Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

The last time Tenaz appeared on the blog, he was looking a bit rough, in the throes of the latter stages of shedding his winter coat for his summer shorts. So when I saw him the other evening and was practically squinting in the glare of his shine from the angle of the setting sun, I set about trying to capture the full gloriousness of his bayness (!).

But while they are looking fabulous as the days warm suddenly into 80-degree territory, they’re also almost frantically hunting the elusive green (it’s not necessarily elusive … there’s just not a lot of it (… yet?)). So there’s kind of a whole lotta domesticity going on in the basin these days while the horses, well, simply graze. (In other words, he wasn’t quite willing to strike a “handsome-mustang” pose!)

This area of the basin is cut by several shallow arroyos that run down to join the Spring Creek arroyo, so thinking I’d try something different, I stepped into it and tried to photograph Tenaz with the band through his legs in the background.

He did seem at least slightly interested to know why I was suddenly half my normal height. 🙂

But it didn’t stop him from seeking the green!

It doesn’t look like it here (Cassidy Rain did NOT hang around to model her beautiful self with the wind screaming at us), but this was one of the windiest days in the basin this spring (and as windy as it always is in the spring, and as WINDY as it has been even the last few days, that’s saying something). I got a kick out of a pic I saw recently of a Quarter Horse, posed saddled and bridled, on what the photographer said had been a windy day in Texas. They used two cans of hair spray to keep the horse’s mane neat for the photo.

Well, our secret mustang stylists don’t use hair spray, but there’s lots of wind spraying about … and I think it makes for the most LOVELY horses imaginable! 🙂 And fortunately, they’re finding wet spots in which to drink and roll. … And do you see the green? Yes, look hard … but it’s there.

(Note: I greatly respect the photographer mentioned above. It was just a funny thing to think about for someone (moi) who photographs way more mustangs than perfectly coiffed domestic horses. :))

How do you fill a heart full to bursting? How do you fill a heart already so full you think there’s no room left?

That’s the crazy thing about love, isn’t it? This little teeny muscle inside the human chest is just a little magical in its ability to hold all the love you can pour into it.

Every mustang, every visit, I love them all, every time, all the time. It’s simply impossible to feel otherwise. 🙂

So, really, there must always be at least a little bitty bit of room left? For all the days and all the love to feel?

Hey, it’s hard to look fabulous when the wind is howling. Good looks and a hair-do like that doesn’t just happen naturally. … Oh, wait! Yes, it does!

Tenaz – rockin’ Colorado’s spring winds. You go, guy!

Always a handsome way to end a day: Skywalker. 🙂

Sweet, lovely Piedra wonders where all the snow has gone.

Well, it’s practically spring, lady. Sure, the calendar says so, but ponies are shedding and we’re looking for green. And maybe some more rain.

More rain would be awesome. And that’s no joke! (Happy April Fools’ Day!)

Do you see it?

You might have to click on the pic to enlarge it.

Would it help to know that *I* didn’t see it until I saw it on the computer screen? What I saw was Hayden shaking his head and then wandering off to graze.

It was T-shirt weather, a day after I didn’t think I could wear enough layers to keep out the biting north wind.

Spring is coming … and with it, the flying buzzers.

Another 2.5 inches of snow (at least) fell overnight and Sunday morning in Disappointment Valley, bringing more much-needed moisture. Lots of melting happened Saturday, and the temperature is hovering right at freezing, so lots of melting is happenING.

Interestingly, snowshoes work pretty well when mud is close to the surface under the mud by doing the same thing as on snow: spreading weight over a surface. Of course, the mud isn’t as easy to knock off, but your boots are happier.

This is Temple on Friday evening:

This is Temple on Saturday afternoon:

Oh, what a difference a day (less than 24 hours) makes. 🙂

We got at least 3.5 inches of snow, so the pic taken Saturday afternoon shows a considerable amount of melting – which means water in the ground.