While her stallion was busy protecting another mare in the band at a water source, Mariah took it upon herself to act as protector of the whole band against a stallion who was semi-patiently waiting in the wings with his own mare to get a nice, cool drink of water.
The quiet female force that gets things done when the guys aren’t looking. 😉
Flash returns to his band after a chat with a neighboring stallion near a water source.
Love the soft light and his quiet determination.
Well, the ponies certainly put out the memo and made themselves available for summer solstice evening!
Heat, wind (“fire-weather (red-flag) warning/watch” and “wind advisory” – no joke), haze and dust aside, it was a gorgeous evening with four bands at the western boundary above Spring Creek canyon.
Winona and her band were the last left in the last light at the very top of the rimrocks, and she’s *always* a gorgeous model. Solstice night was no exception. 🙂 God and we love her.
Summer solstice is at 8:42 p.m. Mountain time – tonight. Sunset is (officially, at least) at 8:40 p.m. our time. (I say officially because the ridges to our southwest and northeast always make official times and actual times of sunset/moonrise and sunrise/moonset a bit different, sometimes up to half an hour different, depending on where you are relative to those ridges.)
This pic of Chipeta was taken a few days ago as she went with her band to evening water, but the lovely light illustrates that longest day of the year that marks the beginning of summer. That’s what all the experts say, but I tend to think of it more like almost midsummer because we’ve already been hot and dry and summer-like, and at this point, our planet’s tilt means we start shortening days and lengthening nights (I know, I know, it’s not at all scientific; living by the seasons, I tend to go more with feeling than straight science!).
Today and tomorrow, I’ll be out to try to get other solstice-evoking pix of the mustangs, and of course, I will share the best results. 🙂
Fortunately, we do still have decent water and abundant grasses and other vegetation, though I’m also eager for monsoon season later this summer, when we will *hopefully* be getting good rains to replenish ponds and catchments and vegetation … and spirits!
It wasn’t my intention to post pix nearly back to back of some of our lovely ladies of Spring Creek Basin, but they must want to be seen – and they’re too beautiful to NOT be seen.
This is lovely Piedra again, looking lovely the other evening as she watched some other mustangs across a deep arroyo from her band.
Remember our last little collared lizard friend? Very bright turquoise, and I’m pretty sure that one was a male. THIS one, pictured above and throughout this post, is a female, I’m pretty sure.
And I also think she’s pregnant. 🙂 Look at that belly!
From Google:
A pregnant female collared lizard can be identified by the presence of naturally occurring orangish spots, similar in color to chigger mites, on her body. These spots develop when the female is gravid, meaning she is carrying eggs. The spots are a visual indication of her reproductive state.
Here’s a more detailed look:
Female collared lizards develop these distinctive orange spots when they are carrying eggs.Â
Mating Behavior: . During mating season, males will approach females and may engage in head bobbing and wrestling.Â
Egg Laying: . After mating, the female will lay her eggs, often burying them in sand or soil.Â
Egg Care: . Some females may guard their eggs for a few days, while others will leave them immediately.Â
Hatching: . Hatching typically occurs within 40-55 days.Â
Post-Hatching: . Newborn lizards will have their yolk sacs attached for a couple of days and then begin to feed on small crickets dusted with supplements.
She was super calm while I took photos of her from all kinds of angles.
Super cool little dragon-dinosaur-lizard soon-to-be-mama (!?) girl. 🙂
Terra, patiently waiting … save the relentless swish of her tail against gnats and heat.
Piedra facing into the wind after the band’s water break. She’s also rocking that single braid. Must be a new basin fashion fad. 🙂
Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads out there! Especially, of course, mine. 🙂
If you’ve been following along for any time at all, you know my dad and my mom both are exclusively responsible for my before-birth addiction to horses. 🙂 They still have horses and work every day to keep them well. I’m so grateful to my dad for taking us on the journey around the world and through life, and for keeping horses at the center of it all. 🙂
I just heard a great song on the radio by band Lanco (LANCO? LanCo?) called “We Grew Up Together.”
It’s perfect for Father’s Day. Chorus:
“You learned to walk, I learned to walk in my faith
You learned to talk, I learned the things I shouldn’t say
You ain’t the only one who’s gonna make mistakes
God made you, you made me better
We both won’t stay young forever
You don’t know it now but one day you’ll find out
That we grew up together”
It makes me think of a family pic we have that shows me as a little redheaded bambino in a pink bunny suit, helping my dad build a stall (?). I think one arm holds me, and the other hand holds a level. We are both completely focused. It’s one of my very favorite pix of me and my dad.
Listen to it at the link above. Think about your dads. Give them a call if you can. If you can’t, remember them with more joy than sadness.
I love you, Dad!
Terra (and her stallion) circles the water trough while the “upper” members of the band drink first. They were impatient, but there was plenty for everyone.
Now we start to enter the truly hot days of summer, and water is at a premium. We’re grateful for the recent rains that put (more) water in the catchment tanks!
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 