A closer look at Mr. Flash (yes, it’s him; I promise!), looking at my buggy recently. He spent most of the visit napping (that’s Gaia grazing in the background; the other mares mostly were napping, too), but when he woke up and noticed the buggy, all of a sudden, he realized he should be on defense. It’s a hard, exhausting job for a young stallion to keep track of all those mares, who are (only) fairly tolerant of having him tag along with them, thank you very much. 🙂
Juniper walks up the Round Top trail (the main “dome” is to the right) while Flash imitates a mountain goat at far right. Seeing her coat gleaming like a beacon is what originally alerted me to the horses being there in the first place, when a higher sun was still illuminating the little “cove” in the middle ground.
The trail goes on up to what I call “the bench,” which provides a nice little viewpoint, then on across/up that ridge that looks horizontal (I assure you that it’s not) to the top.
I’ve found manure piles up the ridge and on top, but this is the first time I’ve seen any horses up there!
Beautiful, beautiful, gorgeous evening with Terra and the rest of the band far in the southeastern part of Spring Creek Basin. The ponies are just about shed out, but there’s still some winter hair clinging in place on some.
*****
Happy birthday to my brother, Jeff! 🙂
Beautiful Madison: a vibrant vision in a dusty world.
The mustangs are chasing the growing green things (fairly limited this year) all over the basin, and you never know where they’re going to show up. I hiked way out on a hill in the southern part of the basin on a just-to-see mission, and it wasn’t until I turned around to head back that I spotted one horse in a little drainage. A little investigation soon found the band, tucked out of sight below another little hill, but they – like all the bands – are not interested in anything but *the green*, so the best thing to do is to sit quietly and wait for them to notice other band members coming over another little hill then snap the moment when they’re looking and/or shifting position toward another green patch. 🙂
You can see the dusty haze on the horizon toward Utah, but with the soft light, it was another lovely evening in Spring Creek Basin with Temple and her family. And any time with the mustangs is the best time.
Skywalker.
Sunset glow.
No other words necessary.
Cassidy Rain, never one to get too close (or allow closeness) moseys downhill toward a little ridge, the better to hide behind. … But isn’t she soooo lovely. 🙂
Very muddy Sundance, with the rest of his band, looks for green bits among the sage and shadscale. It IS coming up, slowly but surely.
There’s a pond fairly nearby where I found them that evening, and I hope that’s where he’s taking advantage of both the water and mud. It’s the only pond that has water currently in Spring Creek Basin.
Late golden light frames Chipeta perfectly on Earth Day evening.
I hope you all were able to spend some time outdoors, appreciating the life and wonder of this big, beautiful globe!
I *adore* kestrels.
These pix all are significantly cropped, and as previously mentioned, I am no bird photographer! But wow. I’m extremely grateful to this extraordinarily handsome gentleman for perching close enough and giving me enough time to get several sharp shots before he took off (he dodged off to the (my) right, despite the fact that he launched first to the left).
I mean … I *ADORE* kestrels!
Just ask Kestrel. 🙂
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 