Steeldust | Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Bachelor no more

13 12 2008

What that really means is the new girls have found a beau! David Glynn, who was out both Saturday and Sunday last weekend, emailed this week to say he saw the girls Sunday with “companions.” Wow! They got pushed down out of the hills by the cattle, and that’s how they came to mingle. I could tell you the name of this less famous “Bachelor” (he’ll never make it on the more famous show), but I’m going to mimic my own suspense and keep you waiting (or you could cheat and scroll all the way to the bottom).

A big snow storm (it’s supposed to last until about Thursday) is headed our way, but I wanted to get out to the ponies one last time before I head south for the winter holidays. Two weeks ago when I went out, the road was muddy enough that I parked at the corrals and hiked in – but while the ground was “soft,” it wasn’t really muddy. This time, the road was perfectly dry to drive in on, but the rest of the ground was slick, slippery, gooey … absolute mud. And snow was still in patches all over the place. The wild thing was that if you looked south, the landscape looked all white and wintry, but if you looked north, it looked the same golden brown as usual – the pattern of snowmelt.

Steeldust and his band were out southeast of the pond close to the entrance, so I parked just down the road to the old trap site and hiked out. I realized pretty soon that the quality of the basin road would deteriorate between the high ground just in from the entrance and the shady side of Filly Peak, so I decided to leave the Jeep and do another walkabout. Naturally, the bachelor-formerly-known-as … ha, thought you had me, eh? Anyway, the boy had the girls waaaaay out on the northeastish side of Round Top, and I had to wait that long to see them, so you’ll just have to wait.

In the meantime, I had a really great visit with the babies (particularly) in Steeldust’s band. Remember on my walkabout two weeks ago, muddy Ember was chasing everybody around? Turnabout’s only fair in play, and this time, it was Storm who was little Mr. Ornery.

Storm, Kestrel, Ember and Sundance

One of the funniest things about this picture is the fact that Kestrel and Sundance barely moved from these positions the whole time I was there, despite all the young energy swirling around them.

So worried

Ember was so concerned about me walking toward them that she actually laid down a few seconds after I took the the first pic.

World view

A wider view to show the background … Note the stealthy approach of a wee baby brother …

Play with me, please?

Zoomed back in – do you see that Storm has a leg over Ember’s neck?

Mmmm, ears taste good!

By this time, Ember may have been regretting her assault on Storm a couple of weeks ago … He chewed and chewed and chewed – her ears (both), her forelock, her face, her neck …

Enough!

Until she couldn’t stand it anymore! So much for taking a nap.

Hiding

But of course Storm wasn’t out of potential playmates. Just to the right, Luna was napping on her feet while Steeldust grazed (Mouse was even farther right) and Pinon tried to go unnoticed.

Wanna play?

Not having much luck with big sis, Storm tried his luck with big brother Pinon.

Tastes like colt

Notice Sundance there on the right.

Who, us?

Notice now that Pinon managed to get away from Storm and hid behind bigger brother Sundance, who became a protector without moving a step.

Leave me alone

But moments later, Storm was at him again.

Protect me!

Mama, Storm won’t leave me alone!

Intermission

Might as well take advantage.

Me, too

So Storm decided it was a good time to find HIS mama. But about a second after I took this shot, Butch walked up and parked himself right in front of them. Then Pinon became fair game again …

Sisters

Sweet girls, but notice the drama in the background.

Ember and Luna

Have I mentioned that the babies still all seem to be nursing?

Aww

Little sisters ARE good for something … like when you have an itchy face.

Mouse

Mouse seems to have given up on Piedra and slid into Hollywood’s position as Steeldust’s lieutenant. He has stayed with the band even while the other bachelors have split up recently. (And now you know it’s not Mouse who has the girls!)

Snow queen

Lovely Alpha is the color of snow.

Steeldusts band

Only Alpha and Mouse are missing from this “family portrait” of Steeldust’s band. (The wordpress program doesn’t like apostrophes in photo captions.)

Baby faces

Another zoomed in view of the youngsters – you can just see Pinon’s ears in the background.

Three of the bachelors were close, so I went to see them, thinking that Hollywood and his girls and the missing bachelors and possibly the new girls were just out of sight over the hill.

Still bachelors

Duke, Hook (back) and Chrome maintain their bachelor status. Points to you if you know the remaining three bachelors!

But Hollywood and the others weren’t over the hill or beyond the next ridge. In fact, from the top of a hill above Spring Creek, I could see a lot of country but no other horses. Because I had seen a lot of horses recently in the Flat Top-Round Top area, I decided to walk on out there to see what I could see.

I hit the road just before the first Spring Creek crossing and walked it all the way to the base of Round Top. It was really muddy, snowy, slightly less muddy and snowier in spots, and I think my trusty hiking shoes are toast (Santa, are you reading?).

I finally spotted a group of five horses between the road and Flat Top, but I thought I was looking for a group of nine horses, and Grey/Traveler and his band were in that area last week, and though the horses were darkish, I thought that could have been because of the weak light, mud and/or a horse out of sight below a ridge. I thought it would be too easy to find Hollywood – and the new mares – that quickly. So of course it was Hollywood, Piedra and Baylee … and two bachelors. Guess who?

They were far enough off the road, and I was far enough from a good view of the area around Round Top, and the mud was such a deterrent, that I decided not to go down and take pictures of them. Onward.

Bounce and Gaia came into view next – they were near the roller-coaster ridge pond. Dark Alegre was close by. For the same reasons as above – and one other – I decided not to go down to them, either.

That “other” reason is that I had spotted – through the binocs – the dun girls up in the trees on the east side of Round Top! Just call me a horse-findin’ fool.

By this point, I knew who had the girls because of the bachelor missing from Hollywood’s group (and you all peeked, I know you did!), but oddly enough, I never actually saw him until I got almost to them.

Pretty girls

These girls are smart. They already know me, so they weren’t worried at all when I came into view from the trail around the north side of Round Top. That makes me feel really good!

Fuzzy!

The apricot dun mare – look at her gorgeous winter coat! It was so still when I arrived in the basin that morning that I noticed it as soon as I stepped out of the Jeep. It’s always so windy out there, when it’s NOT, it’s a noticeable absence. You can HEAR the silence. But at almost 1:30 on the nose, the wind suddenly picked up out of the south-southwest. It was just above freezing when I arrived, and the Jeep showed 42 degrees when I got back, but I was plenty warm while walking. I spent enough time being still with the mares and their boy that I started to get cold, and I was envious of their thick coats!

Lovelies

Are you dying to know?! I know you all cheated and scrolled down, but drum roll, please ….

Who, me?

Kreach-a-licious!

Knock me over with a feather. Kreacher was low man on the Bachelor 7 totem pole, but he’s the only one I know of that actually had a band previously (Molly and Roja, with Seven now), so maybe that helped him. He is not what I call an outstanding stallion, and his personality is so laid back as to be prone on the ground, but I have become fond of him this past year. He did NOT act like a stallion when I showed up, but I’m unsure whether to attribute that to him knowing me and being comfortable with me, too, or being timid. The mares still interacted with each other (black mare still kind of poopy toward the apricot dun but not quite as much as before), but although they didn’t seem to mind Kreacher’s presence, they pretty much ignored him. (I’m sure they got a lot of the “get to know you” out of their systems in the past week together.) Another un-stallion-like behavior of his is that he stayed behind them almost the whole time; he never came up front to “protect” them. Again, because he knows me or something else? The only time he was closest to me was after they had passed me on their way up to the “saddle” and I crossed behind them back toward the trail and he just happened to be in back, and thus, closest.

Peace and hope to you and yours

I wish all of you a very merry Christmas and all the best in the coming year. I hope it’s as full of joy and wild beauty for you as the past year has been for me.

Grey/Traveler and his band showed up on the northwest side of Flat Top as I made my way back to the Jeep. Steeldust and his band and hangers-on had moved to the other side of Spring Creek, so I was glad I had my earlier visit with them. It was a very long walkabout (about 5.5 hours) and well worth every minute!

Amazing

The day was solidly cloudy … until the very last moments of sunset. As I was driving up the curvy-curvy road out of the Dolores River canyon, the above view stopped me in my tracks – literally. If you’ve been on that road, you know the view begs for a pullout (or five), but there aren’t really many good places to stop and get off the road. So don’t tell the authorities, but I pretty much just stopped in my lane and pointed the camera out the window.

Basin glow

Besides the (fading) glow, do you recognize what makes this view so significant? That’s the home of my ponies out there underneath that glowing sky. At the almost-very-far-right is that prominent, unnamed peak you can see from almost anywhere in the basin. Pretty beautiful, eh?

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Categories : Alpha, Bachelor 7, Grey, Hollywood, Kreacher, Luna, Mahogany, New girls, Pinon, Steeldust, Storm

The cattle are in

8 12 2008

Holiday teaser

Who wouldn’t think “Christmas card” when they saw this scene? Bones, Poco and Roach.

If we don’t get snow to stick on the ground before I need to get my Christmas greetings in the mail, you’ll see something similar to the above photo as my Christmas wish to all of you before the holidays! (Of course, as I type this post, it’s snowing like crazy – and it’s sticking.)

The biggest change to the basin this weekend is that our bovine winter visitors are back in town (so to speak). The cows are in from Dec. 1 until the end of February.

Moo

This photo was taken near the first crossing of Spring Creek and is looking to the north-northwest. I saw other groups up in the north hills (where I did NOT see the new mares this past weekend), and there was a group east of the finger hills.

Several groups were in the area of Flat Top and Round Top again. Bounce and his lovely ladies were on the north side of the roller-coaster ridge. Grey/Traveler and his band were between the loop road and Flat Top. Seven and his girls were up at the base of Flat Top. Hollywood and his girls and a few of the bachelors were closer to Round Top, but I couldn’t see any of the main family band. I saw for sure later that they had separated – Steeldust and his band were up at the yucky puddle between the Tops, but I didn’t see them the first time I saw the other horses. Through the binocs, I thought I saw Shadow or David between the Tops … but I can’t confirm. Saw a lone dark horse to the east past Round Top that I finally identified as Poco, but Bones and Roach didn’t come into view until I hiked out to them. I lost a green Camelbak bottle last winter while I was hiking out there in the snow (remember when Seven had Houdini, Two Boots and Twister?), and the threesome was in that general area where I thought I lost it, so I decided to hike out to see them. (I never need much of an excuse to go visit those ponies!)

Have you ever wondered if Bones could lie down – even roll – with her healed, fractured pelvis? I have, and I was wondering that again just recently. Would you believe she cooperated and showed me she absolutely can?

Rolling Bones

Too bad I couldn’t divine the future from the way the “Bones” settled … 🙂 One reason I like Bones so much is her pluck. She looked so skinny last year, I named her thinking she wouldn’t make it through the winter. Not only did she survive, she has flourished!

The eagle and the raven

I call the ravens Heckle and Jekyll indiscriminately. They heckle me; I try to get them to help me find horses. None of us is very cooperative (!). While I was photographing P, B & R, a golden eagle soared low down an arroyo close by, then rose into the air in ever-ascending spirals. I guess I feel better that I’m not the only subject of Heckle’s heckling. There was one raven at first, then two. They were pretty far above me, and this photo is significantly cropped, but can you see how the eagle is looking at the raven? When you’re a human object of Heckle’s affection, there’s not much you can do. When you’re an eagle, you just fly away. By the time s/he flew away, four or five other ravens had joined the “game.”

What a view

The horses aren’t always in position for me to get shots of them with the mountains in the background, but most of them were cooperating Saturday for me to get a bunch of different potential Christmas card scenes. That’s Comanche, who was turning to lead Hollywood and his girls down the trail. It was at this point that I realized Steeldust’s band really wasn’t in the immediate neighborhood.

Walking the line

Comanche leads Aspen, Baylee, Piedra and Hollywood down a trail to an arroyo. When they got to the arroyo, they dropped out of sight for a little while … I’m not sure if they got water there? You can see in this photo how much Piedra resembles Comanche in color.

Grey boys

Chrome, Kreacher and Hook (and Duke) were about a minute behind Hollywood’s group on the same trail. If you’re wondering about bachelor Mouse, who has been after Piedra most of the year, he was the only bachelor still with the family band. That’s Knife Edge in the background.

El Duque

Big bay boy Duke stopped to say hi as his boys followed after Hollywood and Co. He has come a long way. He used to be pretty intolerant of people (me); now he almost seems to like me and will stop for prolonged (moments) visits.

Shades of grey

Grey/Traveler and his band were across an arroyo that emptied into the arroyo the boys (and Baylee and Piedra) went into – and I could see them ahead of us – so I trailed along with the ponies, down close to the arroyo, until I got to the silver boy and his family (remember when HE was one of the bachelors?).

Lunch

Big, growing girls need plenty of chow! I keep thinking about telling the tour folks back in October that I hadn’t seen any of last year’s foals still nursing last fall. I’ve still seen several of the babies nursing this fall … and not just youngest baby Storm. I like the picture above particularly because it also shows Two Boots, Houdini’s yearling filly.

Another spectacular view

And you know I’m not just talking about the landscape scenery!

Bosom buddies

Twister is another horse with a good dose of pluck. He was an orphan in the care of two stallions (Corazon and Cinch) when I first saw him last fall. Then he found mama Houdini and Two Boots and joined the family. That’s back when Seven was the head of the family. I wish he could stay young forever so he’d always have the comfort of his adopted family, but in another year or two, Grey will likely kick him out on his own. Maybe Two Boots will go with him. They’re pretty good pals.

Watching over baby

Jif and Iya. Most of the band napped while I sat on the ground; Houdini grazed most of the time, but then she came back and stood a little in front of Iya, just to the right out of the picture.

Mama

A different angle. Wise old girl Houdini has had her share of babies. Twister, in the background with Two Boots, is just one of her brood.

Itchy

I like how the plane of his face matches the line of Iya’s neck and body.

I had been keeping an eye on Seven, Molly and Roja up at the base of Flat Top while I hung out with Grey/Traveler, and that’s when I had seen Steeldust and his band up at the puddle. Eventually, they moved down, past Seven’s, toward Traveler’s and toward the bachelor boys and Hollywood’s. I walked up toward them on another trail and got into position so I could photograph them against the mountains, but they were on a mission to reunite with their boys, I guess, and they never stopped walking, grazing as they went. Consequently, I didn’t get many pix with their heads up!

Muddy boy Butch

Still muddy! Ooey gooey!

Sundance, clean

Sunny-boy was as muddy as Butch last weekend. He must have had a few good rolls since then.

Muddy Mouse

Mouse was the only bachelor still with the band. It looks like he waded into the water hole – look how deep it must be! He has mud all the way up to his belly, but it doesn’t look like he rolled in it. The “puddle” is pretty small. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned its dimensions, but I’d say it’s about 3 to 4 feet in diameter – tiny!

Pretty buckskin girls

Remember how muddy Kestrel was last weekend? She cleans up nice, eh?

Alpha and Storm

Lovelies.

Guardian

Kinda wild that I didn’t see Seven for almost two months, and now I’ve seen them the past three weekends – and all in the same area! And yes, I had been looking there all that time and never saw them. I do like seeing them.

Top of the hill

Seven and Roja on a short ridge at the base of Flat Top. Roja is ornery! When Steeldust’s horses came past them on the old road, I could see Roja trot out to meet them – kind of like a stallion will do. Seven stayed back on a little rise, and Steeldust’s horses seemed to be on a mission like I mentioned above, so they just ignored her; they never stopped moving until they got just a little past me and within view of the bachelors and Hollywood. Roja is a tough girl and fun to watch!

End of day

Here they’re on the shady eastern side of Flat Top, late afternoon. This pic doesn’t translate very well on the Web, but in the full version, I like the almost painterly quality of the light. Old Molly got the PZP last August before she was released, so she shouldn’t have a foal next year (her 2008 filly died sometime in August). She and Roja were with Kreacher last fall when I first saw them (remember that?); neither Roja nor Kreacher were gathered, and Roja didn’t have a foal. I expect Roja to have her first baby in the spring, and because Seven stole her and Molly from Kreacher in early March, I’m sure Seven’s the daddy.

After my visit with these guys, I headed back to the Jeep and on out to beat the dark home (not successful). I looked but didn’t see Bounce, Alegre and Gaia on my way out, and I scanned the north hills the whole time I was out for the new girls, but I never spotted them. I don’t know if they know about cows, but I wonder if the “tourists” will encourage them to come down from their hilly stronghold and meet some new friends.

What a gorgeous day! Chilly but gorgeous sunshine and great weather for hiking around and visiting with the ponies. The days are short, and I keep thinking about the past year, all that I’ve learned and experienced. I certainly don’t lack for peace, hope and joy this holiday season! It’s supposed to snow again next weekend, but I’m going to try to get out there because I’m taking a two-week holiday to visit my folks and home ponies, which will mean at least a three-week hiatus from the basin. That’s the most time (by far) I’ve spent away from the horses since February, but given the potential weather in December in Colorado, it’s probably the best time to plan to be away.

I’m tossing around the idea of asking you, blog readers, for suggestions to name the new girls. What do you think? Can’t keep calling them “the new girls” forever, and I want people to really know these horses as OURS. So if you have suggestions, leave a comment, and be sure to specify a name or names for each particular mare: the dun, the black pinto or the apricot dun.

Thanks for coming along on this journey of discovery and joy. As much as I’ve enjoyed sharing part of the horses’ lives, I’ve enjoyed sharing what I’ve learned with you. It’s not over by any means!

Comments : 4 Comments »

Categories : Alpha, Bachelor 7, Bones, Grey, Hollywood, Houdini, Jif, Kreacher, Luna, Poco, Roach, Roja, Seven, Steeldust, Storm

Walkabout

1 12 2008

What a fanfabnomenal day! Look who I found:

Shadow and David

It was a little crowded at the yucky water puddle between Flat Top and Round Top (ugh; couldn’t the ponies have chosen a better watering hole?). But the craziest thing was that until I got there, I was thinking that I wasn’t going to see many horses today.

We got snow/rain late last week, and the county road past the herd area was still wet and muddy in places. I decided not to tempt fate (call me paranoid) by driving the road to the basin’s main entrance, so I went down to the corrals instead. I hardly ever hike in from there because it’s a long walk to get to where you might start seeing horses. I headed toward the water catchment and the “front country” first because that’s where Grey/Traveler and Steeldust had their bands last weekend. The new girls were low on their north hills, but the area was otherwise devoid of horses. I did see someone driving out, though, so I guess the road wasn’t as bad as I had feared.

It was one of those crazy beautiful days where the clouds are playing games with the sunlight. When I first got there, most of the basin was under full sunshine, but clouds looked ominous to the south and west. There was evidence of the recent snowstorm along the tops of the near ridges and the far hills. Just astoundingly beautiful. But then the clouds covered the sun, and the rest of the day was cloudy over the basin. It was mostly sunny to the north, but by the time I left, clouds had almost completely veiled the La Sal Mountains, and the basin was purple against the sunshine turning the west hills gold.

Through the binoculars, from the road past the catchment, I spotted horses way down to the southeast. I thought they were Grey’s band, but I couldn’t tell for sure, and I couldn’t tell exactly where they were. As it turned out, they WERE Grey’s, and they were a bit east of Round Top. While I was heading toward them – before I realized quite how far they were yet – I spotted a black horse against the sky between Flat Top and Round Top. … Shadow? I hadn’t seen her or David for quite a while (almost as long as I had gone without seeing Seven and his girls), but I walked on up to the base of Round Top to see how far away Grey/Traveler was – and I was planning to take the Round Top trail back toward the corrals anyway. It turned out the silver boy and his family were still quite a distance from where the road ends at the base of Round Top (and where the trail takes off), so I made sure everyone was there (Iya still nursing), then hit the trail.

I was feeling a little disappointed that I hadn’t seen Steeldust’s big band … Who do you suppose I found hunkered down between the Tops?

A boy and his band

Steely Dan, with some very muddy furballs masquerading as his sons and daughters!

Mud, Muddy and Muddier

Or is that Muddiest, Muddier and Muddy?! Butch, Sundance and Kestrel (possibly siblings). You can see they’re still wet, and that’s not a shadow on Kestrel’s side; it’s her very own swath of mud.

I don’t know if it was the nip in the air or something in the mud, err, water, but the ponies were feisty today! Ember was bucking around, and Kestrel, Butch and Sundance would be calm for a few moments – like in the photo above – then one would back into the other, and THEY would start playing around with each other! It was awesome to watch them feeling so good and being so silly!

Storm and Alpha

Luna girl in the background. I think it was the mud. The mudballs were the silliest. 🙂

Invitation to play

Innocent Storm … He’s still gullible.

Sweetening the invitation

Aww … such a sweet girl, giving kisses …

Gotcha!

Is that just like a girl?

Look out!

She looks fierce, doesn’t she?

Calm after the storm

No pun intended!

No rest

Then she was off with Pinon (poor boy – can’t resist).

One more

And muddy Kestrel couldn’t resist, so she jumped right in … and Butch and Sundance came to play, too, but they all went and hid behind mamas …

Steeldust

And big daddy!

Lost boys

Breakaway boys Kreacher, Hook and Chrome were back with the band – hanging out here with Duke. That nasty-looking dark splotch on Chrome’s face is just mud.

Making friends

But before Duke and the grey boys rejoined the band, Duke was thirsty enough to march up to the puddle for a drink – while David and Shadow were there. They were very respectful of each other.

Kreacher and Hook

Sweet boys.

Look who else was watching the goings-on:

Waiting patiently

They’re up by Round Top there. Funny that the yucky little water hole has become such a gathering place. Maybe I’m the only one who thinks it’s so yucky?!

David and Shadow

These guys hung out at the water hole the whole time all the silliness was going on in Steeldust’s band. Maybe I wasn’t the only one entertained! 🙂

Fun day and a great walk – four and a half hours from corrals to corrals. One great big loop walkabout. Saw 34 of the 50 horses – all but the pinto family, the pinto boys, Poco, Bones and Roach, and Bounce’s band. The ground was soft, so the basin definitely got some of that rain and/or snow, though, like here, no snow remained.

A fanfabnomenal day!

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Categories : Alpha, David, Kreacher, Molly, Pinon, Seven, Steeldust, Storm

Giving thanks

28 11 2008

Another beautiful morning

As I write this post, it really is still Thanksgiving, even though I know the blog will say otherwise. Not that I can’t give thanks for the horses, and my time with them, any day of the year, but I just wanted to make that point. All these photos are from last Sunday. As you’ll see, it was a gorgeous day. Also as I write this post, it’s snowing. The basin is getting rain or snow or some combination. The horses are likely wet, but hopefully they’re as ready for this next season as they look. They – we – really need the moisture.

In the photo above, that’s Hollywood and Baylee near the road and the water catchment. Steeldust’s family and all the bachelors but Chrome, Kreacher and Hook also were there.

Big band

The horses were all very relaxed and calm Sunday morning about an hour after sunrise.

Steeldust, Alpha and Storm

I included this photo as the start of a little visual journey. Soon after I took this photo, Storm laid down for a nap.

Sleepy boys

There’s Pinon standing over Storm, with Sundance snoozing behind them.

Daddy on guard

Slightly different angle. That’s Ember behind Steeldust.

So that’s nice, you’re thinking, but this isn’t much of a story. Maybe not, but all stories need a beginning. See, I took these photos from just down from the fenced-in water catchment. The light wasn’t the best from this angle, but it was the best angle to catch little Storm-chaser at his nap (and who can resist?). My back was to the northeast, where that hill drops off to the big “flat” below.

So I’m taking pix from a crouched position, and the horses are calm, and Storm is looking at me but not bothered enough to disturb his semi-nap. But then all of a sudden, all the horses looked up at me. What did I do? I hadn’t moved?

Hoofbeats. Behind me. Trotting.

Boo!

I look back, and there’s Grey/Traveler trotting after Jif, who is trotting up over the edge of the hill and right past me! He’s trotting in this photo – can you see his eye looking at me? I think he was as surprised to see me as I was to see him!

Traveler and Jif

He finally got her to stop there, where they’re looking at Steeldust’s band (who were all possibly just as surprised as the rest of us), who were looking back at them. I figured the rest of the band was coming up the trail, but they never showed up.

Sassy Jif

Moments later … “I’m going, already.”

Not too worried

He followed after her, pretty calm, as you can see here, but this is where the story (visually) got good.

The chase is on

Jif was being sassy and lolly-gagging along, so Grey/Traveler decided to push a little harder.

Cant catch me

Now he’s starting to get a little mad.

Keep moving

I really thought the band was just out of sight below the edge of the hill.

Over the edge

They dropped over the edge, and I walked over slowly, expecting to see the other horses.

All calm on the eastern front

But they weren’t. I walked back to the Jeep and drove on down the hill and across the “flat,” where this photo was taken from the Jeep. Left to right: Jif, Houdini, Iya and Twister (Iya is just barely visible), and Two Boots. Grey/Traveler is just out of the picture at right. They were way away! (Relatively.) Why did Jif go running off like that? She’s kind of independent, but does she do that often? Another hmm. The end.

Not really, of course. I had spotted the new girls up on a hill around from the dry-pond trail, so that’s where I headed next.

Da girls

They were out enjoying the sunshine, as calm and relaxed as Steeldust’s and Grey’s bands (minus the Jif incident).

Pretty little girl

Isn’t she cute?

Black mare

Don’t let this angle fool you; she’s really a girl with (small) spots.

Cute n curious

I walked across the hill below them to get them in better light, then sat down to hang out with them for a little while and see what they’d do. This little girl just walked on over, the better to see me. Black mare and apricot mare stayed back. Feeding their pal to the lion? Just waiting to see what the lion would do? Some friends, eh? Ha.

Let me just check out this saltbush ...

I love her curiosity. When she realized I a) wasn’t a lion and b) wasn’t going to eat her, she just went to grazing. She did that for several minutes then walked back to her pals to give them the scoop.

OK?

OK.

Showing her spots

Watchful girl.

Little apricot

Calm enough to graze. I like it when that happens.

It was a really nice, quiet visit with these girls. I’m really quite fond of them!

I never expected to see Seven and his mares again Sunday, but I decided to go have a look anyway, just in case. Would you believe they were in the same exact place – a little closer to Flat Top – as where I found them Saturday? It’s where I last saw them in early October … and I’ve looked there every time I’ve been out there since – and never seen them until this weekend!

Seven

Handsome boy.

Molly and Roja

I didn’t stay with them long, and I didn’t take many photos. They were fine with me standing at a distance. I checked off the ridge but didn’t see any other horses.

Breakaway boys

Almost forgot this pic of the three boys who wandered away from the big band: Chrome at left, Hook and Kreacher. This was taken from the road, almost to the base of Round Top, looking eastish. Kind of a cool backdrop, eh?

I looked for Steeldust’s band on my way back out but wasn’t seeing them. From the north, I had seen them walking along the ridge toward the pond near the entrance, so I thought I might see them in that area. Sometimes, they’re where you’re least expecting them.

Steely Dan and fam

They were against the hill right inside the main entrance. They barely looked up from their grazing …

Aspen

Except this guy. He was looking so handsome in the sunlight, I couldn’t resist taking his picture.

Ember and Luna

And this little girl. I keep thinking of all this year’s yearlings, how they looked last year when they were the age of this year’s babies. They grow so quickly. Ah … I’m so sentimental.

But wait! The story’s not yet over. Guess who I saw right from the county road on my way home?

Painted ponies

I took pictures of them right from the fenceline off the road. Here, from front to back: Kiowa, Chipeta, Corazon, Reya and Spook.

Ty was back with the band. I guess he found family life more appealing than life as a single guy.

Muddy Mesa

Big muddy boy. Copper was the farthest from the band and never came very close. The king is (driven away); long live the king? Corazon was right with the band … which isn’t unusual EXCEPT that Copper was so far away. So is Corazon the new head of family?

And that’s the Sunday story. Heartfelt thanks to my ponies, as always.

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Categories : Corazon, Grey, Hollywood, Jif, Mesa, Molly, New girls, Pinon, pintos, Roja, Seven, Steeldust, Storm, Ty

And on the seventh day …

26 11 2008

Seven and his girls

Look who decided to make an appearance: Seven, left, Molly and Roja. They were at the yucky little water hole between Flat Top and Round Top on Saturday with Bruiser and Cinch. Molly is showing her age, but she looks pretty good. Roja is downright fat! Seven is handsome as ever. That light patch on Molly’s hip is just dried mud, in case you were wondering, like I was.

I walked out to them on the trail that goes around the west side of Round Top and connects to the trail that runs along the ridge sort of south of Flat Top down to the water hole that has been dry since April. Right along that ridge trail is where Bruiser and Cinch were grazing. Seven saw me for quite a while as I was hiking, but the spotted boys were oblivious until I was fairly close.

Wide open invisible

This is Cinch, with Seven in the background. I was standing in the middle of the trail here, in full view of Seven, and I had expected Cinch and Bruiser to spot me much earlier than this. In fact, although you can see Cinch’s eye here, he still hasn’t noticed me.

Hello!

Cinch pretends to finally notice Seven.

And hello!

Now they see me. Bruiser on the left.

Boys

A wider shot showing Seven in the background.

Molly and Roja

See how fat is Roja? She’s the sorrel mare walking away. The white stuff is the salty stuff around the little water puddle. And that’s Molly looking at me.

Mr. Handsome

Seven was not very happy about the proximity of the pinto stallions, but they insisted on sticking around.

Bruiser and Seven

Older and recent band stallion Bruiser seemed to recognize Seven’s dominance, and neither he nor Cinch put up much “fight.”

Arabian knight?

“How cool am I?” Seven seems to ask here. Isn’t he beautiful?

El Victorio

Very satisfied with himself.

Seven

I have definitely missed seeing this boy.

Molly, Seven and Roja

This was taken near the road to Round Top looking sort of northish, maybe slightly northeastish.

Boys with spots

One more of Cinch, left, and Bruiser. What if Bruiser is Cinch’s sire? Similar faces, eh? But check out those little curvy hooks at the tips of Cinch’s ears! Cute!

Quiet time

Steeldust’s band was right along the base of the roller-coaster ridge, just a little southeast of the pond. They were fairly spread out. Mouse was close to the family band (seen above minus Kestrel, Steeldust and Mahogany and Pinon), Aspen, Comanche and Duke were hanging out with Hollywood, Piedra and Baylee, and the breakaway boys – Chrome, Kreacher and Hook – were even farther south. In the photo above, from left, Storm, Alpha, Ember and Luna, Butch (hard to see) and Sundance. You may not be able to see it in this small photo, but Ember is totally eyeing me even while having her snack.

Luna and Kestrel

Luna and her yearling filly, Kestrel. Even though yearling filly Baylee (Mahogany’s daughter) decided to join Hollywood’s little band with Piedra (who might be her big sister), Kestrel is still with the big family.

Luna and her babies

Luna and her youngest babies, Ember and Kestrel. And a bonus background. Can you guess? That’s Filly Peak way off yonder to the west.

Steeldust

Family man Steely Dan walking toward Luna (and Ember and Kestrel) with the beautiful La Sal Mountains in the background.

Pinon and Mahogany

I think young Mr. Pinon is growing up to be such a handsome young man!

Alpha, Storm and Sundance

Storm looks slightly disembodied here, but he’s still lying down as in that first photo of the group.

Little prince

A closer look …

Soooo sleepy

Check out his wispy little “Trojan horse” mane!

Napping

Daddy Steeldust was taking advantage of the warm sunshine, too. Flat Top in the background.

Boo-boo

Hollywood and Mouse got into a little play fight last Sunday while we watched them near the end of the day. Although none of us thought they were being at all serious, Hollywood came away with a cut on his lip, and Mouse has an apple-size swelling on his neck.

Hearts

Say it with me now: Awwwww. I love how their faces seem to mimic the shape of a heart. Piedra, left, and Hollywood.

Alegre and Gaia

These last photos were actually taken at the very end of the day Friday (all the other pictures on this post were taken Saturday). Bounce and his girls were down on the other, north, side of the roller-coaster ridge.

Bounce m'boy

Such a handsome boy! That’s McKenna Peak (thanks, Kathe and Bob) in the background, namesake of the McKenna Peak Wilderness Study Area.

Only beautiful

I love this boy, Bounce. And I love his look here.

Can you have too many beautiful weekends in the wild? As I’m writing this, it’s the day before Thanksgiving. I could never take the horses, their beauty and grace, for granted. My heartfelt thanks to them for what they teach me every time I’m with them.

I do still have some photos from Sunday to tweak and post, including more of Seven and his girls, and some from a lovely visit with the new girls. Over the course of the weekend, I saw all the horses but David and Shadow! (So now who’s the object of the wild horse chase, eh?) Thanks also to you readers who have come along in this journey of getting to know our Spring Creek Basin horses.

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Categories : Alegre, Alpha, Bounce, Bruiser, Cinch, Hollywood, Luna, Mahogany, Molly, Pinon, Seven, Steeldust, Storm

Without words

20 11 2008

Center of the world

Sunday was … the last day, the end of the weekend, gorgeous … busy with visitors … the end of the fourth/last hunting season. Did I mention gorgeous? The kind of day when it never enters your mind to be anywhere else or with anyone else.

I had a couple of hours of early morning again Sunday before Debbie and Kathleen arrived in the basin, and Steeldust’s and Traveler’s bands were still close by and accommodating. There is such a feeling of peace and all-is-right-with-the-world under all that rich light.

Traveler and Jif

Silver-beautiful boy and his girl Jif.

Iya and Houdini

Although Houdini does still let Iya nurse, it seems like she’s starting to wean her away, just by walking off when Iya indicates interest.

Soft

Do you love his expression here?!

Youngsters

Do good things come in threes? Three good babies. Beautiful early light. Wild youngsters so relaxed.

Baylee and Hollywood

Piedra was there, too, a few moments earlier, then she wandered off to graze.

Home with a view

Relaxed Steeldust, hangin’ with the (extended) fam. If you’re having a big crew to the table this Thanksgiving, think of him, leading his big crew to grazing every day of the year. Don’t stress. Enjoy the sunshine. Take a nap. Appreciate your family.

Shortly after this, Debbie and Kathleen arrived, and we returned to find the horses in the same areas. We spent more time with them, Debbie had her wonderful conversation with Grey/Traveler, and we bid them farewell to head north.

Top of the world

Twister, Iya and Houdini walking along the edge of the “ridge” that drops off southeast of Filly Peak beyond the road where it curves to take visitors past the catchment.

The ladies’ time in the basin Sunday was limited because of their distance from home. We spotted the new mares up off the north road, so we headed up to visit them.

Apricot dun

We took our time walking out to them, even though they were just a short distance from the road and had seen the Jeep rolling toward them. They were on a little grassy bench above the road. (And I did see the black mare nibble at a greasewood bush. I think they’re just not sharing all their secrets at once.)

One way

There’s the black mare between the two duns, warning the apricot dun away.

Then the other way

They didn’t go far.

Once more

When I was in third grade, I followed my best friend, Linda, everywhere. Looking back, I’m pretty sure it was annoying.

Go, duns, go!

You might be able to just see the black mare’s nose behind the tree branches at right behind these girls. Seconds after this, the only thing you could see of them was their heels in the air!

What more can you ask from life? So … a few words, but my goal was to show off the expressiveness of the horses, whether napping or playing. Happy? I really think they are.

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Categories : Grey, Hollywood, Houdini, Jif, New girls, Steeldust

Love and light

19 11 2008

First light

It comes a little after 7 a.m. now, that gentle, golden light that slides over ridges and slips around hills and envelops you like a caress. If the horses are relieved to see it morning after morning, they give no indication. It finds them, warms them; it marks the next day in Spring Creek Basin. I can think of few better places to enjoy the coming of dawn. Above are horses in Grey/Traveler’s band: Iya and Houdini, Traveler in the background (farther away than he looks), Jif, Two Boots and Twister.

What scary monsters are yonder?

Very close to the main entrance to the herd area here and not long after my visit with Grey’s band, still fairly early. Chrome was fascinated by something in the near distance and couldn’t take his eyes off it. Duke came to offer support. What scary monster could it have been that eventually sent the boys all running to catch up with their mates down at the pond?

Ooooh ... scary!

Go ahead, give it a chuckle. Two little baby boys, just up from morning naps, were the “monsters” Chrome was so worried about.

Snack time

Not much longer, and Debbie and Kathleen arrived and we drove around to watch the horses in Steeldust’s band from the road near the catchment.

Another nap

Pinon and Storm laid down for another nap, surrounded by family.

Last ones standing

While we watched and Debbie communicated with them, almost all the other horses laid down, too. It would be a shorter list to name who did NOT lie down. In this photo, you can see Kestrel, Sundance and Hollywood lying down. Butch also is back there lying down. Even Steeldust laid down.

And even Duke

Even vigilant Duke laid down for a rest. Both Chrome and Hook also eventually laid down. It was fantastic to see them so relaxed, even with visitors.

Wild light

Evening light here. I took Debbie and Kathleen up on Round Top to give them an overview of the whole basin. On the way there, we saw Bounce, Alegre and Gaia. We saw the pintos from the summit, as well as Bruiser and Cinch and, close by, Ty. We saw Poco, Bones and Roach from the loop road. We saw a large (20?) herd of mule deer and one beautiful young buck near Lizard Mesa (Sunday was the last day of the fourth and last hunting season). We had seen Steeldust’s band from the summit of Round Top, too, and we were looking for them on our way toward closing the loop – voila. We came up over a slight rise that blocked our view, and there they were, just above the dugout intersection. The picture above represents what we saw. The horses were very relaxed and all very close together. Beautiful horses in beautiful light.

Asleep on their feet

Piedra and Baylee are rarely far from each other these days. Did you spot Hollywood in the previous picture? He’s right up in the middle of the band. At left is bachelor Aspen.

Three grey boys

Hook, left, Chrome and Kreacher. Kathleen and Hook took an instant liking to each other.

Bachelor 4

All calm on the eastern front. Chrome, left, Kreacher, Hook and Duke.

Last light

Gorgeous, yeah? Ember and Luna, Storm and Alpha.

Zzzzzzzzz

Storm-baby was sound asleep almost the whole time we were with the band – probably because the other horses were so relaxed no one raised an alarm.

Time to get up!

Ha! I’m not sure I’ve captured a funnier face than the one Ember is making here! Storm had awakened, and she was checking him out as he scratched and stretched. He was in no mood to get up, but he finally did.

Now what?

After the nap – now what trouble do you suppose they can get into? Tomorrow’s another day …!

The band crossed the road to the side we were on, then went down the hill to graze into the night.

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Categories : Alpha, Bachelor 7, Grey, Houdini, Kreacher, Mahogany, Pinon, Steeldust, Storm

Friday night

17 11 2008

The sun wasn’t far above the horizon when I arrived in the basin Friday evening. Grey/Traveler and his band and Steeldust and his band – including the ever-present bachelor boys – were waiting for me fairly near the entrance. Grey’s were grazing, but most of Steeldust’s were napping. Babies Ember and Storm were lying down, but Pinon had made a new friend.

Pinon and Aspen

I don’t know what it means … Just a pic to make ya go “hmm.” They grow up so fast!

The light was just perfect, and the horses were relaxed and soaking it in before another long, chilly night. (The temperature dropped into at least the mid-20s overnight.)

Last light

Grey/Traveler and his band were just below the road on a hill above the area where Steeldust’s band was hanging out. Not too much interaction between the two bands (at least while I was watching), but there would be plenty of action later among Steeldust’s hangers-on.

Houdini and Iya

Houdini and leggy Iya

Iya

Big, curious girl. She looks like a draft horse foal, doesn’t she?

Sleepy baby

Storm’s doing his impression of a curly haired bison calf here. Kestrel and Sundance in the background.

Sisters?

Hollywood’s girls, Piedra and Baylee. Baylee is Mahogany’s yearling daughter. … Piedra has her ears. Maybe. Need a chuckle? Check out Piedra’s lower lip.

Looking for trouble

Well, maybe not all of them …

Uh oh

Chrome has noticed that Hollywood’s not guarding his girls, not paying attention, chatting with pal Aspen, who also has noticed at this point that Chrome is making his move.

The approach

Chrome’s feeling lucky …

The rejection

Baylee says “no way! can’t you see I’m underage?!”

The rescue

Chrome paws the ground in frustration after Hollywood finally comes to his girl’s rescue.

Better luck next time

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh?

Show me the love

Chrome wasn’t the only one in a romantic mood on a Friday night. This photo was taken just a few moments after the lead photo in the next post (“Affirmation”). Alpha flirted a bit half-heartedly, but Steeldust knew it wasn’t his lucky day. One difference between a roguish teenager and a seasoned family man!

And I forgot a photo from earlier in the day:

Pintos

The pinto band with the bay boys – minus Ty. Leading lady is Kiowa, followed by Spook, Chipeta, Reya, Copper, Corazon and Mesa. This was taken from the county road right alongside the herd area. Saturday, from Round Top, I spotted Cinch and Bruiser very briefly before I lost them in the folded hills, with Ty not quite with them but very nearby. Remember his little altercation with Copper from last weekend? Maybe leaving the band to find his bachelor pals was his version of a cold shower. It’s fall, sure, but who says romance is only for spring time?

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Categories : Alpha, Grey, Hollywood, Houdini, Pinon, pintos, Steeldust, Storm

Wild horse chase – Sunday, Nov. 9, 2008

13 11 2008

Think “goose,” think Seven, think more than a month since I’ve seen the boy and his girls. The gauntlet has been thrown, and I’m on the trail of Seven, Molly and Roja. My trail has been cold so far, and this weekend wasn’t any different. I’ll keep looking – it’s half the fun!

Since a report a few weekends ago that Seven had been spotted near Brumley Point, I’ve been concentrating my searches in that area. Last weekend, I hiked in and went around farther south. This weekend, I hiked in and made a loop up to the northwest to Round Top and around westish and southish back to the road. Did see the pintos and their solid pals. Did see Bruiser and Cinch. Did see the Glynns riding between Flat and Round tops.

Waiting

Have I mentioned these spotted creatures of habit? Hill. Pintos. Check. Call it my natural stair-stepper, that hill. Copper, Kiowa, Reya, Spook, Chipeta and Ty were toward the top of the hill – Mesa and Corazon out of sight – and they saw me coming from a mile away (maybe literally). But they were calm, and I set a diagonal course to reach the top of the hill south of them. When I poked up at the top edge of the hill, Spook-girl spotted me right away, but Chipeta – seen here – and Kiowa (at least) were standing so they faced down the hill. Watching for me? Surely. I waited until they noticed Spook’s attention and saw me, then walked on up. I had a fairly single-minded goal of looking for Seven’s band, and I wasn’t necessarily going to take any more photos of this band, but who can resist? Not me.

Stallion action

With Mesa and Corazon presumably in the trees – out of my sight, anyway – Ty decided to make his move. It was not a move well received by either Copper or the girls, however. You can kinda see Chipeta – far left – at the lower end of a kick to the boys. I’m not sure she was aiming for either of them particularly, just both of them.

Mama and babies

Resistance is futile?? Who can resist those faces? That’s Mama Kiowa with baby Spook in the middle and yearling Reya.

Around then, there was a whinny from the trees – Mesa or Corazon? It turned out to be a “where are you guys” call from Corazon. One thing I’ve noticed is that the ponies rarely whinny, and the message seems fairly urgent when they do. Mesa came out later.

Having seen Cinch and Bruiser between Flat Top and Round Top on Saturday, I didn’t expect to see them there again, but I had seen David and Shadow there a few weekends ago, so that area was my northernmost goal. When I first saw the boys, they were looking at something, but all I could see was something red through the trees. It turned out to be the Glynns, watching the boys from the other side. They rode up to where I was, and we chatted a bit, then they rode on south to see the pintos (still out on their hill), and I headed southwestish. Soon after I watched David and Doris ride over a ridge east of Round Top, I spotted Poco and Bones way, way far away against the far grey hills. Roach must have been nearby. Not another horse did I see – except the pintos again as I approached the Jeep.

Seven, pony, where are you?

Into the basin on the main road. Binoculars helped me spot the new girls – still on THEIR hill. I stopped at the water catchment to check the level of water in the drinking troughs; I turned off the flow of water Saturday. Still good.

Didn’t see Grey/Traveler and his band on my way in, but I did see them on my way out – still near the catchment. They’re definitely staying close to that fresh water.

On the loop road, as I approached the Round Top intersection, some of Steeldust’s horses, then Bounce came into view, looking at something. Then I saw Doris and David, so I stopped so I wouldn’t interfere with their observation of the horses. I was within view of that old enclosure right off the road but pretty far from the horses and at least partially blocked from their view by hills. I thought the horses would head west and low, toward the arroyo, and I’d see them appear out in that “valley.” So I took the time to write some notes on my earlier adventures … then looked up to see horses coming right toward me!

Alegre and Gaia

Bounce’s girls stopped ahead of and east of the Jeep.

Bounce

Bounce stopped behind them and looked back for followers. What a handsome boy he is. They trotted on down the hill, out of sight, and ended up out in the open to the east.

Two mamas, two babies

Storm and Alpha, Ember and Luna.

When the band realized I was there and saw the Jeep, they stopped, milled around, then started grazing – or just standing around like cool cats.

Three boys grey

Kreacher, Hook and Chrome.

More boys

A wider view of more boys: Comanche at left and Aspen and Duke in the center (Aspen standing sideways to the camera). Knife Edge in the background.

Pals

Hook and Chrome. Sometimes I wonder how long some of these bachelor boys have known each other. Did they grow up together, like Storm and Pinon?

Hollywood and girls ... and one little boy

Hollywood with Piedra and Baylee – sisters, I think – with Pinon in the background. Pinon is definitely Baylee’s little brother. If Piedra’s dam also is Mahogany, he’s her little brother, too! You can see the road behind him.

Around this time, the Glynns had ridden up on a far ridge, and I realized we had the horses trapped between us. Plus, the horses all turned around to look at them, so then I had only butt shots! I started moving around them toward the Glynns so the horses didn’t feel squeezed and could continue on if they chose. They were very calm, though, and had mostly started grazing again.

Snack time

I’m not sure if Alpha here was looking at my Jeep or at Bounce, Alegre and Gaia as they moved away from the ridge and horses and humans and excitement. Steeldust had walked around Alpha as Storm nursed and stopped right in front of her, as if to keep her from going any farther.

Auntie Luna standing by

Again with the wider view, here to show “Auntie Luna” very close by.

Little boy, little girl

Storm and Ember

Like mother, like son

Striking similiarity, eh? Mahogany and Pinon. Ember and Storm were just to the left, and they tagged along in Pinon’s wake as he passed them with Mama.

I walked the road down to where David and Doris were watching from their hill. The horses stayed in the area for quite a while as we talked and watched them. When they started to move on, so did we, both taking the road back toward the dugout intersection.

Heading out

This may actually be the photo I was thinking of when I wrote this morning’s post about Saturday’s adventures. That IS Flat Top in the background. So many landmarks … so many ways to present them!

Closer look

Zoom-zoom.

Uneventful, the rest of the day. We woke up to snow Monday morning in Mancos, so I hope the basin got some more of that moisture. It melted right away here, so I’m sure it did there as well. We’ll take all the moisture we get after our recent dry spell. Weather is certainly turning toward winter. The ponies are all fuzzy and look great.

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Categories : Alegre, Alpha, Bounce, Hollywood, Kreacher, Mahogany, Pinon, Steeldust, Storm, Ty

Still waters – Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008

12 11 2008

Grey against the blue

The horses had a visitor Saturday: Dale from the Denver area. I met her at the main entrance Saturday, we drove in searching for horses. We ended up seeing all the northern horses except Seven and the girls (and they may have become southern horses …), so it was a great experience. We even saw the new mares from a distance – still by themselves, still up in the hills above the trap site.

Our first close-up was of Traveler’s band, just south of the water catchment. He knew something was up, that he had a visitor, so he gave her a little of the old show (which I rarely get anymore because he’s so used to me).

Greeting

He trotted down to the mares and youngsters, the better to protect them.

Defending his turf

With Twister and Houdini and a little slice of far background, looking southeastish.

We drove onward to the loop road and took it counter-clockwise. We spotted Bruiser and Cinch between Round Top and Flat Top – closer to FT – napping in the sunshine. It turned out to be a gorgeous day – perfect after the snow earlier in the week. We also spotted the white spot that is Alpha with her compadres up on the roller-coaster ridge. Below them we could see other horses, which I assumed were bachelors until we got closer. The far horses were bachelors, but the horses closest to us were …

Bashful girl

Alegre and Gaia and …

Big Daddy

Bounce.

These were taken through the Jeep’s window; the horses were below the level of the road and just northish of that pond. We drove on until we could see Steeldust’s band through the trees, then parked and got out to walk to them.

Innocents

I took this photo of Storm and Ember – standing right on the road – but then I looked down, and there was Kestrel coming up from a notch in the hill on the other side of the road – right in front of us! And she was followed by Mahogany! We stopped immediately, but they were as surprised as we were and trotted on up to the band, which trotted on down the hill. Roller-coaster ridge earns its name; it’s narrow along most of its length, and you can see right off either side except straight down. We had seen Hollywood lounging in the distance, watching us, hip cocked, and he and his girls were the last to follow. The horses formed into a line on the other side of the ridge heading toward the pond, but we didn’t know at that point if they had already been to water or if they were heading that way anyway.

Roach and Bones

A little farther on, on the southeast side of the ridge that continues after the road drops over the other side, we spotted Poco, Bones and Roach.

Poco

You can see tiny patches of snow behind Poco, remnants from last Tuesday’s storm.

By then, we had seen everybody I expected to see, so we turned around there so we didn’t have to drive over the roughest parts of the loop road and so we could see the horses again on the return trip.

Band at water

This also answered a previous question, when we saw the horses wading into and drinking at the pond. That’s actually Flat Top in the background. Round Top is more southwest from this position. CORRECTION: Bob Ball emailed to say he thought this hill in the background is Round Top, and he’s right. I was thinking of a different pic taken from a different perspective, farther down the road, looking at Flat Top, which is farther from the water hole.

Band at water 2

A zoomed-in look at almost the same image. You can pick out Steeldust, standing in the first image; walking in the second.

We also passed Bounce, Alegre and Gaia a second time, still in about the same place, and Grey/Traveler’s band, who had moved out into the open from the low hills they were on earlier. All the babies were down for naps in the sunshine. The new mares were lower on their hill, but Dale needed to get back. Nice to meet you; hope you visit the ponies again!

The third hunting season ended the day before I got to the basin, and knowing there had been at least two camps at water, I wanted to make sure they had cleaned up after themselves. Californians had been at the trap site, and they did a pretty good job of taking their trash with them. I’m not sure why people think aluminum cans will burn away in the campfire, but I did pick some of those out of the ashes. There were at least two new trails down to Spring Creek – all with hoof prints – but I don’t know if the mares made the trails or if the hunters did and the mares are using them. I headed up the hill to get a look at the girls.

Girl band

They look plenty comfortable where they are.

Grazing

One thing I noticed is that they’re actually eating what grass is there, and by that I mean they seemed to bypass the “shrubs” – the greasewood and four-winged saltbush (names I just learned). I watched the black mare get at the grass (if you can really call it that; it’s very dry and brown and shriveled) at the base of a small greasewood bush, but she didn’t touch the bush. Makes me wonder if they don’t have those plants in Sand Wash Basin? Or never learned to eat them? At that point, I tried to really look at their body conditions, but they still look good. Fuzzy, but I don’t think they’ve lost any weight.

Friendly girls

Here are the apricot dun and black pinto mare, pretty close to each other while the other dun mare grazes ahead of them.

Meanie girl

And here, a few minutes later, black mare gave apricot dun mare a warning sizzle. Sheesh. Black mare definitely has ‘tude!

I was on my way back to the Jeep at that point and figured it was a good time to go ahead and leave them to their own devices.

David Glynn, a frequent visitor to the basin, and his wife, Doris, had pulled in with two horses (Buck and borrowed horse Wally) while I was visiting the girls. I stopped to chat with them, and while we were talking, one truck drove into the basin and one truck drove out. Those were the only vehicles I had seen all day. Traveler’s band had been at the water catchment for a drink then moved out into the open to graze. The folks in the inward-bound truck stopped to watch them, then turned around at the catchment and drove back by for another look. I don’t know what it was about that truck, but Traveler watched it all the way out of the basin.

On guard

He turned his head a couple of times to look at me as I drove by, but mostly he stayed focused on the truck. I took this photo from the road after it curved away from Filly Peak and heads straight to the catchment, and the truck he’s watching was at the far side of that big open area, almost to where it curves out of sight and heads to the entrance.

I went on around to check the camp at Wildcat Spring – which should not have been a camp in my ever-so-humble opinion. I took a bag of trash (mostly cans from the fire pit) away from the camp at the trap site; I took five bags and an old cardboard box away from the Wildcat Spring site. People also had left two elk skins, three legs, the remains of at least three rabbits, two still-full cans of beans, three pairs of socks (?!), more cans in the fire/trash (?) pits and two half-full rolls of toilet paper on a branch near a box topped with a toilet lid (of course I didn’t touch that!), among other things. They had also driven their ATV to and across and alongside the spring AND somehow scooped up mud as a dyke across the water, though not very effectively. Not to mention the previously mentioned (in a previous post) second driveway. Not cool. WAY not cool. Very disappointing.

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Categories : Alegre, Bones, Bounce, Grey, New girls, Poco, Roach, Steeldust, Storm

Spring Creek Basin Mustangs