Wind and smoke and dust and … road work

14 06 2022

Good night, America.

Some people cuss. The above from me passes for a fairly mild epithet. It means that, like most everyone else, I’m worn down by these conditions … and then we got smoke. It never means much in practical terms, but prayers are with folks near Flagstaff, Arizona, who are dealing with the current Pipeline Fire – and two other nearby fires – which is the source of the smoke in the above pic.

And then there’s this little tidbit about the start of the fire, which makes actual bad words come to mind (after one has gotten over the idea that there really aren’t any words appropriate. I mean … good NIGHT!?).

And did I mention the wind? Gosh, when *haven’t* we had wind this year … this whole year?!

But did any of that stop our intrepid BLM expert equipment operator and all-around good guy Daniel from fixing the road to the next new water-catchment site so he and Mike and Garth can get equipment there tomorrow?

No. No, it did not. 🙂

There *were* some who didn’t necessarily appreciate the equipment transfer into Spring Creek Basin:

They’ll be glad of it, though, in the long run when we have another source of clean water for them. 🙂





Turn up the heat

13 06 2022

If this image of Terra seems to imply searing heat, mission accomplished (though it wasn’t quite that hot when it was taken). Pretty toasty out there … out here … all around the Southwest.

So it’s a good thing that our next water-catchment project starts today! Think cool thoughts for our BLM guys, Mike, Garth and Daniel! We’re gonna need it!

Bonus:

McKenna Peak is obvious. Not so obvious is the sliver of Temple Butte at back left.

The almost-full strawberry moon of June – which will be a supermoon when it IS full Tuesday (appearing full Sunday night through Wednesday; pic taken last night) – is the perfect topper. 🙂





Not quite happy

12 06 2022

Sometimes boys have disagreements, even among friends. … And then life goes on. 🙂





Into the sunset

11 06 2022

Oh, I adore thee, wild thing upon the Earth.





If you say so

10 06 2022

Raven and the band move away from their stallion … in a way she and they didn’t necessarily want to go?





Sidelit side-eye

9 06 2022

You really haven’t lived until you’ve traded looks with a glorious mustang stallion giving you *the eyeball* through a long, wonderful forelock. Just to make sure you are where he thinks you are, don’tcha know.





Gleam in her eye

8 06 2022

A similar photo of Reya ran on the blog not long ago. That one was horizontal, and I liked this one, too … so I decided to run it, too!





The view above

7 06 2022

Flash may have had only a brief period of stardom on this blog, but he’s worthy of highlight at least every now and then … even if he’s more interested in grazing than in posing. 😉 We’re grateful to HAVE grass.





Abiding

6 06 2022

Nothing breaks my heart – and heals it, repeatedly – quite like they do, these amazing mestenos of our American West.





Bright views

5 06 2022

Speaking of posing … Chipeta found the perfect spot to align with prince’s plume.

We didn’t have much in the way of wildflowers this year … a scattering of the old standbys: phlox, of course, prince’s plume, some varieties of daisies (?), globe mallow, sego lilies, larkspur, Indian paintbrush, some of the little ball cacti with yellow and delicate pink flowers, a very few bright claret cup cacti, even – briefly – some yucca. Some places are much more dry even than here, but as our temperatures rise, and that ever-persistent wind blows, the dryness-anxiety swells.