Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Nothing breaks my heart – and heals it, repeatedly – quite like they do, these amazing mestenos of our American West.

Speaking of posing … Chipeta found the perfect spot to align with prince’s plume.

We didn’t have much in the way of wildflowers this year … a scattering of the old standbys: phlox, of course, prince’s plume, some varieties of daisies (?), globe mallow, sego lilies, larkspur, Indian paintbrush, some of the little ball cacti with yellow and delicate pink flowers, a very few bright claret cup cacti, even – briefly – some yucca. Some places are much more dry even than here, but as our temperatures rise, and that ever-persistent wind blows, the dryness-anxiety swells.

Ah, there’s our glorious Raven girl! What a beauty, to pose so sweetly for me. 🙂

Skywalker shares his mama’s disdain for the camera, but he’s also more giving in nature and usually agrees to offer “his good side” for all his admirers to enjoy. 🙂

I don’t really know whether he was particularly *pining* in this pic, but he *was* looking across a little arroyo at the band he follows … chewing as he gazed, hence the funny little lip.

It’s always the mares that are the heart of a band. Though stallions (usually) get all the glory and admiration, it’s the mares’ quiet wisdom and bonds with each other that really hold the families together.

Beautiful mustang Cassidy Rain and beautiful backdrop to Spring Creek Basin’s wildness. Now that, also, is complementary. 🙂

After the storm-that-passed-over, clouds swiftly drifted, and the sky cleared once again.

We had a bit of promising light and clouds yesterday in the late afternoon. Unfortunately, the promise didn’t really follow through on actual rain in Disappointment Valley. There were some spits … each drop of which was particularly visible and didn’t dampen the dust at all. It was – dare I say it – extraordinarily disappointing. The wind was really strong all day, too. Because … of course it was.

Seeing this girl was most definitely NOT a disappointment:

Reya doesn’t look too windblown, but it was hammering us.

These “fire restrictions” signs went up all around the area ahead of this past weekend, warning holiday visitors that because of dry weather, red-flag warnings, wind advisories and high fire danger (!), fires are a really, REALLY bad idea (not to mention now verboten).

Today is Memorial Day, the day officially designated to remember military men and women who didn’t come home from their service to country. … This Memorial Day, we have the added weight of the tragedy of the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. They’re related by violence, though those who serve in the military know the risks they face, and the children and teachers killed and injured in Uvalde had every right to believe the day would be full of – only – fun and joy and high spirits at the end of the school year.

Others can write more eloquently than I can on the meanings of our losses and how to move forward … how they hit close to home or are headlines that collectively break the hearts of a nation’s citizens. All of us hurt.

Let’s remember them all as we celebrate this holiday.

In the form of prince’s plume wildflowers – our “signature” May blooming beauties – and two very lovely and loved faces (Madison and Temple).

Corazon with his lovelies on a beautiful evening in a (my) most wonderful place on Earth. 🙂