I’m not normally a person given to repeating quotes, but I saw this one the other day, and it resonated with me deeply:
“The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.” Attributed to Joseph Addison.
For me, happiness centers around mustangs, in particular, the mustangs of Spring Creek Basin and Disappointment Valley. They give me so much more than mere happiness. 🙂
Chipeta likes to help illustrate the yummy green grass. This particular area of Spring Creek Basin is thick with alkali sacatone/sand dropseed. I love the squeaks these particular types of grasses make as the horses graze. It’s the sound of *plenty*.
Just a couple of minutes after the photos from yesterday’s post and the day’s before were taken, the sun settled behind a cloud – or the cloud parked itself in front of sun – and the light softened. Crickets (?) and chirrups and the sigh of breeze and the warmth of an August evening became the most important things, and all was well with the world as the bands grazed and moseyed, enjoying that rich growth of rain-watered native grass.
Dundee has caught up to Rowan and Aiyanna, their interest caught by a nearby little band.
If you look closely, you can see the dapples in Rowan’s coat, a sign of glowing good health.
It’s hard to believe that it has been nearly a year since Rowan and Aiyanna (and Dundee) came to Spring Creek Basin from Sand Wash Basin. Without, great changes turn the world. Within, life goes on much as it always has.
Other than Rowan’s weirdly shortened tail and mane (no, I haven’t seen the other horses chewing on it, and no, I still don’t know what causes it, among any of the mustangs), the girls are looking as gorgeous as ever. … As is the basin itself. Home.
Have I mentioned the recent GREEN in Spring Creek Basin? Yes? Oh, good. … ‘Cuz it’s there. 🙂
Along with a little of this:
Two perspectives of Spring Creek, flowing with rainwater, the day before yesterday. The first image is directly as the road crosses the creekbed/arroyo; the second is just to the right – water flowing toward us. Interestingly, the road was dry to this point, but clearly it had rained in the northern and eastern (at least) regions of Spring Creek Basin. By this point, the major arroyos of the basin have converged (though there are still some that feed the creek’s westward drainage). The water was neither high (deep) nor terribly fast, but I didn’t cross. There are times to respect Mother Nature’s obstacles, and I deemed this to be one of those times.
Also a good bit of this:
This is the pond near the hill we call Flat Top. It’s rare to see it so full of water that it backs up so far to the right.
And this is the east-pocket pond, way back in the far eastern region of Spring Creek Basin, also full to the gills.
The pond pix were taken the day before those of Spring Creek running, which was the day after I got soaked going into the basin and getting caught in a lovely little drenching that did NOT go ’round. 😉
All the ponds are so excellently full; the above two are just examples.
So grateful. So very, very grateful.
Even sopping wet and splashed with mud from a dip in the pond, Sundance is one handsome critter. 🙂
Here, he’s looking back at the previous band to use the band before he and his girls arrived. Gotta make sure they were, in fact, vacating the premises. (They were, and then Sundance’s band followed them out to graze.)
Bands taking advantage of good grass and good, clean water at Spring Creek Basin’s main/original water catchment (tank at far left, trough just a bit to the right of it).
This is looking basically northwest … rain falling over Utah’s La Sal Mountains and monsoon clouds shading part of lower Disappointment Valley. There’s a hint of green in them thar hills … and for that, we are grateful beyond words.
Chipeta keeps an eye on me, looking at her, grazing in the green – mostly greasewood, yes, but a whole lotta fresh, growing grass, too.
Now granted, a lot of what you’re seeing is greasewood and other salt-desert shrubs, but I *promise* there is excellent grass in there as well, mostly alkali sacatone and/or sand dropseed (it looks very similar).
Yummmmmmmmmmmmm-MEEE!
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 