One has to wonder whether bachelor Aspen was admiring Alegre as much as I was as she raced past, mud flying! He certainly looks to be in a posture of appreciation. 🙂
The background is, once again, a fairly dominant ridge in Spring Creek Basin known locally as Knife Edge (at least, that’s what it was called when I started documenting the horses many moons ago, and that’s the name by which *I* know it). This time, it provides a fabulous – and color-coordinated – backdrop for lovely Maia, who was quite interested in the presence of two of her band mates, only barely visible in an arroyo.
It’s hard to tell – and she’s remarkably mud-free – but the ground in this part of the basin is still pretty damp and greasy (getting in and out of or up and down any even slightly sloped sides of arroyos, by either (wo)man or beast, is a slippery business!).
Rain, then snow coming tonight?! It should be less damaging here than in California … and we also need the moisture quite a bit. (California readers, I hope you’re all on high ground and safe! It’s wonderful to read that the rain pounding your very dry state (and blanketing your Sierra Nevada) is resulting in significant increases in the levels of many of your reservoirs!)
This was the day of the pronghorns, and while Tenaz was laser focused on those speedy critters (who, by the time I was taking this pic and others, had settled down to nap and browse), I was quietly taking about a billion pix from as many angles as I could on the slope slightly above him. Because … that background! The light and shadow. The bare ground and the snowy ridges. The gentle rolls and the sharp corrugation of erosion lines. The open range and the pinon-juniper forest.
The gleam in the eye of the handsome bay mustang. 🙂 He was even gussied up with a bit of bling in his mane!
I love that beard! 🙂 Pretty Piedra clearly has been to the winter spa. We don’t have the snow of the surrounding area (I was astounded at the snow everywhere BUT Disappointment Valley!), but we do have a bit of mud (although, also not nearly the mud of the places that have melting snow!).
Our world may be mainly brown again after the snow has melted (note to Mother Nature: We’ll take more of the white stuff, please!), but this little snow squall – yes, while the sun was still shining! – over Spring Creek Basin sure gave us a magical couple of minutes. That’s all it lasted – just a couple of amazing minutes. I was SO delighted to have a semi-willing model in Mr. Flash, seen here just looking back at his compadres.
I rolled up to see a couple of bands grazing below the road just moments before the little resident herd of pronghorns (there are about 20 or so hanging out together and very visible in Spring Creek Basin lately) made *their* presence known (to me, at least). But as the pronghorn bucks and does started moving up the hill toward the horses, high spirits in both species kicked in, and all I had to do was aim and hold down the shutter button!
Pronghorns are fascinating mammals – the fastest in North America. While they are numerous in many parts of the West, they’re NOT so numerous in western Colorado, and because of that, they’re not hunted here. Seeing a group of 20 is a cool sighting of a fairly big group (most of the rest of the year, they’re in much smaller groups). Also very fun to see: pronghorns racing along with the mustangs!
Pretty soon, I think curiosity took over on the part of the horses (or they *knew* they weren’t going to win any races!), and they stopped to watch as the pronghorns sped past.
If you’ve never seen pronghorns on the run, you’re really missing out. Even at what for them, I imagine, is a relaxed pace, they’re fast. And seeming effortless!
Each group eventually disappeared from my sight … but pretty soon the horses appeared again, coming toward my area of the hill as they grazed. When I walked out a bit, I saw the pronghorns, settled down in a group, napping and grazing. This human was feeling the peace. 🙂
Corazon is looking a little moisture streaked and bedraggled the morning after a nice snowfall recently. … But still ever so handsome as he flirts with his mare!
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 