Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Moisture in the bank for this summer. 🙂

Spring Creek Basin got another dose of the valuable white stuff, and parts of the basin have 4 to 6 inches of snow from a second wave of snow yesterday morning. The previous morning’s snow had melted in some areas (mostly outside the basin), but this bit of white gold may stick around for a wee bit longer.

Sundance and his band were near another band, high up a hillside. Below – in and along the big arroyo that runs along the base of the ridge – a decent-size group of elk had browsed their way through the drainage, leaving tracks and trails. I wonder whether the horses were there when their elk friends passed?!

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!).

Even muddy-girl, she’s gorgeous.

Sundance relaxes after a fairly quiet little chat with a gang of young ruffians, aka bachelor stallions. 🙂

Actually, they’re not too bad, those youngsters, and they can all learn a thing or three from stout Sundance.