On a cold, windy day devoid of snow and sunshine, these two brightened my day:
Maiku, right, is both S’aka’s older brother (same sire, Copper) and uncle (brother of S’aka’s mother, Reya, through their mother, Kiowa). They look like their sister/mother/grandmother. She left her stamp.
Seen any “Pirates” lately? Seems a good reference for this shot:
Or was it “end” of the world? Ah well. That’s a mix of Comanche’s and Hollywood’s bands on the “edge” of the second saddle of what I call Lizard Mesa. Young bachelors Hayden, Tenaz and Apollo “ran into them” at the double ponds and sent them running north. I thought maybe they’d end up at Sorrel Flats for a drink, but only the boys were there when I arrived. West of the east pocket, I finally spotted the bands on the yonder ridge, all in a line, silhouetted by the sun just before it dropped into a snow-cloud bank, which has been stalled at the west/southwest ridgeline (the top of the very far tree-covered hill you can see in the background of the above pic) for the last two or more days.
Notice, if you will, the complete and utter lack of snow on the ground.
Gentle admonition to folks within 200 miles who got a foot-plus of the white stuff: Don’t be greedy!
How does EVERYBODY get snow but Disappointment Valley!? Not a speck; not a drop. It’s not even damp.
Weatherman says another wave is coming … Cross yer fingers ‘n toes. We sure need the moisture.
Ask and ye shall receive!
Here are a couple of pix of Storm from the day I visited his band.
He was not easily distracted from his grazing.
This handsome young mister – he’s only 4 – is ambitious with his two mares (and their foal/yearling). But he’s also one of the most laid-back guys in the basin.
It happened awhile ago that David acquired Puzzle, but I hadn’t seen them close enough for pix until this week. I was visiting Ty’s merry little band – with Copper, who, earlier in the week, was with Corazon’s band – when I spied Puzzle away off yonder. I bid grateful fare-thee-well to Ty, Chipeta and Seneca and beat feet for a visit with David.
A slow and cautious approach enabled some photos before Ty’s group followed me down the hill and sent the wary band in search of quieter environs.
Puzzle – the pretty pinto pony – is the big sister of Asher and Seneca (same dam: Chipeta; different sire: Copper). David, left, has had Shadow since she was a long yearling. They’ve had two colts: Wind and Coal. Both were adopted last year.
Puzzle was 2 on Sept. 1. Shadow was born in 2007 and orphaned that winter when her dam, Ceal, died. She returnd to the company of Bruiser’s band until the late summer / early fall of 2008, when the “southside boys” bachelor band stole the band; that’s when David stole Shadow and started his own band. He has had her almost continuously since then (Storm stole her after the roundup; David stole her back; Storm stole her back; David stole her back – and kept her).
Tragic, senseless heartbreak. Unimaginable to think about what drove anyone to do something so horrific.
Our herd manager, Kiley Whited, has moved on from BLM to a job with NRCS, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
He leaves big shoes to fill, as we valued his management style and always-positive demeanor. We couldn’t have been happier with his friendliness, level of professionalism and genuine interest in the Spring Creek Basin mustangs. We were able to get the fertility control program started with his involvement. It will continue in no small part because of his encouragement. He also championed the future use of bait trapping as a safer method of gathering horses in this small herd.
Our Cassidy Rain – possibly a great-granddaughter of Traveler – was named in tribute to Kiley’s baby daughter, Cassidy. These photos were taken earlier this week.
She’s as dark as her sire, Cinch, with none of his spots.
With “auntie” Roja.
Sassy girl flirting with the afternoon light. On the hill behind her is some of the snow we got Sunday.
Lovely girl.
We wish Kiley and his family well, though we will miss him!
You can’t imagine this land without them, can you?
That’s Asher’s mama, Chipeta, and his little sister, Seneca. In the background: Filly Peak (within Spring Creek Basin, Colorado) and the La Sal Mountains (Utah). The snow on the mountains is from the last snowfall that left just an inch in Disappointment Valley. More coming – today?! Our fingers and hooves are crossed!
The header for the blog features Mariah and Houdini, Gaia, Alegre, Aurora and Corona. I got to looking at it, and how tiny baby Mariah looks … and what a big girl she now is! Decided ya’ll would like to see a pic of the girl. It’s from a few weeks ago, an evening visit with stunning light.
Red girl going grey. Just like a Grey/Traveler daughter: bright, curious, bold. Perfection!
If the world ends today – 12/12/12! – I go happy to have wandered among such wild beauty. 🙂
In honor of young Mr. Asher, some photos of his family:
Daddy Ty
Mama Chipeta and baby sister Seneca
She is going grey much faster than brother Asher. Long-legged beautiful ponies!
The Tres Rios Field Office in Dolores, Colo., has honored Pati and David Temple with an award that recognizes their dedication during the last 15 years to the mustangs of Spring Creek Basin.
In 1997, Pati and David joined the board of the newly formed Colorado chapter of the National Mustang Association. They have served continuously on the board since then.
Some major projects have been completed in Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area at Pati and David’s urging:
* The water catchment in the basin was funded by NMA/CO – about $18,000. Although there are several ponds and seeps/springs, the catchment provides the horses with the only clean water source in Spring Creek Basin (the others being, at the least, very salty because of the alkaline soil).
* About a decade ago, NMA/CO raised $40,000 to buy cattle AUMs from a rancher who held grazing rights in the basin and, after a five-year struggle, succeeded in retiring those AUMs. Not only that, a grazing EA was prompted, which reduced the remaining AUMs and changed the grazing season to dormant-season grazing only (Dec. 1 until Feb. 28). The National Mustang Association, based in Utah, was instrumental in finally accomplishing this goal.
* Because of Pati and David, magazine subscriptions, horsemanship training videos and countless pairs of boots have been donated by NMA/CO to the inmate training program at the Canon City prison facility, where BLM has a short-term holding facility.
* Pati and David have assisted with the removal of old fences and wire from within the basin as well as construction of new boundary fences and the repair and maintenance of fences.
* For close to a decade, San Juan Mountains Association has hosted University of Missouri students during alternative spring break, which has included projects in the basin. David is an arborist, and NMA/CO regularly has funded chemical spray (Garlon) for tamarisk removal. David (pictured below at right) also has volunteered his time and expertise to help with eradication efforts.
* Because of Pati’s single-minded determination and her refusal to give up on him, when Grey/Traveler was sent to Canon City at the end of the 2007 roundup, we got him back. Pati and David hosted him at their ranch for three weeks (quarantine) until he could be returned to Spring Creek Basin (pictured below). Long-time readers of this blog will know that he not only rebuilt a band, he has the largest band in the basin at the tender age of “aged,” as aged at the last (2011) roundup.
* Pati and David represent NMA/CO in our coalition advocacy group Disappointment Wild Bunch Partners. They bring to Wild Bunch – and BLM – all their historical knowledge of BLM management of Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, as well as modern visions that fit with our advocacy goals, which they use to encourage new projects to benefit the horses. With the previous herd manager, one project Pati and David suggested and we convinced BLM to undertake was digging out ponds to increase storage capacity. Some hadn’t been dug out since the 1980s. In 2009, two ponds were dug out. In 2010, three ponds were dug out. In 2012, three ponds were dug out. All but two ponds in the basin have been dug out, and at least one of those still is on the priority list to BE dug out. Currently, in a desperately dry year, all but three ponds have water. To further illustrate how impressive this is – how visionary – ranchers throughout the region are hauling water to their cattle because water sources on their grazing allotments are dry.
* Also as members of Wild Bunch, Pati and David are an integral part of the partnership with BLM that resulted in the Tres Rios Field Office being awarded $25,000 as part of the Director’s Challenge this year.
* NMA/CO always has championed the use of fertility control. In 2007, NMA/CO paid for five doses of PZP-22 to be administered to the released mares. In 2010, NMA/CO signed on to the proposal submitted to BLM for the implementation of a program to use native PZP in Spring Creek Basin to slow population growth and reduce the need for frequent roundups. Also in 2010, NMA/CO paid for my PZP training at the Science and Conservation Center in Billings, Mont. Then they paid for the darting rifle. When fertility control using native PZP was approved for the Spring Creek Basin herd ahead of the 2011 roundup, we were ready to volunteer.
* Pati and David have adopted several mustangs over many years (including those they’re riding in the photo of the plaque above). In 2011, they adopted yearling Rio (Grey/Traveler or Twister x Two Boots) and renamed him Sherwood, in honor of one of the founding members of NMA/CO. Pati is a genius at groundwork, and at 2 years old, Sherwood loads readily into a trailer and accepts a cinched saddle, among other things.
* In 2012, Hollywood and Piedra had a filly. She was named Temple in honor of Pati and David.
Pati and David are true mustang angels in every sense of the words. Their passion about and commitment to mustangs, particularly Spring Creek Basin mustangs, is legendary in our part of the world. Personally, I am grateful to Pati and David a million-fold for their support and friendship. Their work has laid the foundation for the excellent health of the herd today and into the future. This list hits just the highlights, but I hope it conveys how inspiring they are and should be to mustang advocates everywhere. In addition, they are two of the nicest, most generous people you’ll ever know.
The plaque reads: Presented to David and Pati Temple. Thank you for your many years of unselfish commitment and dedication to the Spring Creek Basin Wild Horses and the Herd Management Area. The support that you have provided to the BLM has been invaluable to the long-term goal of a sustainable and healthy herd area in Disappointment Valley. Without your devotion to the horses, advocacy, hard work and persistence, many maintenance, enhancement and fertility control projects would not have been accomplished. November 2012. Bureau of Land Management Tres Rios Field Office.
The photo on the plaque, taken by Durango photographer Claude Steelman and featured in his book Colorado’s Wild Horses, shows Pati on Bandolier and David on Concho, their Sulphur Springs mustangs.
With appreciation beyond words and always grateful for you both, thank you, Pati and David, for your generosity, commitment and passion. It is contagious and has infected us all! And thank you, Tres Rios, for honoring Pati and David for all they have done for our mustangs.
