I lost him in the rolling folds, and I didn’t see him again this trip. Always happy to see my boy Duke. 🙂
Gemma is officially the fastest-greying foal I’ve seen since I started documenting the herd. She reminds me of a youngster I saw in Sand Wash Basin last fall.
See? Even big sister Terra is less grey than little sister. Like the brothers, these sisters stick close.
Daddy Grey/Traveler, looking handsome as always.
They always think the smallest bushes hide them. 🙂
Mama and her girls.
Some more pix from the first day of our visit last week.
Hayden and Jif. They were relaxed but shy and grazing.
Grey/Traveler’s band. Gemma is going grey first right over her butt and from a distance looks a little like an Appaloosa with a blanket pattern.
We saw a collared lizard on our walk back to Wildcat Spring, but it wasn’t interested in visiting with us. This guy, however, defended his rock – right in the middle of the road – while I drove right by him! He looks fierce, eh? But I think this was his way of venting some heat – although getting off that cooker of a rock may have helped, too! We had a nice breeze (not enough to rid us of the gnats), but it was warm – up to 92 by the Jeep’s gauge. I love these lizards’ bright colors and muscley little legs!
Hook’s band was only mildly interested in us. Right to left: Hannah, Sable, Hook, Ember and Pinon.
Toward the end of the day, we decided to take one more pass past Wildcat and had a nice surprise: Bounce’s and Kreacher’s bands, right off the road.
From left: Raven, Corona, Kootenai, Kreacher and Mona
Whisper and Liberty. They’re not as close as they appear, and Liberty is standing a bit farther up the hill. They look pretty similar in size here because of lens compression of the scene, but Liberty is still noticeably smaller than Whisper.
Whisper in the foreground and Alegre at right.
T spotted the almost-full moon coming up over the eastern ridges. This is looking out toward the east pocket. A little farther to the right would be McKenna Peak and the unnamed promontory.
Mona and Kootenai caught in a rare moment of affection. Usually Kootenai bugs Mona, who is very laidback, and Raven usually comes to her rescue by pinning her ears at Koot.
Kreacher, Raven and Kootenai walking toward us.
Kreacher, Raven and Corona. You can really see Corona’s wide blaze here in her mother’s shadow. She’s also still nursing.
We were able to sit with them for a bit in the evening light – wonderful! There’s Bounce in the background … and they’re watching some newcomers.
Seven and his band – Roja, Ze and Spring – were coming up toward Wildcat for an evening drink. They hadn’t been visible when we parked and walked out to sit just off the road with Bounce’s and Kreacher’s bands, but as it turned out, I had parked a bit “ahead” of where the trail comes out, and Seven was not pleased. (As a side note, can you see the extreme resemblance to Grey/Traveler??)
He trotted back and forth, looking hard and blowing at the Jeep while Roja stayed some distance back with Ze and Spring. I keep coming back to this, but they haven’t forgotten and so neither have I. It was almost two years ago that they were chased by a man in a truck. They remain extremely wary of not only people but also vehicles. It’s important to know here that although I was parked in their line of sight, the Jeep was not blocking their wayS to water. But because of their extreme sensitivity, it might as well have been. Most of the other bands respond very well to quiet, careful viewing, but Seven’s have never gotten over that incident – maybe others? This is their home, so we quietly walked back to the Jeep and drove away, taking the “danger” with us.
Roja and Spring – pic taken from the Jeep. Look how big Spring is! (I haven’t taken many pictures of her *because* of their wariness.) She looks so much like Molly. She has little black spots on her knees, and I’m sure her legs will darken. Check out Roja’s loooooong dredlock!
And Seven and Ze … now much calmer and at ease. A great sight to leave with.
I chose this for the day I drive … my beloved Grey/Traveler, napping in mid-afternoon with his girls, on an island in the basin.
Remember this?:
That was last week.
This is now!:
Welcome, Gideon, to your world! (from Emmy Lou Harris’ “Red Dirt Girls”) This is the first time Luna has had a colt since I’ve known her – and no, he doesn’t match the colt of my dream …
But this little one almost does:
I found Kestrel first and her nearly-brand-new buckskin filly! I named her Winona, which means “first-born daughter.” Coincidentally, she may share her birthday with my grandpa – my dad’s dad – who lived with my grandma in a town called Winona all their married lives.
Yesterday was simply gorgeous from about daybreak till about 2 p.m., when the clouds just took over and hogged the formerly turquoise sky. No rain till about midnight last night, though, which was good for my visit … but a real bummer for the dozen or so people who had signed up for the wild horse tour today as part of the Mesa Verde Ute Mountain Ute Birding Festival. We did see a little yellow bird (goldfinch?), but, because of rain, we couldn’t even drive into the basin and therefore didn’t see a single horse. Last year, I was so happy to be able to show folks all the “northern” horses … but this year, it just wasn’t to be. Interestingly, the very first time I went out to see the horses, it was with a smallish group, and it also rained, and we also couldn’t even drive in and didn’t see horses. I went back later by myself … and the rest, as they say, is history!
Hopefully, if any of you are reading this after the fact, you’ll be able to “virtually” see some of the horses I saw yesterday and early this morning.
Kestrel’s was the first new foal I saw yesterday, but her group wasn’t the first of the day. Pinon was leading Ember and Hannah along a ridge down by Spring Creek … and Hook was nowhere to be seen. I couldn’t believe he’d gone off and left them, but that’s exactly what he did. Where did I find him? Running circles around Kestrel and filly, fended off by Comanche, with Sundance, Mahogany (close but not yet), Sable, Mouse and Aspen right nearby. What a goofy boy. Like he has any chance of getting one little mare of two mares guarded by four stallions! This morning, he had reunited with his flock, and all was well.
Isn’t she divine? Almost the spitting image of her mother – and her grandmother!
Just a little bitty thing
She doesn’t seem to have a speck of white on her unless it’s just hard to see right now on her light coat.
Kestrel has never really taken on any babysitting duties that I could see, but she is a doting mother.
So where was Steeldust? Well, the Steeldust-led big band is no more. Not only have youngsters Pinon, Ember and Hannah gone off to seek their fortunes with Hook, Steeldust and Alpha and Storm have followed Luna and Butch. I’m not sure who Winona’s sire is … possibly Mouse, who I noticed was very interested in Ember last year. Kestrel never seemed to draw the same attention, so daddy is just unknown.
But I am assuming Steeldust is Gideon’s sire, as I assume he’s at least Hannah’s sire and possibly Ember’s.
The little guy is the same color as Tenaz, Piedra’s son. The edges of his mane and tail look dark here, so I’m guessing they’ll darken – like their legs – and both boys will be bay.
Grey/Traveler’s band was close by …
… as was Bounce’s band. No baby yet for Alegre, and she doesn’t look like she’s close, despite being a week past her due date. All the bands were very cordial of each other, and there was no interaction at all.
Seven’s – I saw later – also were in the vicinity. I watched them nap this morning, but no pix because I couldn’t get into position to take pix without suddenly “appearing” on them, so I didn’t take any and just crept away. Right after that, I realized I was in trouble of getting rained upon – I did – so I boogied out of there! But that was today.
Here are more pix from yesterday:
The always lovely Alpha …
Alpha and her almost-2-year-old son, Storm sharing a scratch …
Storm looking for a little snack while Steeldust looks on … but I think that free lunch is about at an end. The PZP-22 did work on Alpha (and only on Alpha), so we may be looking for another July baby from the girl.
He’s just as sweet as can be …
!! And look how big her “baby” boy is!
Gideon nursing with Terra, Gemma and Houdini in the background.
Speaking of Gemma, here’s the 3-week-old girl:
To give you an idea of her size, here she is with mama Houdini:
She’s a big girl!
Daddy Grey/Traveler with his 2-year-old “baby” girl, Terra.
Gideon
He’s going to be cheeky, like big sister Hannah … I can see it coming.
And he’s off!
Keep those legs untangled, mister!
Didja see me, Mama? I was RACIN’!
Every growing little boy (and girl) needs plenty of milk …
… and plenty of shut-eye.
🙂
Babies have lots o’ itchies!
No question this little girl will turn grey.
Big sister is going grey, too.
Daddy, of course, is pure silver!
Isn’t he gorgeous??
I took some also of Bounce’s family members, and at the end of the day, I found and took pix of Chrome’s band. I’ll have those up later.
It’s still one-day-spring, the-next-day-winter in Colorado on the Western Slope (and I think the Denver area got slammed Tuesday with snow?), so these babies have to be tough right out of the womb. Good thing they have excellent mamas watching over them. 🙂
Well, folks, the ides of March have followed us to April – almost to May, to be sure. Southwest Colorado had its second major wind-dust storm of the spring yesterday. It was fairly miserable. We had four or five last year … they were miserable, too.
Toward the end of the day yesterday, visibility finally got really bad (as opposed to fairly, just plain kinda bad).
Today it snowed.
Truth in advertising?! Summer, it ain’t – yet! And I think we need to have a little chat with Ma about the fact that it is – in point of calendar fact – spring. The sign (usually) reads: Summer maintenance only. 🙂
I’m never upset about moisture. 🙂
First, the spoiler:
So follow along, kids: That’s Luna (and ever-present Butch) … and that’s the belly. Ya can’t miss it, right? She’s past last year’s due date. She’s past last-last year’s due date. She’s past 10 days past last-last year’s due date! My goodness, the lady is keeping us waiting this year.
Before my visit, I told young visitor Rochlia that I thought it wouldn’t be long before I had a better opportunity to photograph Duke.
Duke at home right above Spring Creek (which is basically a dry arroyo with tiny places where water sometimes collects and sometimes seeps to the surface). You can see by his nearly horizontal tail how strong was the wind.
After Duke, the next horses I saw were Hollywood’s … and, my goodness, what’s that at Piedra’s side? They were at a distance, and I think they could see Duke, and Piedra was nervous … and Sage was VERY jealous, and Baylee and Iya were curious, so I deduced baby was – without being able to see too closely – just a day old, two at most. Piedra took them up into trees on a hill, and she kept them there all day. Smart – they were probably somewhat protected from the wind there. And from curious-as-all-get-out two-leggeds such as yours truly. 🙂
Here’s a pic I took at the end of the day:
Baby is reddish with a muley muzzle, but reddish mane and tail, so not bay. Very big star and at least hind stockings. In the pic, left to right: Hollywood, Sage, Piedra and baby, and Baylee – Iya is out of the frame at right.
These lovelies also wanted to see the newest addition to the world that is Spring Creek Basin.
Another pond is dry … I know of two – maybe three – that still have water. Gonna be a long time till August-September when we’re supposed to have five or six more dug out. We’re getting moisture, but that ground just sucks it all up … and the wind … that wind is not kind.
Saw Bounce’s and Seven’s … and Steeldust’s … but not before I found the basin’s newest band. It’s headed by Hook. (I know what you’re thinking … everything changes. It can; it will. Enjoy it.) I know I haven’t been very good this spring about getting information posted to the blog in a timely manner (or at all), but Ember and Pinon have been hanging out with Hook lately (the past several weeks … since March?). So they’re all together – separate from Steeldust’s (more on them later) – plus one: Hannah! I alluded to a surprise a couple of posts ago, then never got around to spilling the photographic beans. A couple of weeks ago, I found her with Hollywood’s band! She clearly wanted to go “home,” and Holls just as clearly wanted to make her the newest member of his band. Did I mention Hannah is bold? Fearless? I can see it: The bands are close together … Hannah goes out to say hi … Holls is his usual charming self … then the bands aren’t close together anymore, and Holls is pinning his ears, and Hannah can’t get back to mama. She did end up back with the band, though. Now, she’s with sister, and all is calm.
But before I found them: a couple of white “dots” and a red dot … and an extra!
The “whites,” of course, were Grey/Traveler and Houdini, the red, Terra, and the extra:
Look how tall the baby girl is! And yes, it’s another daughter for Grey and Houdini! And, by the way, this is (at least) the fourth-in-a-row daughter for Houdini. She’s darker red than either Terra or Iya, but she has already-grey legs like Iya had, and the rings around her eyes are dead giveaways that the girl will go – surprise! – grey. 🙂 (I meant “no” surprise!)
Two girls and their mama
Daddy and one of his girls. The birth of the newest little girl means we have at least three of his offspring in the basin. Given the number of offspring he must have sired in his years, it’s a little crazy that most of them are at least unknown.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say he likes being a daddy. A little bit anthro … a little bit observation.
I love her face. This lovely will have a birthday in just another day (definite, not guessed). Sister Iya was born April 27 (also known). Houdini was right on time! And master Sage was born today (again, known), so if Piedra’s newest was born two days ago, she’s also right on time! One young, one not so young. Now … about that Luna … 🙂
Two more … my favorites:
Mama and her big girl …
I love spring. 🙂
Welcome, babies, to your world.
More to come of Steeldust’s.
And moisture!
So – oddly enough – for the first time in weeks, I have a full trip report! (Because I had to wait out the rain at friends’ fantastic cabin nearby, I had time to go through the day’s limited photos!)
I saw just a few horses – and NOT Steeldust’s band. It’s odd that I don’t see them, and with Luna PAST due to have her baby, the worst thing I can say about the rain was my timing in not getting to the basin soon enough to find her. I did dream about her a few nights ago – and her foal. I’ll let ya’ll know if I’m about to list “medium” on my resume. 🙂
When I got to the basin, I had time to go once ’round the loop. The horses are starting to move toward what I call the “east pocket” – it’s usually the first to green up. It’s a lot of cheat grass, and once it’s grazed and/or spent, the horses generally leave the area for the rest of the year. This is a trend I’ve noticed during the past three seasons. The timing of their migration back to the pocket varies. It was around March in 2008, I think, as early as February last year, and end of April this year!
Although I spent probably less than 30 minutes in the basin – because of the rain – I am THRILLED with the moisture! Maybe the ponds that already have gone dry and the ones close to going dry have a bit more time to serve the ponies.
Hollywood and his band were the first ones I saw, followed closely by Seven’s band. But Holls isn’t looking at Seven here …
Can you see? The boys in the trees are Roach and Poco. Remember when they set to following Holls’ band last year? But now they are “home,” and everybody else is visiting.
Baby Spring following brother Ze and mama Roja.
A flash of white caught my eye, and my first thought was Alpha … but it wasn’t. It was clever Houdini.
Around the trees, Terra and Grey/Traveler came into view. Given how windy it was, they were smart to seek the relative shelter of the trees!
Roja and Spring. I think Spring is a filly, but I’m not guaranteeing that yet! No markings that I can see.
Spring’s tail is very light at the upper edges.
Ze and Seven following along … but who do you see in the background? Do you see all three?
Spring sees them … 🙂
Now do you see who was nearby?
There was a little of this …
… and a little of this …
… and a little more of this … before Bounce – with a great toss of his head, trotted back to his band.
Seven gathered his troops …
… then they were away with Bounce hot on their trail!
I’m not sure why he pursued them. They went the way I was going around the loop, but even though I was starting to get particularly nervous about the western darkening sky, I thought it more prudent to wait. Sure enough, Bounce came trotting back like a victorious king. I inched on up the road … and saw Seven’s grazing not far from the road not too far on. To pass or not to pass? They were quiet, and that sky … so I crept forward … and past … and they weren’t bothered! That was pretty awesome.
But it turned out that they were almost the last horses I saw that day. To be safe, I drove out of the basin to the county road. Sure enough, the rain came – and hail – then it stopped, but curtains of grey still were coming … more rain … more hail … I waited for a couple of hours, then decided to call it quits and headed on south.
Guess who I saw right inside the fence just past the county line?
I couldn’t believe they were back down by the road! Mister David is taking his daddy duties very seriously.
Luckily for me, Shadow must have thought the arroyo, at least, was a comforting barrier. Wind is his name, so blessed by the person who first saw him, who said it was very windy that day. Appropriate! I don’t know whether it’s coincidence that every time I’ve seen him nurse it has been from this angle … Whatever works, eh?!
He’s not very big, but he’s a cutie! You can see his left hind sock (I thought it was a stocking on my first sighting and from the other side …?), and he also has a small star.
To make a short story shorter, I awakened the next morning to about 2 inches of snow! And sunshine! It rained and rained the rest of the day and night … The sunshine was a welcome sight, but conditions were still too wet to drive in, so I walked in. But given where the horses are now, I just didn’t get that far. I did spot Chrome’s band – way too far for pictures – but I always enjoy a sighting of little red Hayden. And the others, of course!
The clouds were coming up over the eastern ridges as I hiked out, and if the skies from home were any indication, the basin got even more moisture later in the day. All welcome and much needed!
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 