Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Always a handsome way to end a day: Skywalker. 🙂

Sweet, lovely Piedra wonders where all the snow has gone.

Well, it’s practically spring, lady. Sure, the calendar says so, but ponies are shedding and we’re looking for green. And maybe some more rain.

More rain would be awesome. And that’s no joke! (Happy April Fools’ Day!)

Do you see it?

You might have to click on the pic to enlarge it.

Would it help to know that *I* didn’t see it until I saw it on the computer screen? What I saw was Hayden shaking his head and then wandering off to graze.

It was T-shirt weather, a day after I didn’t think I could wear enough layers to keep out the biting north wind.

Spring is coming … and with it, the flying buzzers.

Another 2.5 inches of snow (at least) fell overnight and Sunday morning in Disappointment Valley, bringing more much-needed moisture. Lots of melting happened Saturday, and the temperature is hovering right at freezing, so lots of melting is happenING.

Interestingly, snowshoes work pretty well when mud is close to the surface under the mud by doing the same thing as on snow: spreading weight over a surface. Of course, the mud isn’t as easy to knock off, but your boots are happier.

This is Temple on Friday evening:

This is Temple on Saturday afternoon:

Oh, what a difference a day (less than 24 hours) makes. 🙂

We got at least 3.5 inches of snow, so the pic taken Saturday afternoon shows a considerable amount of melting – which means water in the ground.

Can you see the spring green?

It’s there. I’m soooooooo sure!

(Oh, I’m so, so, SO hopeful!)

If we got this much snow every winter, we might be in fine shape. 🙂

Tesora helps show off the lack of snow currently on the land, and how pretty she looks as our model. 🙂

Speaking of which, I finally made it into Spring Creek Basin, and it’s not as dry as I thought it might be. The road is parts dry and parts mud, and an actual vehicle, I would not risk driving yet. I did find someone’s spare key, in one of those little magnetic boxes you stick to some secret part of your vehicle. The box was crushed, but the key seems fine.

The hiking was most parts mud, as my poor boots can attest. With every step, the horses and I sank at least half an inch into the damp ground (OK, they may have gone a little deeper than I did). There’s some water – melted snow/ice – in some of the arroyos … but no water in ponds yet.