Hollywood | Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Interaction

18 07 2009

For the latest installment, a little more intimate look at the interactions of a couple of bands. Visits when I see all or most of the horses are great because I get a sense of everybody’s overall well-being. Visits when I get to hang out with a couple of bands are great because I get a more intimate feel for individual horses and personalities. Visits are great.

David and Shadow were visible from the county road again. They led me to their water source …

Hoofprint puddles

David and Shadow

They seem very bonded, this pair. Shadow is 2 this year … not sure about David.

David

Shadow

She looks like her mother, Ceal.

Then it was on to the main entrance of the basin.

Bounce’s band – and Cinch and Bruiser – were hanging out in the meadow area above the second intersection. Tiny bits of rain drops were falling intermittently. Some clouds to the northeast; some clouds over the western ridgeline. The pressing goal was to find and check on Terra … I did find her, finally, with her band, through binoculars, up on a hill along the eastern hills. She was standing and moving – and up on a hill. Thunder and lightning cut short the visit and any hope of seeing her from a closer distance …

Bounces band and Cinch and Bruiser

When Whisper was first born, I noted that he had the same trot as his daddy; here, he mimics mama.

Alegre and Whisper

Heading toward the road.

Following

Where ya going?

See the likeness?

Wait for me

Cinch

Wait for me, too

Bruiser

The discussion

Oddly enough, it was Bruiser who engaged Bounce. They’re probably fairly close in age?

The conclusion

Bruiser let fly, but he didn’t connect.

One way

The other way

To the rescue

Alegre and the youngsters were walking toward me when Bounce arrived to put an end to that nonsense.

Family

Favorite of the day.

Second favorite

They’re heading away from the second intersection. In the far background, you might be able to pick out part of the loop road where it heads on south from the east pocket.

I drove on (this was on the northwest road, by the way) to visit with Hollywood’s band.

Safe Sage

Piedra grazes close while Sage naps.

Sage and Piedra

Brumley Point (which seems to lack an actual point) in the background. The band was on the north/northwest side of the road between the intersections, southish of the northwest road.

Poco

McKenna Peak (which has a point) and “the promontory” in the background.

Roach

The boys are sticking close – but not too close. They are with company, but I feel some sadness for them, too … close but not close enough to having what they had.

Piedra and Baylee

Baylee

Sage and Baylee

Hollywood

All together

Cheeky

Biting mama’s ear

More cheek

The boy defines “cheeky!”

Ha ha!

So he’s yawning, but what a funny little mister. 🙂

Sweet boy

Quiet

What an angel he is.

Whew, it was hot out there. I left pretty soon after that last picture. The boy’s tummy was full, and he was sleepy again. He laid down for another nap, and I left the ponies to sunshine and browse.

On the way out, to the tune of thunder and a show of lightning, right before I spotted Grey/Traveler’s band on the hill, Steeldust’s were coming out of “hiding” from the direction of Wildcat Spring. All the ponies seen last weekend but Seven’s band. Was particularly glad to see David and Shadow.

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Categories : Alegre, Baylee, Bounce, Bruiser, Cinch, David, Gaia, Hollywood, Piedra, Poco, Roach, Sage, Whisper

Baby girl hurt

15 07 2009

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.

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Categories : Aspen, Chipeta, Chrome, Corona, Cuatro, Ember, Grey, Hannah, Hollywood, Houdini, Iya, Jif, Kestrel, Kiowa, Luna, Mahogany, Piedra, Pinon, pintos, Roach, Spook, Steeldust, Terra, Twister, Two Boots

The dry and the wet of it

1 07 2009

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.

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Categories : Alegre, Alpha, Aspen, Baylee, Bounce, Bruiser, Chrome, Cinch, Comanche, Cuatro, Ember, Gaia, Grey, Hannah, Hollywood, Houdini, Iya, Jif, Kestrel, Luna, Mahogany, Piedra, Pinon, Poco, Roach, Sage, Steeldust, Storm, Terra, Twister, Two Boots, Whisper

Anticipation

25 06 2009

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.

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Categories : Aspen, Bruiser, Chrome, Cinch, Comanche, Hollywood, Kootenai, Kreacher, Mona, Piedra, pintos, Poco, Roach, Spook, Steeldust, Storm, Ty, Uncategorized

Before the count, part 2

21 05 2009

The pintos had gone unvisited (seen from a distance a couple of times from Round Top) for quite a while – since the start of foaling season – so I decided to check in with them Friday morning. I hiked in at dysfunction junction, but they weren’t on “their” hill. They were quite a bit farther southwest, on a hill kind of above the road, as it turned out.

They’re all still together, and Copper still seems to be the dominant stallion. Mesa is still low man on the totem pole, so he gets the duty of being first contact, while Ty and Corazon freely (mostly) wander with the band and bug Copper.

Hmm. WordPress doesn’t seem to like my first picture. Moving on …

Mesa

Look at his face. Does he remind you of anyone? Same color and same lack of markings, but the similar faces have had me thinking for a while that Mesa is Poco’s son.

Spook and Kiowa

Spook’s birthday was May 1, and Kiowa hasn’t had a foal this year (and shouldn’t). I love how shiny and healthy she looks.

Kiowa and Chipeta

Kiowa again (Spook behind her) and Chipeta. This is Chipeta’s second season without a foal; so far, the PZP is doing its job.

All but one

This was the first one I tried to post. Only Ty is missing from this picture. From left, Reya, Spook with Kiowa’s back just visible over hers, Chipeta being followed by Copper, Corazon with the heart on his side and Mesa at right.

Ty and Corazon

My black boy Ty has a grey tail and mane, and his face is getting pretty “grizzled” as well. I’ve been calling him black, but he’s always had this not-quite-black look. He’s surely the darkest grey I’ve ever seen at this age – and I don’t know how old he is, just that I’ve never seen a grey horse this mature still this dark! They’re shiny, healthy boys, though, huh?

After I left the pintos, I stopped at the corrals to visit with the Back Country Horsemen early arrivers. As my visit stretched on past noon, the place started filling up with trucks and trailers, people and horses! The small contingent from the Mesa Verde Back Country Horsemen, based in Montezuma County, arrived, and it was great to see them. I never know how much human info to reveal on this blog, but T with MVBCH and P with 4CBCH are representatives to our Wild Bunch group. P and her husband, F, started the wild horse count partnership with the BLM about 11 years ago, and they continue to organize the annual outing. T really came up with the idea of all our groups getting together for the horses and has been a source of great information and ideas. She let me ride her fantastic pinto Curly horse last spring during a camping trip to the basin!

K with our group also came for the day. I think she’s a member of each group represented, and she organized work projects Friday. She brought her husband and a friend, and they and I and P and Claude Steelman (he’s already famous!) dug post holes and set posts (husband B and friend D), and we put our backs and McLeods to some illegal routes people have driven in. Claude pounded in three new carsonite signs, and K attached the “No Motor Vehicles” stickers. We also had more fun than should be allowed with such work, rolling rocks and pulling old tree trunks down the hill and making a former trashed “campsite” look as inhospitable to setting up a tent as possible. That was back in the Wildcat Spring area. The reclaimed road – work done by fabulous University of Missouri students back in March – still looks awesome.

Not a bad bit of work for a couple of hours in the sunshine and company of wild horses! On our way to Wildcat Spring, we were treated to an up-close and personal view of Raven and baby Corona when they popped up from below the road between the two intersections! K and P were with me, and we got the best view! Yes, Duke is still with them. I’d say he was “leading” the band, but mostly he just follows wherever Raven goes – ha! Hollywood and his band, with Poco and Roach (!), were up in the meadow by the second intersection. Baby Sage is such a darling, and I’ll have more pix of him later in the program.

There is quite a bit of water at Wildcat Spring (relatively speaking), and while it smells less than stellar as usual, there is water trickling through, although the actual stream bed is dry from just below the spring.

We split after our work; I continued on east, and the other workers went back to the corrals. Steeldust’s and Bounce’s bands were still in the area of the east-pocket pond, but Grey/Traveler’s band was out toward the gap between Knife Edge and Lizard Mesa, so I went toward them. This becomes fairly important later on (that I saw them), but at the time, I just parked the Jeep to watch (no pix). Ahh, the sunshine was so warm and lovely. There was just enough breeze to keep the bugs away – I didn’t think they were bad yet this year? (I did remember, though, the next day at Round Top that we were battling them last year.) I snoozed right there in the Jeep, and by the time the back buckle of my visor was digging into my head too much to ignore, the ponies had crossed over to the greenery of “sorrel flats,” one of the pond areas to be dug out this spring in the hopes that it will fill with water when the monsoons come. That’s on track to happen; we just don’t know exactly when.

So I went back to visit with the other horses and see how week-old Whisper and Sage were getting along.

Whisper and Alegre

Just a handsome bugger!

Charmer!

Daddy Bounce

And no wonder! This is Whisper’s handsome daddy!

Gaia

Baby girl seems to have gotten over her shock at not being Mama’s one-and-only anymore. Here she’s giving me the weird-eye. In color and markings, she does look like J and V’s Spring Creek Basin mustangs – which they bring back and ride during the count weekends! – but her “look” and conformation are different.

Nourishment

In this pic, you can see his not-quite-black sheen.

In-bound

What had their attention? Steeldust’s band was heading toward the pond for their evening drink.

Shades of ... grey

I guess Mahogany wanted to be part of the “in” crowd, so she gave herself a coloring! I didn’t really think about it until I looked at this picture on the computer and realized they were all “grey”! That’s Alpha beside her and Steeldust at right.

Mouse

Lt. Mouse was actually first to drink, as the band milled around between the pond and Bounce’s band still just up on the little hill.

Family?

Those boys – that’s Sundance at right and Butch second from right – do stick close to Luna … The shorty red trying to squeeze in is actually Storm, not Ember. Hannah was pawing at the water – everybaby (!) knows it tastes better when you splash it a few times!

Storm

Here’s Stormy Jones trying his best to impersonate a shedding bison! But under that curly winter hair and mud, look how grey he has become.

Hannah

Super model girl. 🙂

Size comparison

Check out the green grass, and check out the size/angles of Sable and Hannah. Sable was a week and a day old here; Hannah was about a month and a week old.

Brother, sister, Mama

See, I don’t *forget* to take pix of Pinon … he’s just always around other horses! He had just celebrated his 1-year birthday.

Awwwww

Sable discovered mud.

Horseplay I

Storm and Pinon. You can see Storm still has his red shade in the sunlight, but check out how grey his face is.

Horseplay II

I saw this sign in a science lab this week at a local school … I smiled and wondered, when did “horseplay” become a bad thing? 😉

Mystery belly

I’ve been ignoring this little bulge on 2-year-old Kestrel for the past few weeks, hoping she takes after her mother – butterball buckskin Luna – and/or that she’s really getting a lot to eat this spring.

Kestrel

Something happened Saturday to make me REALLY start to wonder …

All in good time.

Dust to dust

After they drank, they followed the doubletrack right back the way they had come, back out to open meadows of green.

I headed out as well and thought I might get to see Hollywood’s family again on my way out. (Sorry, Aspen, but I’m glad he got his girls back!)

Just past Wildcat, I saw movement up on the hill that turned out to be Kreacher and the girls. Kreacher-feature was trying to snake them toward the trail to the spring, and the girls were oh-so-politely and resolutely refusing.

Kreacher

Taking a break under the scrutinizing eye of the photographer.

Mona and Kootenai

Love that soft light? The girls were fixated on *something* out of sight, and there are a lot of pinon-juniper in that area, so I wondered if maybe Hollywood had already brought his group to that area to drink at the spring. So I walked back and up the hill we rolled the rocks down and looked down at the spring, but there was nary a horse to be seen. I walked over and looked to the southeast, too – nada.

When I got back to the Jeep, the girls and the boy had resumed their dance. Boy insistent; girls refusing!

I found Hollywood and his lot down to the east of that section of road between the intersections. Poco and Roach still with them. The boys had a little tat for about two seconds, then settled. Far different cry than the frantic running, running, running when Roach was temporarily with Steeldust.

Poco

He’s looking at the band. This isn’t a good angle to compare him to Mesa, but I’m telling you, it’s there.

Roach

Looking at … something else? Poco and the band were behind him.

Sage, Mama and Daddy

Invitation to play, but they weren’t buying.

Baylee was back to the left, so he went back to show off for Auntie.

And hes off!

To set the scene, Baylee was to the left, and Piedra and Hollywood were about the same distance to the right. Baylee was the start/finish line.

051509sagebend

And he rounds the bend, looking for the home stretch!

051509sageleap

And it’s a leap over four-wing saltbush on his way to the finish line! Can he keep his momentum?!

051509sagerunbaylee

And the winnah is Sage by a mile!

Too bad I don’t have a video camera – he was fantastic! 🙂

Baylee and Sage

Bayles is a super auntie and babysitter for the young mister. He has just finished his race, and now he’s taking her back to Mama and Daddy so he can be congratulated.

Need-a-snack

Of course, racehorses need good nutrition …

Nap time

… and plenty of rest. 🙂

Check out his dorsal stripe. He has faint little leg stripes, too, mostly visible on his front legs now. I’m kinda holding my peace on what might be his actual color …

Hollywood

Terribly concerned, the elder mister would raise his head to look at me for about 2.7 seconds – long enough for me to straighten my camera but not enough to do that and focus, too – then go back to grazing. So what you see is (mostly) what he did!

Such a peaceful visit – and entertaining!

Sweet boy

Just the sweetest little heart!

And with that, I left the ponies and called it another beautiful day in the basin. My oh my. How can you not believe in the absolute magic gift of life seeing a colt so overjoyed just to RUN?! I do love these ponies. 🙂 I smiled all the way back to camp.

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Categories : Alegre, Alpha, Bounce, Corazon, Gaia, Hannah, Hollywood, Kestrel, Kootenai, Kreacher, Luna, Mahogany, Mesa, Mona, Piedra, Pinon, pintos, Poco, Roach, Sage, Spook, Steeldust, Storm, Ty, Whisper, Work projects

Getting caught up

3 05 2009

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.

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Categories : Alegre, Aspen, Bounce, Chrome, Comanche, Gaia, Hollywood, Kestrel, Kootenai, Kreacher, Mahogany, Mona, Piedra, Roach, Roja, Sage, Seven, Uncategorized, Ze

Spring in the wind

11 04 2009

Tis the season of deja vu. Work obligations Saturday sent me to the basin Friday, and glad am I that I went, for what I found and for the fact that it snowed again most of the day today!

The horses had a few human visitors Friday, including some on horseback. Grey/Traveler was standing guard against a truck and trailer parked up on the road to Flat Top while his band grazed down in the valley below the water catchment. Kreacher and the girls were out on the northeast side of the finger hills watching riders who gave them wide berth. Bounce and his girls were out on the southeast end of the “east-west hill,” close to Knife Edge. One dark horse was back to the northwest, sort of north of Spring Creek at the trap site. Duke? That was all within my first 15 minutes in the basin.

Because of hills and distance, I couldn’t quite tell if the single dark horse I saw was Duke, so there was nothing else to do but take a walk. The wind was at about mid-throttle – very tolerable given the insanity of the past few weekends.

Very happy surprise to walk up over a modest saddle to find not only our bay boy Duke but Chrome and Hook back with him! And an unexpected visitor.

Prongs

It’s not uncommon to see pronghorn antelope in the basin, not even alone, but this guy figures into the tale, so I’ll include his portrait. He was lying down when I first saw him, on a hill above the horses, protected from the wind, but his back was to me. He got up, and I turned my attention back to the horses. When I looked back at him, he had laid back down as you see in the pic! I wondered if he was hurt, but he didn’t seem to be.

Hook and Duke

Chrome

Chrome kept looking over his shoulder like he expected another pronghorn to pop up and run by.

Pronghorn saunter

When the buck walked down off his hill, the boys watched him very carefully.

Spooky boys

And it gave them an excuse to gallop.

Watching

But then they circled back to just below the hill to watch the buck cross an arroyo and continue up a far hill and out of sight.

Hearts

Do you see the way their heads and bodies seem to form a heart?

Hmph

Duke was sound and seemed well, if a bit grouchy. I couldn’t find any outward sign of why he might have been missing last week. I was glad to find him, and glad to find him with his pals. Something interesting: They were quite a distance from the big band, something Aspen may want to consider …

When I got back to the Jeep, another truck and trailer was visible with visitors. I never did see the original three riders again. I stayed north at the dugout intersection, intending to look for Kreacher and the girls where I had seen them last, but from the road you can look down to the south and see the bottom land you can’t see from up on the west-side road. If I’ve cautioned against having an agenda in the basin once, I’ve done it a thousand times, eh? Guess who I spotted? So I turned around and took the fork to cross Spring Creek again, headed south. The first crossing is wet, but the second is completely dry.

Kreacher and the girls were looking toward the east-west hill (can I just say and call it done that the hill really runs sort of northwest-southeast, but it’s easier to type “east-west”?) but not really toward Bounce, Alegre and Gaia, who were up higher at the end of Knife Edge toward the crest where they could have dropped into the valley between that ridge and Lizard Mesa. I watched Alegre quite intently through the binoculars for several minutes because I couldn’t quite tell if she was sporting an extra set of legs – ha. Call me expectant. She wasn’t – sporting extra legs. She should be within two weeks, give or take.

I decided to continue driving because I hadn’t yet spotted Steeldust’s band, and I also wanted to look for Poco, Bones and Roach to check Bones’ progress.

Ah ha! Poco, Bones and Roach, way out on the southwestish side of the far end of the roller-coaster ridge (past where the road goes over to the east side). And then another nice surprise: the big band, napping right at the intersection to Round Top. I parked short of them and took a closer look through the binoculars.

I always make sure all the ponies are accounted for … and they were … but wait a minute …

Do you see what I see?

Steeldust at left, and Luna. You can’t see him very well, but Sundance is on the other side of them. Butch in the middle, Storm at right (such a handsome boy!), and Mahogany behind him. Also over there were Alpha, Pinon and Ember and Kestrel. Farther out was Mouse. To the left were Aspen and Co., but let me wait a minute before we get to them. What’s that at Luna’s feet?

Holy baby!!!!!!! I have to say, I didn’t quite expect to see a foal this weekend. Luna was first to foal last year, too, but Ember was born April 18 or 19 (I like to pin it to April 18). Friday was a full week earlier than that.

I started to walk out on the road, trying to decide if I could drop down off the ridge and skirt around them without worrying them. Then I heard the truck and trailer coming behind me. I decided the best course of action was to walk back, tell the people in the truck there was a brand new baby with the band and ask if they would wait until the horses finished their nap and moved away from the road.

As it turned out, the man driving the truck was born in Telluride and knew the country quite well. We had a great conversation – though it was sometimes hard to hear him over the wind. He lives in California now and has worked on Thoroughbred racehorse farms most of his adult life (he’s now “nearly 70”). He brought his cousin and two horses, which they rode later. It was pretty cool to hear him talk about some of the history of the land and the horses and roundups past, horses he has ridden and rodeos at which he has competed. I hope I get this right: He won the calf roping at the Norwood rodeo seven times! They ended up turning around there and drove back toward the dugout, then parked along the road to unload their horses and enjoy a ride in the basin.

While we were talking, the horses woke up, and the stallions started messing around. It seems like Butch and Sundance are finally starting to feel their oats – are they 3 this year? Four? Three and 4? The “pink” boys are silly boys. They started moving, and I’m still somewhat surprised to report that after I visited them, and after I visited Poco and Co., and after I drove away … at least an hour and a half after I first saw them? … they were still moving, heading to Round Top from Flat Top! Those rowdy boys.

But let’s back up. You’ve been waiting, and … but of course I have baby pix! 🙂

Oh, wait; first, the promised pic of Hollywood, guarding “his” band, which just so happens to contain the stallion that stole “his” mares.

The breakaways

Hollywood at left; Aspen with Baylee, barely visible behind him, and Piedra.

Welcome to your family

Little Hannah girl. Such a little thing and now famous! Mama Luna at left, and big sister Kestrel, now 2, at right. I’ve been wondering for a while whether the pink boys are descended from Luna. They did stay rather close … or was it my imagination?

Snuggly

Luna-dear is an old hand at mothering. If she’s 10 – I suspect she’s close, one way or ‘tother – this is possibly her eighth foal! She did not seem at all concerned with me, focusing instead on eating everything palatable within reach.

Baby, meet baby

This is one of my favorite pictures of the day. Storm is no longer the baby of the family! I love his expression; I can’t imagine what he’s thinking.

Keeping up

Luna didn’t exactly ignore her baby, but she didn’t coddle her, either. This might be a good place to say I think Hannah is at least a couple of days old (I put her birthday at Wednesday, April 8). She doesn’t have that newborn look anymore, and she wasn’t so new that Luna was constantly checking and nuzzling her. She expected baby to follow, and baby did!

Hannah

Isn’t she a doll?!

Peace

Welcome to your world, sweet baby girl!

All calm

Meanwhile, Aspen and Co. were following the band at a respectful distance.

Beeline

Piedra started walking toward me, and Baylee was not quite sure that was the wisest move.

Making a run for it

Apparently, Baylee dawdled too long because Comanche came calling. The butt straight out is Mouse’s, and he’s directing Steeldust’s horses away from the fray.

Get lost, buddy

Then Aspen, who had been trying to protect Piedra from Hollywood, came running back to the rescue. The grey in the background at right is Steeldust.

Eye of the storm

Piedra tried to ignore the chaos swirling around her (but note the ear). Baylee is just happy to be back at her side. Aspen – you can see his head just over Piedra’s hindquarters – cut Comanche off … but Hollywood was about to make his move.

Around and around

Now see what I meant earlier when I said Aspen would do well to put some distance between himself and the band (again)? Personally (and not-so secretly), I’d love to see Holls get the mares back, but if Aspen stays in the vicinity of the big band, I’d wager that the dynamics of this little band are going to change, or Aspen is going to be run ragged – or both.

Comanche

This guy is pretty burly. It’s only a matter of time before he starts to collect a harem, I think, though there are only so many to go around.

Pinon and Ember

Pinon is a month from his first birthday; Ember is just a week away!

Keeping the girls in line

Steeldust had his hooves full trying to keep his ladies together, but Mouse seems to be pulling his weight.

Still a baby

Don’t grow up too fast, little man. Pinon with Mouse.

The ponies moseyed on, and I sat awhile longer, marveling at the horses and all the behaviors and interactions I’m privileged to witness. Really amazing. They crossed the arroyo I was sitting at the edge of, and I waited until they had dropped out of sight over the next little ridge, then went on back to the intersection.

Poco, Bones and Roach had gone out of sight from that side of the roller-coaster ridge, so I drove on that way to see if they’d gone to the other side. Sure enough, they were down by the squishy arroyo on the east side of the ridge. I watched them from the Jeep for a while, then turned around and headed back. Bones looks like she could foal at any time … Fingers crossed she safely delivers a healthy foal.

Mountain majesty

Looking northwest, look who I spotted right on the west-side road! I stopped to scan for Bounce and the girls toward Knife Edge or down toward the arroyo below the road, but I didn’t see them. By the time I got moving again, Kreacher and the girls had dropped out of sight – again.

I decided to go down and see if any water had collected in the pond by Flat Top. Hook was a short distance west of the road, acting as lookout. I caught a glimpse of Duke but didn’t see all three of them until later, on my way out. And I got another surprise because Kreacher and the girls had gone slightly southwest and up toward that north-south road that goes between the Flat Top pond and the main road. After them disappearing and re-appearing all day, I finally had the chance to see them from a closer vantage, which gave me the chance to check on Raven.

Three girls

Kootenai, left, Raven and Mona right on the north-south road.

Kreacher

I think the ponies aren’t so used to a lot of visitors like they had Friday, so they seemed a little more nervous than usual.

Kootenai

Mona

Raven

Compare the bellies

I’m just sayin’ … Maybe she’s just an easy keeper …

They went on up the road, so I decided to turn around rather than follow them and have them feel pushed. Once back out on the main road, guess who else I found? Only my very favorite boy!

Lowlanders

Between them, Grey/Traveler and Houdini-mare are wise, wise ponies. They were down in this shallow arroyo, at least semi-protected from the wind. It did turn out to be another very windy day, but the moisture we’ve gotten recently (snow last Saturday) seems to have glued some of the dirt to the ground, so we didn’t have the major dust storms we’ve had lately.

All at attention

Well, except Mr. Twister, snoozing in the protection of the ladies. You can’t see their whole bodies here, but look how big Iya’s face (center, bald face/big blaze) is compared with older sister Two Boots’, next to Twister, behind Jif. Maybe it’s the marking, and maybe it’s that Iya has a big Roman nose and Two Boots is quite a bit more refined, but Iya is one big girl (and her first birthday is coming up in about two weeks!).

Is it summer yet?

I noticed that some of the horses didn’t seem quite as fuzzy as they had even last weekend, but check it out: Jif is shedding!

Testing her limits

Where have you seen this before? Cheeky Jif tries to outrun her stallion …

Ducklings

… while the youngsters crowded around mama Houdini, who went the opposite direction. I thought that was funny. 🙂

Pied piper

Traveler, of course, brought his wayward young mare back to the fold, but how she ended up at the head of the line, only she knows. She has just a little belly, but Houdini is bulging at the seams.

And there you have it. Duke and his pals were all visible in the “flats” east of the catchment. I think I didn’t stop smiling all the way home. 🙂 A beautiful new baby, a missing boy found, a day in the wild. Could it have been a better day? I can’t quite see how.

One down, eight to go? We shall see!

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Categories : Alpha, Grey, Hannah, Hollywood, Houdini, Jif, Kootenai, Kreacher, Luna, Mahogany, Mona, New girls, Pinon, Raven, Steeldust, Storm

All dusty; one missing

4 04 2009

Calendar months, state lines, boundaries between state and private land are all constructs of mankind, but Mother Nature is blurring the seasonal lines this year – as is her right and royal privilege, of course. And if she thinks it’s still March, when we should be getting a good percentage of our moisture, that’s fine. March has roared right into April, but it’s also snowing – again. All night and all today, so far. 🙂 (I know people are tired of snow, but my ponies need moisture!)

Well, I didn’t see everybody during my visit to the basin yesterday, but I did see enough to recognize Duke is “missing” from his usual group (Hook and Chrome, following Steeldust). Last April, he turned up alone and limping, and he stayed alone for nearly two months. I didn’t see him at all yesterday … I hope that’s all it is.

The forecast and weekend work duty gave me an excuse to head to the basin Friday (and given today’s 6 inches of snow and still falling, I’m glad I went). I didn’t go out last weekend; the mares should start foaling any week now, and I’ll be out there plenty for at least the next month of weekends.

Grey/Traveler and his band were out on the hill above the corrals southwest of Filly Peak when I first drove in. By the time I drove out later that afternoon, they were still on the hill but a bit farther south. Not close enough to see the mamas-to-be, but everyone was accounted for and looked content.

Poco, Roach and Bones

These horses were my next sighting (from near OR far), and they were right off the road in their usual territory (eastish, nearish the double ponds). Can you see the grey girl from here?

Bones with a belly

How ’bout now? And you can actually see her weird hip from his angle, too … Please, God, don’t rip her in half when that baby comes out into the world. I don’t mind saying I’m a little worried about the plucky girl.

Two windblown boys

Roach and Poco, enjoying some of the sunshine in the wind.

Bad dread day

The wind is tough when you have dreadlocks in your mane. It was deja vu from last Sunday and the Sunday before that. The wind was insane, and the dust was hanging in the sky before I even got to the basin in the morning. Thunderstorms were in the forecast, but that wind must have blown any thought of rain clear to Wyoming.

Swaying with the wind

Poor Bones was literally swaying on her feet as the wind pushed her. I was crossing an arroyo to get ahead of her for better light when I took this shot. You can see her big baby-belly and her protruding hip from this angle, too.

Bones and Poco

Poco had walked over to her, but she didn’t want any part of him.

Frisky Roach

Then big-boy Roach ambled over and nickered to her, but she wasn’t having any of him, either.

Poco to the rescue!

But that was more than Poco could take, so he chased away the interloper and saved the day, err, the mare.

At ease

A few seconds later: one little happy family (but note that Poco is between Roach and Bones). Brumley Point in the background.

Aspen and Co.

A few minutes later, I spied the breakaway band just as I was about to cross the “squishy” arroyo. Helpful, I know, but it’s the only one that’s even slightly wet anymore (except the first Spring Creek crossing), and it’s, well, squishy. At bottom left, left to right: Hollywood, Aspen and Piedra. At far right: Baylee. Up the hill: Hook (left) and Chrome. Duke usually hangs out with Chrome and Hook. The horses walked up and over that hill, and I wondered if Steeldust’s band was on the other side – and maybe Duke, too.

So I drove up onto roller-coaster ridge and pulled over where I could watch them – Steeldust’s band and Mouse and Comanche were, indeed, on the other side of the hill. In fact, I walked over that same hill a few weeks ago when I visited Poco, Bones and Roach on the south side and Bounce, Alegre and Gaia on the north. The horses were up against the hill, which comes down in a couple of ridges, and I still couldn’t see Duke, but I thought he was just still out of sight. But then they all moved into the open, and he wasn’t with them. Where on Earth is he??

I hiked down the ridge and took some pix from across the arroyo that runs along the base.

Itchy

It’s a good thing the ponies are all still fuzzy, seeing as how winter follows spring this year (not that that’s a terribly unusual seasonal progression on the edge of the Rockies). Ember-girl is the oldest of last year’s babies and will be a year old in just a couple of weeks!

Ember with the boys

Possibly her brothers? Sundance in the middle and Butch at right. I don’t know if it’s very visible in this small pic, but see how the roots of Ember’s mane are grey? I had started to wonder lately if she was going to keep her red color and not turn grey, but seeing that grey-grey mane growing out, I do think she will eventually turn grey. Iya also was born bright sorrel – like Gaia and Storm – but she has gone so dark she looks black from a distance (sister Two Boots was born black and is now dark grey). Gaia will stay sorrel, I’m pretty sure, but I think Storm will eventually go grey, too.

Greasewood - breakfast of champions

Or lunch of hungry mamas-to-be. That’s heavy-pregnant Luna chowing on prickly winterized greasewood with Sundance, left, and Steeldust. Luna is Ember’s mama.

Focus on the belly

Just as Mahogany was walking along the opposite side of the arroyo, I hit the shutter … only to see later that she was trying to hide behind that weed covering her face. Drat. This girl still has a ways to go; she’s not due till May.

Lovely

Beautiful Alpha-lady, with Ember behind her.

Sleepy Storm

After lunch, little Storm-chaser was a tired boy, napping here with the wind in his face. He’s a little older than 8 months old now and still nursing from mama Alpha, who still looks good, if a little ribby. The good news is that she doesn’t look pregnant (PZP at work).

Seeing rose

Mahogany, left, and Kestrel grazing … crazy dust in the background, looking northwest (roller-coaster ridge is to the left). Pretty Kestrel looks a little bulky, but I think she’s just an easy keeper like her mama (Luna) and maybe a little bit of long-lens compression.

Mouse doing the snake

How do lieutenant stallions know what to do? Is bachelorhood sort of like ROTC or OTS, and now he’s commissioned, and he has his orders? He walked a little farther, turned his tail to the wind, cocked a hip and tried to act like he was napping. Most of the other horses did the same; Steeldust was on the opposite side of the band.

Doing the walk-on-by

Hook, left, and Chrome walk past Aspen and Co. (Hollywood at right, watching them). Knife Edge in the background. By this time, I knew Duke wasn’t around. Unhappy to not see him. I hope the boy is all right … It may sound weird, but I hope he’s “just” hurt (and just a little, enough to not keep up) and not worse. They were out on the other side of the big band, so I didn’t walk out to them. Piedra looks a little “thick” through the middle but not as pregnant as (I think) she should look. Best guess: She’s due this month (with Hollywood’s baby).

All in the family - except Duke

I stopped to take one more pic after I left them napping. It was nice right up on the ridge-side protected from the wind, but they were all out in the howling inferno across the arroyo. The arroyo looked (and felt) damp, but there was no water in that particular section). Notice a couple of things: Mahogany, left, Aspen, up in the “back,” and Comanche, single horse in the middle, are still grazing, and only one goofball – Hook – is facing the wind. Chrome is maybe a little hard to see, right behind him.

When I got back up to the Jeep, it was starting to sprinkle dust. When even the raindrops are dusty, you know it’s bad. Has anyone checked on Arizona lately? Is it still there, or has it been wiped from the map and deposited in Colorado? I’m not a lifelong resident of these parts, so maybe the fact that I’ve never seen it quite this bad in seven years (total, not consecutive) of living in Colorado doesn’t mean diddly, but I also think it’s visual, in-your-face proof of how dry it is. Arizona (and this bottom corner of Colorado) wouldn’t be blowing away if it was wet enough to stick to the map, err, ground, no matter what state we humans say it ought to be in. Pretty crazy.

Bounce and his lovely girls were by the arroyo by the west-side road, but I wasn’t taking any chances with potential rain (it was supposed to thunder and storm, remember), so I waved and drove on by. Cutest-girl Gaia watched me, as did dark-and-handsome Bounce, but Alegre pretty well ignored me (this from the girl who used to be like Duke in that any appearance of a vehicle sent her into get-away mode). Gaia will be 1 year old on Earth Day!

I looked and looked and looked for Kreacher and the girls but never saw hide nor hair of them. As already mentioned, I saw Grey/Traveler and his family again, still out on the far hill that’s basically above (east of) the corrals out on the county road. I did not see any cattle in the basin, but a group of mamas and babies (not the ones that had been in the basin until recently) were very disgruntled about having to give up the road when I first drove in that morning (on/near/next to the road just on the private side of the cattle guard going into the herd area). Sorry, ladies and babies. I did drive down to the trap site (pond dry). No sign of the ponies, but that section of Spring Creek, especially in the canyon, does have water, so I suspect they’re around somewhere amid the hills and swales and dales.

It was early yet, so I decided to drive down the county road to see if I could spy the spots like last time. No spots, unless you count rump patches …

Shadow and shadowy deer

Yay! David and Shadow, thought I from the Jeep on the county road just barely into Dolores County from San Miguel. But then I spied spots, and I thought, hmm, no, must be Mesa and Ty and the pintos. Then, no, I decided, David and Shadow and dusty muley rump spots! Ha. As you can see, it got much dustier (dustyer? much mo’ dusty?) – again, deja vu two weekends ago when I stopped in nearly the same spot on the county road to visit with the painted ponies and their solid suitors. David was just to the right, out of the frame of the above pic.

I drove on down to the valley of the pintos and what I am henceforth naming “dysfunction junction” in honor of the “dysfunctional” family make-up of the pinto girls and babies (well, young ladies) and one pinto boy and three solid boys, and the “junction” of my favorite hike-in spot, and the not-so-fondly named “malfunction junction” in the city where I once lived (bonus points to you if you know the city), which has since been “fixed” (but not really, according to some). Well, it made me laugh, and I liked it, and it will never show up on any official map, so there you are.

Point: No spotted – or otherwise – ponies were to be seen that day from the road (except the aforementioned David and Shadow).

So I turned around and parked the buggy and headed in to visit with David and his young lady, who will be 2 this year but hopefully not a mother until next year at least.

David the horse

Not to be confused with the three Davids who named him right before the roundup of ’07. David was on private property. The private property gate was opened, the contractors took down the herd-area-boundary fence across the county road, tied some saddle horses in the trees inside the herd area and used Shorty the Judas (and the helicopter) to lure young David back home. He tried to hook up with a band of sorrels almost immediately, but though those sorrels were rounded up and removed, our David never was. Last year when the southside boys ganged up on pinto former band stallion Bruiser (still a pinto; no longer a band stallion), David lured away young Miss Shadow and stole away, leaving the other boys with the band. Cinch later decided he had better company with Bruiser (who may be his sire; they look an awful lot alike).

Blending into the dusty shadows

Shadow and David

Shadow

Shadow is black as jet. Black as night. Black as a … shadow. No markings. Her mother was the older, independent mare Ceal, who was sometimes with Bruiser and the pinto band and sometimes not. She was very thin in the fall of 2007 (and possibly had a hip injury) and died that winter. Shadow stayed with the pintos until the brouhaha when David claimed her.

Together

Closer

The end.

They followed the deer into the trees farther up the hill, and I headed back to the road and the Jeep and the highway and home. Woke up the next morning – this morning – to snow. Where/when have you heard that before? Good for the dust, good for the ground, hopefully good for the ponds that are dry, definitely good for the ponies (Ma Nature can’t fool them; they’re still wearing their winter coats!).

Unlike two weeks ago when the snow mostly stopped by mid-morning, this snow has been falling all day long. I hope the ponies are getting it, too! There’s only a little grass here and there yet, but that greasewood has to taste better with a little topping of whipped snow! 🙂

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Categories : Alpha, Bones, David, Hollywood, Luna, Mahogany, Poco, Roach, Steeldust, Storm

Celebration

15 03 2009

Until I got to this point, I thought I had a lot to say about my most recent visit with the horses. Now, again, I’m speechless. The last time I was in the basin with them, I felt like I had walked into a painting, a place with the most lovely light and subjects so heavenly I could only weep with joy. The weather last weekend wasn’t so great, and I was still riding the high of the gift that was the previous weekend, so Saturday was my first visit in two weeks – it felt like forever.

Last weekend, I saw all the horses; this weekend, only the northern horses with the exception of Bounce and his girls. But – again – it was one sublime experience. It was sunny; it was cloudy. It was warm; there was a nip to the air. It was calm; it was breezy. The horses were as relaxed as I’ve ever seen them, I was the only two-legged for miles, and it was a day beyond treasure. Yes, again. I’m doing my best to spread the karma.

Piedra, Baylee and Aspen

These ponies were the first I saw, in the flats by Spring Creek where Kreacher had his girls the last time I saw them.

Hollywood

Yep, he’s still with ’em.

Bored Baylee

Leggy girl got bored watching me with the others, so she started grazing.

Come on over

I guess Hollywood thought he was being ignored, so he trotted over.

Come closer

Which, of course, made Aspen get a little closer to the girls.

Hanging out

One little happy (kinda) family.

Horses and clouds

And there they stayed while I walked back to the Jeep.

At that point, the only other four-leggeds I had seen were two cows – black and black baldy – both with tiny calves – in the valley below the water catchment, so I hooked down across Spring Creek again and up onto the road headed toward Round Top. Beyond eyesight, I caught sight of Mona, Kootenai and Kreacher way out on top of the east end of the east-west hill. Raven was out of sight. Also from the road, I spotted Grey and Houdini and Jif and the kids out toward Flat Top … and farther out between Round Top and Flat Top, Seven and his girls. I parked at Round Top and hit the trail. I decided to go find the threesome first because they were farthest away. By the time I got to the far trail, they had dropped down to the valley below the saddle.

Seven

Seven, if he was aged correctly by the contractors at the roundup, is coming on 9 this year. The wind was brisk by this time, so I dropped off the saddle on the calm side of a ridge and hunkered down where I could see the boy around the corner. I had seen the girls from the top, so I figured he’d go toward them and I could inch out to the end of the ridge and sit there and watch them. But no, he decides to walk in the opposite direction, which put him right down the hill from me – and me in plain sight. I sat there long enough in an uncomfortable position on the side of the ridge that my right leg and foot went to sleep. Ugh. Can you feel the pins and needles? It finally did wake up as I shifted weight as slowly as I could so I wouldn’t startle him. Finally he walked back toward the mares, and I could wake up my leg and move down to where I could see them all. He went behind some trees, so I went down the hill and over another, lower ridge, where I got in position among the roots of a gnarled old pinon (or juniper; I didn’t actually pay attention to which), which gave me a nice little frame to shoot through, though I was still pretty much in plain sight.

Roja, Molly and Seven

I kept thinking they’d hear my shutter click, at least, but the wind must have blown the sound away.

Seven going on 9

(Any Star Trek fans?) I think I know why Seven didn’t see me – he grazes with his eyes closed.

Molly and Roja

You can see old Molly is a bit on the thin side (she should NOT have a foal this year), and you can see just as well that pert Roja is as chubby as a fall apple (should be a baby in there).

I watched them for a bit then quietly got up and walked back up the nearest ridge to the saddle. Seven saw me and watched me walk away, but if the mares saw me, they never even looked up. Great visit with these wary ponies.

I picked up the trail to the yucky water hole to pick up the trail to the other water hole which leads on out around Flat Top. Got a yucky surprise.

Yucky from a distance

It’s almost dry! Just two weeks ago there was more water. It’s never been a big puddle, but now it’s almost just mud.

Yucky close up

There is water to the top of that awful pipe, which is jagged all around its top edge. There’s more water at the next puddle, but there’s also another pipe – under the surface of the water and also jagged. All you horse folks out there are cringing just like I was. I can’t believe a horse hasn’t stepped on or in that pipe yet and sliced his or her pastern open (good karma! good karma! good karma!). At the rate things are drying up out there … well, please help me pray for rain – or more snow. March is typically our wettest month, but it’s been dry and windy so far. No pix of the other water hole because I had put my camera back in my backpack.

When I got down (up? north) to Grey/Traveler and his band, only Jif was above the arroyo, and she was headed into it. If she saw me coming, she didn’t acknowledge me. So I waited until they came up to graze, then went down to investigate what they’re drinking. I didn’t take pix, but it will look like the picture where Bones was drinking later in the program – from muddy hoof prints. Dry, peeps; it’s damn dry out there.

Are you ever so happy, so in love, the emotion spills out of you in waves of tears? Guys, you can stop reading; I know this is the equivalent of a chick flick. Girls, am I right?

Rose-colored hills, silver stallion

Is he not gorgeous? He amazes me.

The light was crazy. Clouds were low on the southern and southwestern horizon when I got there in the morning, but during the day, they covered the sky, they parted, they played tag with the ridges and hillsides, they turned Spring Creek Basin into a painter’s canvas, and the horses moved through that light like angels. I swear to you, it was unbelievable.

Grey and rose

He came to stand at the edge of the arroyo while I stood in the bottom. He cocked a hip and listened to me ask for just a little more wild horse medicine for my friends (one of whom came through surgery last week with flying colors and a great prognosis). He stood in the wind and made my heart sing.

Grey and youngsters

The babies tried not to act very curious – Twister at left, Two Boots at right.

Twister and Traveler

A little land, a lotta sky.

Comfort

Twister, right, adores Two Boots and doesn’t mind telling her so.

Two Boots

Houdini’s daughter Two Boots will be 2 around April 21. She was born black.

Greasewood buffet

Twigs, that’s all that is. How do they get nutrition from twigs? Iya and Jif snack on twigs and look great.

Iya

Big baby girl will be 1 on April 27! She still has a glint of red in the right light, but from a distance, she looks black.

Shades of grey

Houdini and Grey/Traveler

Expectant mothers

First (that I know of) for Jif, many-th for wise girl Houdini.

Sunlight and shadow

See what I mean about that light? This is looking to the north, maybe slightly northwestish.

Youngsters

Iya, Two Boots and Twister follow the adults to the arroyo, which they crossed.

Pyramid

On the other side. I like their arrangement, even though not a one of them is paying attention to me anymore.

It was a good walk back to the Jeep from where they were, and I had spied glowing Alpha up by the roller-coaster ridge, so I walked on toward them. They were out in the open when I got to them, grazing and moseying toward-ish Round Top, with the boys bringing up the rear.

Duke and Chrome were standing together again, and Hook was a short distance ahead of them, toward the band. These boys are the remnants of the Bachelor 7. Kreacher won the new girls; Aspen hung out with Hollywood until he stole those girls; Mouse slid into Hollywood’s old lieutenant spot reporting to Steeldust; Comanche, who was with Aspen until Aspen won the girls, is sort of Mouse’s sergeant now. So Duke, Chrome and Hook stick together loosely, wandering after the big band. And they’re all still hanging out down there in the roller-coaster ridge area, probably because there’s still water in that pond. It’s shrinking like the wicked witch, but it’s the best source of water out there now – still.

Boys

Duke, left, Chrome and Hook when Hook got nervous and ran back to Duke and Chrome.

Play time

When I was walking toward them, before I had the camera out, I saw Chrome and Hook mix it up. A few minutes after Hook rejoined the boys, he and Duke had a little talk. Who’s the common denominator there? Although in this case, at least, Duke was the instigator.

Back to normal

Knife Edge getting the sunshine as I left the boys to go see the family.

Hook

Almost forgot this one of Hook. He really did have a little hook at the end of his snip once, I promise. Still has a hint of his rosy shade.

Mahogany

Looking for a mid-May baby from this gal.

Pinon

Tall, dark and cute as a bug! He’ll be 1 around May 13.

Pinon and Daddy

Steeldust was pretty content … but just wait.

Belly-rific!

Luna-girl was first to foal last year.

Ember

Old-soul girl will be 1 around April 18.

Luna and her babies

Kestrel, right, will be 2 this spring.

Storm snack

Do you see the crazy-light beauty I was blessed with?!

Storm and Alpha

Our little Storm-chaser is closing in on his 8-month birthday. Big boy.

Hey, look over there

This was immediately after Steeldust had a little chat with Comanche – a little reminder, really. Steely Dan is looking back at the bachelor boys; Comanche may be looking at deer (I saw them later).

Taking action

Comanche may have missed the message, though, because right after that, Steeldust took off after him. The butt just at the edge of the frame is Mouse’s.

Frustration

Then Steeldust left Mouse in charge of putting the point on the argument; Comanche at right.

Back again

And Steeldust moved the band back in the direction from which they had just come. (Again, that light!)

Now a little visual story:

Just walking along

Kestrel and Sundance. All looks well so far, but note the ear.

Perturbed

Now she’s feeling crowded – you know how boys can be – so Kestrel pins her ears and shakes her head at Sundance (who might, maybe be her brother).

Intervention

And that’s when mama Luna steps in.

Punishment

Swift and sure are mama’s teeth! I don’t know if you can see it in this small pic, but she actually has a hunk of hide in her teeth! I don’t know if Luna had a goal in mind, if she went for Sundance because daughter got out of the way, but it sure put an end to that mischief!

At some point while I was with the band, I had spotted Poco farther eastish, so when the band swapped directions, I went on out to say hi to P, B & R – couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

Copper in a cloud of dust

Roach apparently thought I was one of the bachelors when I first approached because he came trotting out to greet me (they were some distance away but visible). I wish this photo even began to do justice to the scene, but Roach was just glowing like he was in a spotlight from the heavens. Once he realized it was me, though, he turned around and walked back to his pals.

Guardian

See them all? Bones through Roach’s legs; Poco at right.

Bones went down to get a drink, and Poco turned to watch after her.

What do you see?

Lemme tell you what I see. She’s so relaxed she’s not even looking at me while she drinks down in an arroyo (where I’m standing is low, but in front of her is a big “wall”). I see muddy water filling sandy hoof prints (this is what it looked like where Grey and family were drinking). I see a big belly … And you can see how her right hip bone sticks up.

Show is over

Just for laughs. 🙂

See ya

Soft light on the big red boy.

And that was the end of that visit. I didn’t know if Poco and Roach had been down to drink yet at that point (I didn’t think so), so I left ’em to it and headed back toward the Jeep. At this point, I was on the northeastern side of Round Top, kinda near where that weird guzzler is, if you know where that is.

When I got back up on the flattish area where the band was (flat as in no arroyos for at least 100 feet), I spotted a group of muley does and last year’s fawns moving north in front of me. They were totally backlit by the sun, and I must not have been visible to them because they had their heads down and I was “behind” a high spot in the ground. I didn’t think I’d be able to get anywhere close to them to take pix before they took off, so I kept walking. But they didn’t see me, so when I got to a shallow arroyo, I hopped the line and moved north to come out a little ahead of them.

I see you

The big girl on the left may have been an alpha doe – if deer have such rankings. She froze like a statue and didn’t take her eyes off me – and what beautiful eyes she has! She stood like that so long – and I stood like I stood so long – that most of the others got bored and went back to browsing. Finally I stepped out from behind the camera (on my monopod), and they decided that was enough of that. Looks like they wintered as well as the horses.

It took me about four hours to visit those four bands (counting the bachelors with Steeldust’s band). Had a snack when I got back to the Jeep and just rested a bit to marvel. The temperature may have inched into the lower 50s. I saw 60 once on the Jeep’s display, but I don’t believe it for a second. Cool enough for a sweatshirt; warm enough to work up an arroyo-inspired sweat. You really just have to take time to sit back and take it all in while you’re out there. It’s not all picture taking and getting from point horses to point other horses.

I spend a lot of time thinking in practical terms – how old the foals are, when which mare might foal, how dry it is, how much we need more precip – but I also spend quite a bit of time wondering how to balance all I GET from the horses with how to give back. Is it even possible? What do they want from me? What can I give them that even comes close to comparing with all they give me? So I share with them, and I share them with you, and if you take a moment in your day to thnk of them and bless their wild hearts, maybe that’s a little bit close to enough. Maybe. 🙂

Looking for Bounce and his lovely ladies, I drove the roller-coaster ridge road to where it drops off the east side, then turned around and headed back without seeing them. Driving back toward the dugout, I looked for ’em; never saw ’em. They might have been feeling crowded and gone to the east side of Knife Edge. I also looked for Kreacher and the girls as I drove along the east-west hill (I suppose it’s probably more a northwest-southeast hill), but I didn’t see them, so I had started to think they had dropped down into that little valley between Knife Edge and Lizard Mesa (I think Bounce may have been down in the eastern end of that valley, but who knows).

Bada-bing. Up ahead, split on either side of the road: Mona and Kreacher on the west side, Raven and Kootenai on the east side. Black and apricot joined dun and grey, and I found them taking in the view …

Ever so soft

The sun was heading toward the far horizon by this time, below a cloud bank. I’ve been there when the sun heads to California behind the clouds the whole way, and I’ve been there when it drops out of the clouds and floods the basin in gold so pure you wish you could bank it. Guess what happened? Just a little longer … The above pic is looking southwestish from right off the road close to the dugout intersection.

Against the fingers

Just a tiny bit east (of what I call the finger hills), really. They had decided they wanted to re-cross the road (don’t ask why the horses cross the road).

Kreacher

Mr. Big, looking all kind of handsome.

And then …

Light and light and light and grey

That light … Kreacher-feature never looked so fine!

Apricot and turquoise

Spin me a story about complementary colors, and I’ll tell you the perfect complement to a blue-bird sky is a horse wild as the wind.

And just when you want more, I have to disappoint you. Sure, I took more photos, when I remembered to hit the shutter for enjoying all that amazing light on the horses, but the horses were (are) very uncooperative, showing me mostly butts as they wandered off over the hill to graze and nap. Kreacher actually walked away out of sight! Meanwhile, the girls let ‘im go; Kootenai nibbled, and Raven and Mona stopped to enjoy the sunshine with cocked hips and closed eyes. Imagine it. … Believe me, no picture could be better than what you can imagine.

OK, one more. Just before I dropped down the last hill on the road to cross Spring Creek, guess who surprised me? I took this from near the dugout, I think, to get the background:

End of the day, laddies and lasses

Can’t end on a much better note than that, eh? 🙂

Wild horse magic! Pass it on!

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Categories : Alpha, Bones, Grey, Hollywood, Houdini, Jif, Kootenai, Kreacher, Luna, Mahogany, Molly, Mona, New girls, Pinon, Poco, Raven, Roach, Roja, Seven, Steeldust, Storm

Following the magic

8 03 2009

The following photos are from my time last Sunday in Spring Creek Basin. When Grey/Traveler’s band and a stunning red-tail hawk are among the first things I see, I know it has to be a great day. And it was.