Spring Creek canyon | Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Season’s blessings

25 12 2023

Merry Christmas and happiest of holidays to all you loyal readers and admirers of Spring Creek Basin’s beautiful and beloved mustangs!

Our very dry winter (so far) and just lack of a particular image that said to me “Merry Christmas” mean that this year’s greeting “card” shows fuzzy ponies and the nearest snow on the peaks of Utah’s La Sal Mountains. (OK, maybe not quite the nearest … say, the most photogenic.)

From our herd to yours – four- and two-legged all – we wish you all the blessings of this special season! 🙂

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Categories : Advocacy, La Sal Mountains, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon

Splash of light

16 12 2023

The National Weather Service has this to say about the formation of fog: “Warm air, moist air blows in from the south and if there is snow or cool moisture on the ground it will come in contact with the warm, moist winds. This contact between the air and ground will cause the air blowing in to become cool. Then dew point rises and creates high humidity and forms fog.”

That describes our conditions the last couple of mornings to a T.

It might go without saying that in the high-desert country of Southwest Colorado, we rarely get fog. 🙂

One of the coolest – and picturesque – things about fog is when it’s starting to clear in favor of that strongest of atmospheric conditions (especially in Southwest Colorado): sunshine. 🙂

Above, I happened to catch sight of a few bachelor stallions trotting across the landscape, with a hazy spotlight of sunshine casting light particularly on the rimrocks above Spring Creek canyon. Oh, so very pretty.

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Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon

Lined out

14 12 2023

From my vantage point with another band, I saw these lovelies lined out walking toward a pond in the distance.

We’re really all just small critters in this great, wide and wild world of ours.

See them?

See the other thems? 🙂

Comments : 6 Comments »

Categories : Disappointment Valley, La Sal Mountains, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon

Companionable

13 12 2023

With winter coats like those, mustangs can nap comfortably even with a nippy wind swirling.

And with a view like that, who wouldn’t want to peacefully linger?

Comments : 10 Comments »

Categories : La Sal Mountains, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon

Lavender land

12 12 2023

The clouds were playing tag with the lowering sun, and while I was waiting for a bit more light on the scene, the subtle light was just divine.

Despite the sharp wind, Sundance was perfectly at ease. I was perfectly glad of all my layers!

Comments : 10 Comments »

Categories : La Sal Mountains, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon

Snow so close

11 12 2023

From about mid-Spring Creek Basin looking northwest not long before sunset Friday evening. You know, the day we were supposed to get snow.

The passing snow squalls were “this side” (eastish) of Utah’s La Sal Mountains.

Later, very just most immediately before sunset shuttered the light on the rimrocks above Spring Creek canyon, the snow had passed, but the light was still gorgeous.

I was hoping sunset would light up those clouds like it did the previous night, when I was driving and had no camera to hand but my phone.

The cloud/sunset light show never really materialized (some subtle color), but THIS color is always gorgeous and rewarding! (Some snow ON us would have been greatly appreciated.)

Because I’ve referenced it, and because it deserves to be seen, this was the light show Thursday night from U.S. Highway 491 heading north from Cortez, Colorado:

The best camera is the one in your hand. The best light is that in front of you, wherever you are. 🙂

Comments : 14 Comments »

Categories : Disappointment Valley, La Sal Mountains, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek canyon

Bonus gifts

4 12 2023

Not only did we get the gift of snow Friday, I saw Hollywood on Saturday. 🙂

He’s thin (much more thin than I’d like to see him at this time of year (or any time of year)), but he seems to be relatively OK. He drank at the edge of a frozen pond, then walked away on a trail to the spot where I found him napping in the (relatively) warm sunlight. He didn’t acknowledge my presence much at all (which was OK as it meant he wasn’t bothered), and I was able to walk around and get a good look at him. I couldn’t tell about his eye (napping, he had both of them mostly closed), but other than being thin, he doesn’t seem to have any particular injuries.

He did pick a very scenic location to stop for a midday nap. 🙂

Bonus: Hollywood’s scenery looking across Spring Creek Basin and Disappointment Valley to Utah’s La Sal Mountains, looking pristine under a cover of fresh snow.

Comments : 16 Comments »

Categories : La Sal Mountains, McKenna Peak, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon, Temple Butte

Like mother, like daughter

30 11 2023

Golden girls in golden light above Spring Creek canyon.

Comments : 11 Comments »

Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Spring Creek canyon

Here’s looking at you

9 10 2023

Last week, some folks visited Disappointment Valley from Ohio and Colorado’s Front Range, respectively. It was wonderful to show them the mustangs and a little bit of what I do in this great wide wonderful yonder. For two, it was their first visit. It was the second visit for the third, but because of very damp weather last time, we didn’t have the opportunity to get into Spring Creek Basin to see the mustangs.

Not only did we get in the basin this time, we had a wonderful visit with one of the bands.

As photographers do, we ended up photographing each other with the horses in the background. I will say that he did a much better job of catching me with the horses than I did of catching *him* with the horses (mostly because I was photographing the horses, and only when I swung my lens over did I catch him looking at/photographing me!).

Probably not many readers have any idea who this person is who’s photographing these mustangs and writing the (few) words for this blog, so with gratitude to friend James, here’s me: