Light loves the baby.
Loves stepdaddy, too. 🙂
Little mys
16 01 2012Comments : 5 Comments »
Categories : Kootenai, Mysterium, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Sundance
Play time
28 12 2011Apollo and Mysterium are half-siblings, sired by Kreacher.
Apollo is 7 months old now.
Mysterium is 4 months old.
Little feisty wily girl has figured out that she can play with big brother … and that mama is nearby if he gets too rough!
It starts with a bit of nibbling on the shoulder …
About halfway through the game, he decided he could rear up, too.
She did a lot of this …
… and a little of this, but she never actually kicked out at him.
A little more teasing …
… some more near-synchronized rearing …
… and the warning from mama Kootenai (you can just see her pinned ears) …
that led to this:
!!
But it was all good in the end …
And they lived happily ever after. 🙂
Comments : 9 Comments »
Categories : Apollo, Kootenai, Mysterium, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Sundance
Some near, some far
26 12 2011
A long view of Sundance’s band (“near”) and Kreacher and Duke. Apollo and Raven are the two dark horses at near left, then Sundance, Kootenai and Mysterium at right. Straight back “above” Sundance is Duke, and just down the slope – left – from Duke is Kreacher; he’s hard to see, grey against snow. The Spring Creek arroyo is between them.
Much nearer – Juniper. Fuzzy, furry, wooly little bear cub! How cute is she?!
Mama Kestrel … and not too far away, snow spilling over the eastern ridges – unnamed promontory and McKenna Peak.
Last view of the day, looking in the opposite direction from above – west – snow falling in clouds beyond Spring Creek Canyon.
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Categories : Apollo, Duke, Juniper, Kestrel, Kootenai, Kreacher, Mysterium, Raven, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Sundance
Depth
18 12 2011Busily getting out Christmas cards and calendars – wait, shopping?! I knew I was forgetting something!
So these are fairly disjointed posts, I know, but here are three more from last week’s visit:
Apollo. They’re not visible in this image, but Comanche’s and Hollywood’s were out on the east-west hill there in the background beyond this ridge where Sundance’s band was grazing and napping.
Raven, blissed out on snow. 🙂
Sundance – love the 3-D feel of this image with the light and soft color.
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Categories : Apollo, Raven, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Sundance
Shining
15 12 2011
Had a big day on this, the 40th anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Wild Horses and Burros Act. What better way to recognize the people who recognized the need to protect our wild horses and burros?
Love seeing stallions with foals – nurturing the next generation. Sundance and curious Mysterium.
Lots of snow, but this time, lots of mud, too. Mostly under the snow still, but it has been warm. On the drive out, I dropped from much-missed sunshine illuminating blue skies into the Dolores River canyons and Disappointment Valley, almost entirely shrouded in fog. Would you believe the basin, across to the east, was glowing under a break in the clouds? On this blog, of course you would, and you’d be correct. 🙂
During the day, the sky over the basin cleared completely, though the fog line stayed over the western hills, then floated back and came up from the south, obscuring Brumley Point, McKenna Peak, the unnamed promontory and the far southern ridges and hills before sunset.
What I would have given to have horses in front of that delicious light! But the original horses I went in looking for were the ones I didn’t see hide nor hair of – nor even hoofprints! The pinto ponies proved elusive.
Saw most of the horses from a distance but had a wonderful visit with Sundance’s band.
The big news is what I didn’t see.
Explanation?
Who stole Roja and Killian?!
Aspen doesn’t have them! Not Grey/Traveler. Not Sundance. Not Comanche. Not Hollywood. Not Bounce, Tenaz or Seven. Probably not Storm or David (distance … trees …). Those are the ones I saw. 🙂 Maybe next week will provide an answer!
Comments : 8 Comments »
Categories : Advocacy, Mysterium, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Sundance
40th anniversary
15 12 2011In honor of a woman, Velma Johnston – aka Wild Horse Annie – and the wild horses and burros she ought to protect …
Today is the 40th anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
The Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 is an Act of Congress (Pub.L. 92-195) signed into law President Richard M. Nixon on Dec. 15, 1971. The Act made it a crime for anyone to harass or kill feral horses or feral burros on federal land, required the departments of the Interior and Agriculture to protect the animals, required studies of the animals’ habits and habitats, and permitted public land to be set aside for their use. In addition, the act required that mustangs be protected as “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West,” and that management plans must “maintain a thriving natural ecological balance among wild horse populations, wildlife, livestock, and vegetation and to protect the range from the deterioration associated with overpopulation.” Although feral horse ranges were principally for the protection of the horses, the land was required to be maintained for multiple use. The BLM was also permitted to close public land to livestock grazing to protect feral horse and burro habitat. – Wikipedia
Although in many places – and for Spring Creek Basin until the last year – it seems like not a lot has changed, I am thankful that we have good people in the Tres Rios Field Office who recognize the horses as important to the ecological fabric of the land and are willing to make them the priority on that range. NMA/CO and Disappointment Wild Bunch Partners are working through partnership and education to accomplish our goals for this herd.
To the outside world, it may seem like not much has changed here, with the helicopter-driven roundup this year. But an annual fertility control program has been implemented, and we’re on track to move to bait trapping. Our goal – and that of our BLM partners – is sustainable management with as little disruption to the wild horses of Spring Creek Basin as possible.
Everything we do is built on everything that came before – nationally and specifically. Their light is shining.
Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : Advocacy, Kootenai, Mysterium, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Sundance, Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act
Fun with ponies
5 12 2011Last week, I took a friend from Switzerland out to see the horses – her first visit back in almost a year. The weather cooperated with us and didn’t blow snow until we were on our way home. The grey day even broke once for some awesome light! And the horses – of course – were fabulous; we saw all but the pintos and Poco and Roach!
Update: Storm (who got Shadow back) has shaken David, who was with Duke and Kreacher! Not too far from Seven, Bounce and Tenaz.
All well on the western front. (And it has been snowing off and on since then, so we also have moisture!)
Sundance’s band – bright and beautiful and colorful and curious!
Kootenai, Mysterium and Sundance
Apollo and Raven
Mysterium and Apollo! (They are half-siblings – daddy is Kreacher.)
Big country (though not all the background is theirs to roam).
Aren’t they handsome?
Mamas everywhere will love this – love their closed eyes. Sigh. 🙂
Zoomed out to show stepdaddy Sundance and more basin background.
This cracks me up (check out Mysterium)!
Mama Kootenai and baby Mysterium
Stepdaddy Sundance and baby Mysterium
Handsome dappled boy – that’s Round Top in the background.
Sunshine! (And yes, that’s the snow coming in the background.)
Sundance and Mysterium and Brumley Point in the background. Do you see Seven? And Bounce to his left?
Stout baby goodness!
Such a handsome boy!
And what a stunner is Sundance?!
Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : Apollo, Kootenai, Mysterium, Raven, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Sundance
Intermission
26 11 2011Thank you all for your votes so far!
I’m still working on November images from my last visit and will get calendar images for that month up as soon as possible.
Speaking of, here are some more images from last week’s visit …
This was from the start of a second visit with Sundance’s band toward the end of the day, after I’d had my visit with Poco and Roach. They were right near the road, and I couldn’t resist.
Apollo and mama Raven
Kootenai and Mysterium
Sundance with Brumley Point in the background.
Next, a series – stepfather/stepdaughter:
Mysterium and Sundance
🙂
They remind me a lot of Comanche and Winona – another foal with a stallion who is not her sire (another stallion with a foal that is not his) … and another filly who has her stepdaddy wrapped completely around her neat little black hooves. 🙂
Comments : 4 Comments »
Categories : Apollo, Kootenai, Mysterium, Raven, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Sundance
All ready
25 11 2011While you’re all getting ready for serious voting, here are some pix from the last two days in the basin …
From my visit with Poco and Roach … the La Sal Mountains seen above the northwest valley of the basin.
Roach and Poco
Roach
Poco
Poco and Roach. Not very often does Poco stand closer to me than Roach.
I had watched them (and Bounce, Tenaz and Seven, and Chrome’s – different directions) from a distance for quite a while as they napped. They both laid down – Poco flat out like a colt. I imagine that sunshine felt terrific (it did).
Poco against the mountains …
Roach against the mountains.
Aspen’s and Sundance’s bands were sharing the roller-coaster ridge pond for their midday drink, and the babies were enjoying some play time.
Killian at left and Apollo.
Coupla things going on here: Mona walked all the way around the pond to drink here, right under the noses of her former pals, Raven and Kootenai – not to mention Sundance. Aspen eventually escorted Roja as she also walked over to drink just there (and *why* just there??). And check out feisty little Mysterium, who has finally gotten fed up with her brother and the new little boy and is chasing him away.
One last pause before he follows mama …
See ya later, alligators! 🙂
Mysterium on the berm of the pond.
Sundance and Raven napping on the berm.
Sundance watching Aspen’s band move off to graze.
Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : Apollo, Aspen, Killian, Mysterium, Poco, Raven, Roach, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Sundance
Happy Thanksgiving
23 11 2011A day early, but I’ll be in the basin with the horses on Thanksgiving, and I wanted to send thanks to all the amazing people I know who support our wild horses.
To the horses, beloved, I am grateful beyond measure for your grace and beauty and teaching me to live in the moment.
To my family … who knows and loves me still, my gratitude and love. 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving!
Comments : 11 Comments »
Categories : Advocacy, Apollo, Mysterium, Raven, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Sundance
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 