Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

“I just look at the skyline …

“A million lights are lookin’ back at me…

“And when they shine …

“I see a place …

“I know I’ll find some peace …

“I just look at the skyline”

~”Skyline,” Court Yard Hounds (two-thirds (the sisters) of the former Dixie Chicks)

The first two photos are of snow covering a small boulder in the bottom of Spring Creek arroyo. The blue background is the bank, which was a few feet away. The other photos are of ice crystals – ice flakes?! – on ice and snow a few feet opposite the boulder right at a wild-pony super-highway crossing. Water trickling below the snow and ice (a thick slab of it). Do you see the rainbows reflecting? I had just my long lens, and all but the top two photos are major crops of the originals. They’re not as sharp as I wish they could be, but …

This song started running through my head when I saw the snowflake crystals on the boulder as a “hill” against the “blue-sky” background. The rest of the chorus seemed appropriate. I did find much peace there, on my belly in the snow in the bottom of the arroyo (and yes, it went up my shirt because I had to keep scooching back to get the lens to focus!), the horses grazing above me, deep in the heart of the basin, surrounded by winter’s mantle, warm as could be, under Colorado-blue skies, listening to the snow (you CAN hear it, you know) and the horses talking above, buoyed by magic and the wonder of life.

Impossibly beautiful. Yet there it was. Gloriously beautiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vC8Hffm9BE

Beautiful. Look for the horses. You’ll see them twice!  🙂

This is how it turned out!

Cover

January

October

Thank you so much to all who voted on photos for the calendar. It turned out beautifully.

The first batch of orders are ready to send out, and I’ll make more as there’s demand. They’re $15, and $5 of that goes to the Colorado chapter of the National Mustang Association as a donation. If you would like to order one, contact me at:

mtbgrrl (at) fone (dot) net

Again, thank you all! This was such a fun project this year … though I should have started it earlier!

I wish all of you – and all of our wild and beautiful mustangs – a very merry Christmas. Peace on Earth is not too much to wish for. It’s not too much to hope for. It’s not too much for the horses and all creatures to ask of us.

May we all enjoy a little peace on the Earth, wherever we call home.

Merry Christmas. 🙂

Prairie Wind Lady!

I took pix of the drawing that I’ll put up later, but the reality of life caused a little later drawing that I had planned, so I wanted to get the announcement out there.

Thank you to everyone for going through all the photos in all the months and choosing your favorites! You did a fantastic job!

Prairie Wind Lady, I’ll email you for your mailing address. 🙂 Congratulations!!

Update with pic:

Thank you to my co-worker Katie, who pulled the name out of the basket!

THANK YOU ALL so very much for helping me choose the photos for my 2010 calendar featuring the mustangs of Spring Creek Basin! Every vote and comment is treasured because, after all, these aren’t just photos, they’re captures of a moment in time of these very special horses. I’d put them all in if I could!

January - Kiowa & Milagro

February - Cuatro & Hayden

March - Kestrel & Ember

April - Bounce

May - Kestrel & Winona

June - David

July - Hayden

August - Hollywood's band

September - Seven

October - Duke

November - Hook's band, La Sal Mountains

December - Jif & Hayden

Cover - Grey/Traveler

This was really tough, and I appreciate the time and consideration you all took to make your choices! There was one last-minute tie for August – I broke it in favor of Hook’s band. Several of the choices won by just one vote. I particularly appreciate the difficulty of the September choice. While Seven earned the nod there, the picture of Maiku, Spook and Chipeta garnered a lot of votes, so if you win the calendar or order one, I’ll include a 4×6 print of that photo, too, if you want it!

Note: All the photos will be 4×6 inches (some of the photos were cropped as 5×7 for the blog – or a “custom” crop, such as the one with Hook’s band against the mountains).

THANK YOU for your choices! And Friday, I’ll  have the winner of a calendar featuring the photos you chose!

Just a reminder that today is the deadline for votes! I’m headed out to visit the horses under threat of snow, and voting will close when I get back – which ought to be about two hours after sunset, Mountain time – unless it blizzards!

Again, thank you to everyone who has voted and commented and expressed your interest in these wonderful wild ones!

Thank you all so very much for all your attention and votes and reasons for choosing and stories about the horses you’ve met! I love to know what you love about the horses!

I’m going to list the choices by name just to see where we are. Wednesday evening, I’ll make a final tally and list the winners with the photos! Some new names are still popping up to vote – you have to actually vote to be counted (no waffling – you know who you are! :)). Votes will close Wednesday, and my friend will draw a name Friday – because that’s when I’ll be close to a friend who can draw!

January – Kiowa & Milagro by a mile

February – Cuatro & Hayden by a mile

March – Kestrel & Ember; Iya & Baylee fairly close second

April – Houdini & Gemma very close over Bounce

May – Kestrel & Winona very close over Two Boots & Rio and Tenaz

June – David, sky very close over Liberty, Gaia & Whisper

July – Hayden by a mile

* August – Hollywood’s band tied with Gideon & Winona; Chrome & 2B and Duke both close behind

September – see my dilemma

October – Duke very close over Hook

November Hook’s, mountains by a mile

December – Jif & Hayden, unanimously!

cover – Grey/Traveler pretty close over Seven 🙂

Wow! You all have made excellent choices, and for most of the months, a clear winner has emerged. I’m going to list the highest-rated choices in a  minute, but let’s talk about September.

The image of Maiku, Spook and Chipeta got the most votes by far, but Grey/Traveler is the clear choice for the cover, so I need your thoughts:

For September:

Maiku, Spook & Chipeta

or

Seven

???

I already know which way I’m leaning here, but you did vote originally! 🙂