Signs of spring

12 04 2023

All of a sudden, it’s spring in Disappointment Valley. How do we know?

The greasewood (above) is budding. We always look forward to this (at least partly) because it provides an early source of protein for the horses coming out of winter.

Grass is rising (sparse, but it’s there).

Cottonwood, silver poplar and apricot (!) leaves (in my neck of the not-so-wooded woods) are budding.

Robins are hopping.

Meadowlarks (how I love them!) are trilling my favorite song(s).

Butterflies are fluttering by.

Disappointment and Dawson creeks are running high and fast (Spring Creek *is* actually trickling), and places that AREN’T even creeks are channeling higher country snowmelt into arroyos rushing muddily to Disappointment Creek.

Mustangs are shedding.

Humans are wearing – *gasp* – short sleeves and baring winter-white skin to sunshine – which means it’s sunscreen season again.

I can ride my bike outside (instead of inside on the stationary trainer), and as a result, I think I have the first slight sunburn of the season.

High temps have gone from 40s to 50s to 60s to 70s (near 80!) in about as many days. (And by Friday, we’ll have a 30-ish-degree temperature drop.)

I initially thought this was phlox, but I think I’ve identified it more correctly as filaree or storksbill/cranesbill. (Remember the post about April’s full “pink” moon? Filaree is part of the geranium family, not phlox, but it IS very pink!)

What signs of spring are YOU seeing where you live?





Being watched

11 04 2023

I was sitting in a little stand of trees along a shallow little arroyo when Seneca grazed her way into the perfect spot framed by the branches of the juniper.

It was a lovely evening location – for both of us!





Gentle night horizon

10 04 2023

She was just doing her thing, moseying after another, better, patch of something to eat … but that light on the side of her face and her mane and shoulder … ah!

I just adore sweet little Spirit. In a band of mostly greys, she stands out for her gentle self as much as for her unique coat pattern.





Long-range beauty

9 04 2023

Can we do any better than to give them these wild-and-free lives, that they were born to live? It’s the least and absolute best we can do. I’m so glad we can do it in Spring Creek Basin.





Rimrock Aspen

7 04 2023

The sunlight through clouds on the landscape a couple of evenings ago was sooooo beautiful. Aspen kindly consented to model the beauty of the wild view.





This girl

6 04 2023

Sometimes, the horses just happen to be behind things (trees, greasewood, etc.) when I aim my camera in their direction. It’s hard to tell whether they really think they’re “hiding” with something between me and them. It does make for humorous thoughts/comments to go with the images.

But in this case, Chipeta stopping behind the tree most definitely was deliberate. She stopped on the side of an arroyo near where I was sitting and gave me the eyeball, then trotted down and through and up the other side – and stopped right as you see her and gave me another eyeball from there! Ha!

She waited a few moments, and when I didn’t move (other than to take more pictures), she walked on out to graze. Smart, beautiful girl. 🙂 (And such a character!)





April snow day

5 04 2023

Maybe instead of having April Fool’s Day in Colorado, we could have April-Snow-in-Colorado Day! Instead of being reliably on April 1 every year, it can be just whatever day in April it happens to snow, because, you know, it almost always DOES snow in April in Colorado. 🙂





Still fuzzy

4 04 2023

Kestrel is still sporting her winter fuzzies. And a good thing because we’re supposed to get … you know what’s coming … more snow! Maybe rain. After a couple of days of super-wind, it’s hard to go back to snowflakes!

As I’m scheduling this post the night before, though, the wind is howling, and the dust is so awful and terrible, the sky looks like those pix posted not long ago that showed snow coming in the background. … I’d rather have the snow! Hopefully it will dampen this dust and return our glorious blue sky. 🙂





Sleepy grey girls

3 04 2023

Beloved faces. 🙂





Amber glow

2 04 2023

This image of Hollywood is actually from a couple of weeks ago, from an absolutely gorgeous day and evening in Spring Creek Basin. I was with the band a couple of also-gorgeous evenings ago, but I didn’t catch anything nearly as dramatic. It *did* remind me of this particular evening, and that I’d gotten sidetracked with more snow and other mustangs … and forgotten these of Hollywood – which did not (in my ever-so-humble opinion) deserve to be forgotten and not shared.

He was napping with his band (that’s the rump of one of his mares in front of him) and another band nearby, and the light from the setting sun was glowing on him in just the absolute perfect angle to light up that marvelous amber eye. I’ve always thought Hollywood has the most beautiful eyes. Sure, sure, you can say that about any/all horses (animals) … but really. 🙂 His see into MY soul, and I hope it reflects love. (I’m pretty sure his reflect something along the lines of “you again?” though, of course, I determine to see the wildness and purity of his glorious soul within. :))