Golden light, golden girl

17 03 2023

The setting sun not only made an orange glow of the landscape, but it turned lovely Alegre as brassy as a coveted statue. The Earth and the mustangs aren’t ruled by clocks, of course, but the days ARE getting longer, and the sun seems to hang a little longer above the horizon.

Not much green yet – in the photo or on the range – but hopefully Mother Nature’s elves are hard at work getting ready for spring on this St. Patrick’s Day!

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At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 22, at Out West Books in Grand Junction, Kat Wilder will be reading from her memoir, “Desert Chrome; Water, A Woman, and Wild Horses in the West.” I’ll be there to talk a bit about Spring Creek Basin’s mustangs, and we’re hoping someone from Friends of the Mustangs – advocacy group associated with the Little Book Cliffs mustangs – will say a few words about their work.

If you’re in the Grand Junction area next week, stop by and say hi!





Designer jewelry

16 03 2023

Little bitty pretty muddy girl! Spirit always makes me smile at her sweet self … especially when she’s wearing some fancy new baubles in her forelock. 🙂





Blooming

15 03 2023

What a difference a year makes.

In spite of the snow-heavy winter we’ve had, the mustangs are absolutely thriving, and perhaps no mustang demonstrates this more significantly than almost-3-year-old Rowan, introduced to Spring Creek Basin from northwestern Colorado’s Sand Wash Basin with her mare mates Dundee (4 this year) and Aiyanna (also about to be 3) in the fall of 2021.

A year ago:

This photo, taken the end of March 2022, shows Rowan, in particular, looking a bit lean as a coming-2-year-old.

It’s rare that I have the opportunity of showing some growing contrasts, but I couldn’t be happier with her blossoming. She – and Dundee and Aiyanna – are without doubt wonderful additions to Spring Creek Basin, and I hope they’re happy in their new home (I’m pretty sure that if mustangs understand “happy” as a concept, they are). 🙂





Stoic

14 03 2023

Windy? Eh.

Two-legged? Eh.

Corazon takes it all in stride.





Fine beauty

13 03 2023

Mariah gets more grey – and more lovely – with each passing year. 🙂 And still fuzzy as winter winds down.

The horses’ coats are getting that scraggly look that precedes shedding. Spring signs are everywhere.





Let that ol’ wind blow

12 03 2023

On a very windy day, Piedra and Kestrel napped with Kestrel’s son near the top of a hill in the heart of Spring Creek Basin. Their stallion was lying down napping a short distance behind them, and another pair were napping just a bit below him. Altogether, it was a very good day for a nap!





Nothin’ wrong with the blues

11 03 2023

Another beautiful face that’s worth walking a long way to greet: Mysterium.

Patches of snow on the far southern ridge is responsible for the pretty bokeh in the background. Like magic fairy lights around the pretty mustang girl. 🙂

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On my way to Mysterium and her band, there was a little of this:

There are still patches of snow in shady places and high (elevation) places, and all that snow is giving way to little creeks and streams in the arroyos. Spring is on the way!





Behind back of beyond

10 03 2023

If any mustang knows better than Sundance (or at least as well!) how to find the best scenery in Spring Creek Basin, it’s Storm.

This handsome boy and his band have been very elusive most of the winter, and this day was almost no different. According to my GPS, I hiked nearly six miles in my quest to visit him and his family; they were so far beyond the back of beyond, it may as well have been *behind* the back of beyond!

Or maybe, it’s really the front door to the best place on Earth. 🙂

Who are we to argue?!





At a trot

9 03 2023

So many shades of warm, lustrous, glowing, golden browns in her bay!

Those patches of white in the background are shrinking, shrinking … as the snow melts and the valuable moisture seeps into the ground (or evaporates with that wild wind!).





Tousled

8 03 2023

With that thick fur coat, ferocious wind may tousle her mane, but it never ruffles Kestrel’s feathers! 😉