No hint of clouds this evening, but clouds and light made the most of the beautiful, simple act of a mustang (Buckeye) grazing among the grama.
A’flutter
13 06 2025Comments : 4 Comments »
Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Seen around Disappointment
12 06 2025The scenery to be seen around Disappointment Valley is NEVER a disappointment!!!!!!!!!
Rainbow over Spring Creek Basin from the Disappointment Valley road. … See the double? Unfortunately, we didn’t get any rain out of this one.
Sunset was just about (or more?) dramatic! This is looking eastish; the cloud-glow is from sunset behind me.
And this pudgy little jackrabbit posed for me right near the road with some reflected sunset light giving him/her a lovely glow. 🙂
Comments : 10 Comments »
Categories : Colorado, Disappointment Valley, McKenna Peak, Rainbow, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Temple Butte, Wildlife
Braid for luck
11 06 2025
Just one little braid. … She’s a fan of simplicity, our Winona. 🙂
Comments : 8 Comments »
Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Four o’clock flutter
10 06 2025
A couple of nights ago, as I was walking away from mustangs to leave the basin post-sunset, I saw, for the THIRD time, a hummingbird on a cluster of wild flowers!
The first time was a hummer on claret cup cacti flowers a couple of weeks or so ago.
The second time was a hummer on a gorgeous bouquet of prickly pear flowers (this is the year of the prickly pear flowers; I am NOT kidding) a few days ago.
The third time was a hummer on a beautiful bunch of 4 o’clock flowers (which are just coming out with the rain/moisture of the last week) just a couple of days ago. All of these were in Disappointment Valley; the last/most recent one was in Spring Creek Basin.
Note: The above moth (?!?!) is NOT a hummingbird. 🙂 That hummer, like the two previous ones, had no patience for a silly photographer who either didn’t have her camera, didn’t have her camera ready and/or didn’t have her camera in-hand because “the good light” had slipped over the west hill from evening toward night and she (I) was already packed away. DOH. (Note to self: “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” I don’t remember who said that, but it’s so true.)
The moths were particularly hard to photograph. (There ended up being at least two that came back to the 4 o’clock, but the above is the same moth.) They were fast. They were the very definition of flutter-bys – impossible to predict their flight patterns (and focus). The light was very low.
I am holding high hopes to be READY for the fourth hummingbird visitor – on any kind of flower – and you can be sure that I will share if I *catch* that, I will share that moment with all of you. 🙂
If you know what kinds of moths these are, please let me know? They were REALLY large, and I’m not at all sure they’re a “moth,” though they’re some kind of insect.
*** Update: ChicoRey left a comment about the bee a couple of posts ago that made me look up “sphinx moth,” and sure enough, I got a hit that makes me think what I saw were “white-lined sphinx moths.” Thanks, Maggie, for IDing these moths before I’d even posted! (This post was scheduled a few days ago. :))
Comments : 10 Comments »
Categories : Colorado, Disappointment Valley, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Wild flowers, Wildlife
Mesmerized
9 06 2025
Buckeye here is laser focused on a cow elk not far away on the west side of a hill on the western side of Spring Creek Basin. She was alone, as far as we (I) could tell. The mares watched her with brief interest and went back to grazing, but Buckeye was *intent*. That focus helped me spot her in the growing dark of the approaching storm (and yes, that rain did get to the basin!).
I was zoomed in on her, then swung the camera to him without changing focal length. … Intensity!
Comments : 12 Comments »
Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Bizzy buzzer
8 06 2025
In all my excitement about the rainbow over the mustangs that came at the end (nearly) of my visit in Spring Creek Basin a few days ago, I nearly forgot about this busy little buzzer that I spent a fair time focused on (trying, anyway) as it buzzed around some rain-reinvigorated prince’s plume in the northern part of the basin. There were big ants on several of the plumes, along with much tinier little bugs (dreaded gnats?).
There were several smallish plumes growing from this one plant, and the bee diligently visited them all.
If you’re not a fan of bees on pretty spring desert flowers, I assure you that mustangs will return tomorrow. … I was quite fascinated with this little bee, and (to nerd out for a minute) I’m stoked at how well my camera and lens captured all its little details! I mean … NATURE! Am I right?! 🙂
Comments : 17 Comments »
Categories : Bees, Prince's plume, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Wild flowers
Verging on summer
7 06 2025
Seneca and her band were just on the north side of Spring Creek canyon. You can see the continuation of some of that rimrock right behind her. It made a nice frame for her wild loveliness.
*****
We got TREMENDOUS rain this past week. For this old curmudgeon and pessimist (with regard to forecast rain that doesn’t actually end up falling; I’m actually mostly fairly optimistic), it was the loveliest of grey, soggy, rainy weeks (but this is Colorado, so you know we also had abundant sunshine throughout – and of course, at least one rainbow!). The total between Monday and Friday accrued to 1.15 inches of rain!!!!!!! Total since Dec. 1: 3.03. So that’s more than a THIRD of our entire moisture total (I’m talking about moisture from snow, too) since the beginning of the winter. Yes, we’re dry. Yes, we just got a wonderful, amazing, fabulous, marvelous, fan-freaking-tastic amount of moisture. 🙂
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Comments : 8 Comments »
Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon
Mustang in flight
6 06 2025
Buckeye’s mares were super bothered when I climbed a hill recently to find them in clearing fog/low clouds (gone *poof* by the time I puffed and huffed my way up to where they were), and I thought it might be because they weren’t used to seeing me in the mornings (most often, I’m out in the evenings, and they are most definitely creatures of habit (even others’, perhaps!)).
But when second and third cattle semis appeared, heading south waaaaaaaay off to the west, and the horses ALL focused their complete attention on those long silver moving rectangles, I realized that the first semi that had passed – within my view at the time but NOT within view, only sound, of the horses – was what had set them off.
BLM’s resource management plan for this area closed Spring Creek Basin to livestock grazing … gosh, has it been 10 years now? There haven’t been cattle grazing in the basin since the winter of 2010-11. This IS, however, the season of cattle moving from lower winter and spring grazing to the higher, cooler country of summer grazing on other BLM land (outside/beyond Spring Creek Basin) and San Juan National Forest.
The big semis do have a loud rumble as they motor up the gravel road heading up-Disappointment Valley alongside the basin’s southern boundary. … And crazily, those big moving boxes MOOOOO as they go! 🙂
Comments : 6 Comments »
Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Pony gold ‘n treasure
5 06 2025
Think shooting rainbows is all, well, rainbows and unicorns?
Those “unicorns” have minds of their own that don’t often consider “posing” for two-leggeds to be part of any kind of their wild plan whatsoever.
I’m still on the hunt for what I consider a *perfect* (OK, even somewhat close) mustangs-under-the-rainbow shot. 🙂
Tenaz helped a bunch. Thanks, buddy. 🙂
Oh, and although it was NOT raining over Spring Creek Basin whatsoever anywhere (it was either virga or far up-valley beyond the basin’s boundaries) when we had the rainbow (as usual, which, I know, seems odd and unusual, except here (!?!), where it’s completely and totally normal), the rain came with sunset. 😉
We’re dancin’ a little bit with a lotta joy!
Comments : 13 Comments »
Categories : McKenna Peak, Rain, Rainbow, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple Butte
Spiny beauty
4 06 2025
You already know that I’m going to say that these flowers – such delicate beauty surrounded by such fierce thorns! – are one of my favorite signs of spring. 🙂 Even as temps soar into the lower 90s (argh).
Comments : 11 Comments »
Categories : Prickly pear cactus, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Wild flowers
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 