Temple Butte | Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Chocolate-chip cookies fuel fence work

29 10 2015

Right here, this is the reason (OK, one reason) we love SJMA‘s Kathe Hayes: She brings homemade chocolate-chip cookies as mini mid-work thank-yous! Here she offers cookies to Abby as she and Zoe dig post holes for the next H-brace in the SCC crew’s brand-new fence section.

The crew has made excellent progress in their section of fence line – building five H-braces since Monday and working on the sixth as of the above photo. In the foreground, Abby and Zoe dig post holes for the next H-brace, while in the background, Aaron and Sarah and co-crew leader Dillon complete the previous H-brace. Harder to see is the little arroyo – no more than a few feet deep but steep-sided – between the two groups.

Here’s a closer look at the arroyo. Note Kathe in the background, approaching with her awesome cookies.

Kathe makes her cookie offering while Dillon, Sarah and Aaron complete their H-brace. Eric and Toby and co-crew leader Sarah, not pictured because they were working on different sections of fence, also got cookies, hand-delivered by Kathe, and she left the whole bin. 🙂

Kathe shows Aaron photos of the pack horses that hauled fence supplies to the work site a few weeks ago while Sarah and Dillon finish their H-brace. Temple Butte watches over the crew from the background.

This is where they are; that’s where they’re going! And that’s why they’re here. Mizzou students … you’re welcome! 🙂

Comments : 2 Comments »

Categories : Advocacy, Education, Fence work, McKenna Peak Wilderness Study Area, Partnership, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Temple Butte, Work projects

Coming to water

15 10 2015

Mustangs from different bands form a line to water – a still-nicely-filled pond in the middle of Spring Creek Basin. Two of the basin’s icons – McKenna Peak and Temple Butte – fill the horizon and frame the magic.

Summer monsoons didn’t materialize here in the southwestern corner of the state, and we’re looking for autumn rains somewhere in all these blue, blue, cloudless skies. Fortunately, some raindrops have returned to our forecast. Crossing fingers and hooves.

Comments : 6 Comments »

Categories : McKenna Peak, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple Butte

Skyline

4 10 2015

The incomparable Chrome perfects the iconic Spring Creek Basin landscape that includes McKenna Peak and Temple Butte.

Comments : 3 Comments »

Categories : McKenna Peak, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple Butte

Partners for mustangs

3 10 2015

Wednesday, I partnered with folks from BLM, the Forest Service, San Juan Mountains Association and Southwest Conservation Corps to haul fence materials into Spring Creek Basin. Long-time readers of this blog are familiar with the outstanding alternative spring break program that brings a group of enthusiastic University of Missouri students to Southwest Colorado each year (look under the March links in the blog roll). In addition to working in Spring Creek Basin, students work on other areas of San Juan public lands for a week before heading back to class in Columbia, Mo. After four years, students have rebuilt quite a long stretch of our southeastern boundary fence – carrying materials in by manual labor because of its location in McKenna Peak Wilderness Study Area (no motor vehicles allowed).

Now that we’re pretty far in, and a steep bit of shale hill is coming up (literally), SJMA’s Kathe Hayes and BLM’s range specialist/herd manager Mike Jensen got the attention of the SCC (based in Durango) to give us a hand. While we want to give the Mizzou students a spring break they won’t soon forget, we don’t want to get too crazy. 🙂 Next spring, they’ll continue to rebuild fence from where the last group left off this past spring toward the base of the hill. This fall, the SCC crew will leapfrog where this spring’s students finished to start rebuilding a section from close to the base of the hill UP the hill.

To ease the workload of both crews, our little group hauled fence supplies this week: wooden posts (for H-braces), T-posts (to replace worn/bent/warped ones), lots and lots of staves (to stabilize the wires between T-posts), and rolls of smooth-twisted and barbed wire (to create wild-horse/life-friendly fencing that cattle won’t want to mess with from the outside) – to a site convenient for both the SCC crew this fall and Mizzou students in the spring.

Many, many thanks to BLM’s Mike Jensen, Justin Hunt and Garth Nelson, SJMA’s Kathe Hayes, the Forest Service’s Harold Park, SCC’s Jordan and BLM/SCC’s Lauren for providing the human labor (including hours of scheduling and logistics!).

Huge, huge thanks to our four-legged crew: Traveler (who packed posts), Trapper (who packed staves and T-posts), Pinch (who packed wire and spikes and Lauren :)) and Zip (who packed staves), as well as Jammer (who packed Harold) and Sneakers (who packed Kathe). These seasoned Forest Service veterans made our job much easier – and they worked for apples!*

Here’s a teaser pic of Justin leading Trapper after Lauren and Pinch on the way to the cache site, following Kathe and Harold, who led the other two pack horses. For more pix of a great day of work that benefits Spring Creek Basin’s beloved mustangs, check out SJMA’s photostream on Flicker.

* Jammer and Pinch are Harold’s personal horses, and Sneakers belongs to Kathe.

Comments : 2 Comments »

Categories : Advocacy, alternative spring break, Education, Fence work, McKenna Peak, McKenna Peak Wilderness Study Area, Partnership, San Juan Mountains Association, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Temple Butte, Work projects

Merry Christmas

25 12 2014

Take Time to See

It seems so hard to understand.
As I look out across the land
That all I view belongs to me.
I ought to take more time to see!

The distant hills and mountains high
The rolling clouds and bright blue sky.
No one can take these views from me
As long as I have eyes to see.

A timid deer with haunting look
Who stands refreshed by yonder brook
Knows not that he belongs to me.
Oh, what a thrilling sight to see!

The song of birds so gay and clear
That fill the morning air with cheer.
And fragrant flowers of every hue
That stand erect bedecked with dew.
All these and more belong to me
If I but use my eyes to see.

When evening shadows gather nigh
And twinkling stars light up the sky
I hear my master say to me
“I made it all for you to see.”
My heart grows warm with faith and pride
To know that he is by my side.

~ Ray F. Zaner

*********

This poem is printed in the Leanin’ Tree Christmas card sent to me from my parents, and it so perfectly captures the love we feel for America’s wild horses and burros that I wanted to share it with all of you on this special day.

Very merry Christmas to each of you. Thank you for all the ways in which you support mustangs and burros.

May the magic of wild creatures and wild places bless you every single day.

Comments : 6 Comments »

Categories : McKenna Peak, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple Butte

Storm chaser

23 12 2014

Have you seen too much McKenna Peak and Temple Butte? Good! Storm and his band had the best view in the house the evening of winter solstice.

Well, that’s arguable; I’m pretty sure that with Storm and his band in the foreground, I’m the one with the very best view (even if all the snow is far away).

Comments : 4 Comments »

Categories : McKenna Peak, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple Butte

Their world

20 12 2014

Such intelligence, curiosity, alertness – presence – and present in the world, his world.

Chrome is backed by McKenna Peak and Temple Butte – icons of Spring Creek Basin. The snow looks great in the background, but the foreground was pretty bare of snow. However, the ground was damp, and that’s always a good thing.

**********

Happy birthday, Kat!

Comments : 8 Comments »

Categories : McKenna Peak, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple Butte

White stuff – great stuff

15 12 2014

Sunday snow on Temple Butte.

McKenna Peak.

Isn’t the snow lovely? And it’s good moisture that seeped quickly into the thirsty soil.

Comments : 8 Comments »

Categories : McKenna Peak, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple Butte

All lined up

8 12 2014

Tenaz was so comfortable and drowsy in the afternoon sunshine that he never moved while I worked to align his handsome self with McKenna Peak and Temple Butte.

It’s a weird December so far – warm and dry, though we did get a tiny bit of rain last week. Snow would be extremely welcome!

Comments : 1 Comment »

Categories : McKenna Peak, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple Butte

Thankful

27 11 2014

Thanksgiving Day is the day to say publicly how grateful I am for the opportunity to know these horses we call mustangs in honor of their wild, untamed spirit. My favorite holiday is one day on the calendar, but it’s a feeling I carry every day of the year.

I am extremely grateful for my family, who raised me (and my brother) with horses. All good things in my life have come from the foundation they gave me in love and horses.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all, to your horses and other critters, to your families.

Comments : 4 Comments »

Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple Butte

Spring Creek Basin Mustangs