Even sleepy-eyed and half-asleep, Hollywood is a vision of handsomeness on the northern flank of Round Top, against a backdrop of Spring Creek Basin’s dramatic eastern horizon.
And we have moisture, frozen for the time being, seeping, soaking and being slurped into the ground.
About 2 inches of snow covered the ground when I hiked into the basin, and snow was still blowing.
I saw one band against a ridge a fair distance away and continued along the trail to look over the edge of the hill I was on – and in the opposite direction, saw a band just disappearing at the bottom of a little drainage. No other horses were visible, so I started toward the closer band … and of course, there appeared a third band, just out of my previous sight in a *closer*, shallower drainage that led to the farther, deeper drainage.
Of course. 🙂 Sometimes, the best things are seen when you’re not looking for them.
Snow pattered my jacket even as blue sky was appearing through the snow clouds across the southern sky. … And just like that, we were under a great blue ceiling, and the sunshine was on us, and the blowing snow had stopped blowing! … And after what seemed to be just a few minutes, the clouds were back – but not the snow.
Sunshine and clouds fought back and forth the entire time I was out (I visited all three bands), but we didn’t have more snow.
Although the melt was happening even as I trekked back to the road, my snowshoes had plenty of snow (mud was showing on the walls of south-facing arroyos), and the road was already muddy from the tracks of previous vehicles. As I drove lower, the ground appeared already brown, the snow already mostly melted. The difference, only a few miles and a few feet lower in elevation; the temperature was already in the 40s.
What wonderful moisture we have now in the ground and among the roots of the growing things.
Chipeta, ever serious, really is very excited about that. 🙂
Disappointment Valley is much browner now after a night of RAIN and a day of melting (of the snow that survived the rain). The ground is absolutely saturated, and the mud is marvelously messy. We still have snow in the forecast as the temperatures drop, so we may yet glow white again.
Madison, of course, knows that brown is beautiful!
If the force is with us, we’ll be getting more snow in each of the next few days.
May the force be with us all!
The swish of her tail indicates that she wonders what the crazy two-legged is doing, again, with the clicky box and the admiring voice.
Is she not about the cutest little thing you’ve ever seen!? I love the curl of her ear tips.
May we continue to heal and know that we are strong when we celebrate each other.
For the first time in a couple of tries, the forecasters got it right. For the first time since the end of December, we got snow!
When it first accumulated, the snow felt dry and powdery. Then the temp rose a bit, and even before the sun fought its way clear of the clouds toward the end of the day, that white moisture was seeping into that super thirsty ground.
It’s not all we need (we need SO much more), but it’s great to have snow again! Sundance, of course, makes it look even better.
Craziness: When you walk into the basin hoping to find a particular band, not expecting to see any other bands in the area in which you’ll be hiking … and find FOUR other bands … and still not the band you were *hoping* to find.
It happens. 🙂
Spirit looks fabulous against a backdrop of La Sal Mountains, still semi-snowy. With any beautiful luck, our world will be white in the morning.
On this evening, the horses were grazing some high ground along one of the basin’s main drainages. From the edge, they scouted ahead for dangers, then down they went to a seep in the arroyo below. Terra let the others determine the risk, then she followed for the trip to evening water.
On north-facing slopes, snow lingers on the ground since our last snowfall (more than two weeks ago) because those places don’t get the full press of sunshine that south-facing slopes get. We’ve had day-time temperatures in the 40s, which, with the full sunshine we’ve also had, is more than enough to melt snow quickly. Our overnight temps sink into the teens and 20s, so some snow still lingers on.
Our Monday-night-into-Tuesday-morning snowfall predictions are solidifying.
Did I mention that it has been more than two sunshiney weeks since we’ve had any heavensent moisture? We need some liquid gold … even if it’s temporarily “solid” in the form of gabillions of snowflakes.
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 