Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

March’s selections:

Iya & Baylee

Kestrel & Ember

Hayden

Hannah

Roach & Poco

February’s choices:

Corona

Cuatro & Hayden

Mahogany, Luna & Alpha

Liberty

These are tough, huh? You see why it’s hard for me to choose! The horses are all incredible!

OK, here’s the first  month and the first set of choices to make.

Mahogany & Hannah

Storm & Hannah

Milagro & Kiowa

Alpha & Steeldust

Yikes – how did December sneak up on me?

Every year, I do a little calendar for family, and the last few years, it has focused exclusively on Spring Creek Basin’s wild horses. I have the hardest time choosing, and I am the world’s biggest procrastinator (at least it’s not January already), which creates a perfect storm of indecisiveness when it comes to picking photos for my next calendar!

So I had an idea influenced by some other blogs I read: I’m going to narrow down my choices as much as humanly possible, and I’m going to ask you, dear readers, to help me choose the *one* for each month. To sweeten the deal and as a thank-you for your help, I’m going to then put the names of everyone who helps me choose into a hat and pull out one name, and that person will get a 2011 Spring Creek Basin Mustangs calendar of their very own.

Here’s what it looks like:

2010 calendar - cover

2010 calendar - open

Note: The splendid collection of stuffed animals is NOT included. 🙂

It’s smallish – the photos are 4×6 inches – one photo per month. The calendars come from a company called Photographer’s Edge, and I customize them with my photos.

Here’s how it’s going to work:

I’m going to do a series of posts – one for each month – with a coupla-few pictures per post. I’ll give each picture a “caption.” In the comments field, let me know your vote, identifying it by the caption. Easy? I’ll spread out the posts over the next several days, and the deadline for comments/votes to be in will be Dec. 15. Then I’ll ask one of our NMA/CO board members to help me draw a name, and I’ll announce the winner Friday, Dec. 17, and I’ll post all the selected photos right after that. That ought to give me plenty of time to get it put together and in the mail. I’ll contact the winner by email for a mailing address. (To keep it simple on my end, it won’t matter how many times you vote/comment – the first time you comment will seal your entry into the hat; but I hope you’ll offer your vote for each month!) In the case of a tie, I’ll be the deciding vote.

I just realized I’m going to have to choose a cover photo, too … I’ll have a separate post on that!

All the selections for each month will have been taken in that month this year. So all the photos coming up to select for January 2011 were taken in January 2010 – make sense? I think all of the photos will have been posted here previously, but there’s always the chance they haven’t been.

Thank you all in advance! And thank you for your support of our Spring Creek Basin mustangs!

Kreacher’s band looking pretty in the waning sunshine, watching Seven’s band.

This post is a little departure from the usual (!). After a very long winter, it’s finally spring – with summer right around the corner. These are a few of the wildflowers blooming now in the basin.

Prince’s plume – this is all over the basin.

Bear claw cactus – saw this while I was photographing David, Shadow and Wind.

Sego lily and not-very-cooperative globe mallow. Lilies also are everywhere right now. These are such a surprising sight to me every year … it seems so odd to see something so delicate in such a desert environment.

Another sego lily – aren’t they beautiful?

Larkspur – don’t ask me what specific kind. *Purple.*

I know what this one is – *blue” larkspur. 🙂

Wild blue flax … the delicate blue didn’t translate very well to “film” in the sunshine, but they are beautiful blue.

Cliff penstemon

Prince’s plume

Ives four nerved daisies … (aren’t there about 398 different kinds of yellow daisies?)

More of the above.

Navajo fleabane

Another sego lily – can’t resist these!

Skeleton weed

Another one. They’re fairly small – maybe 4-6 inches tall, several pink petals – “fringed” on the tips. I saw one in the interior of the basin, but then there were quite a few when I drove out near the entrance on the west side.

I think the phlox is mostly done – it’s one of the very first to start blooming every year. I’ve seen just a few paintbrush this year, very small, very few and far between. The globe mallow is everywhere now, but I managed to not take a pic of any of the nicely blooming patches – and they’re right along the road – I think I read they like to grow in disturbed areas. The claret cup cacti are trying to bloom – they probably need the very warm weather we just haven’t quite had yet (forecast says 94 tomorrow!). “Four o’clock” also is trying to bloom.

And because it wouldn’t be complete without a little wildlife …

This lovely girl ought to be close to having a calf …

And I don’t know what kind of bird this is (Say’s phoebe), but it (she?) was very curious and perched fairly close to the Jeep on a greasewood bush while I watched Kreacher’s band.

And one more …

Happy spring. 🙂

Freedom is never easily attained. It should never be taken for granted.

I am the granddaughter of two World War II veterans. I am the daughter of an Army veteran. I am the niece of a Navy veteran. I am the cousin of a Navy SEAL. I am an American by the grace of birth. I am free by their service.

Thank you to all who serve, to all who sacrifice and have made the ultimate sacrifice, to those who sacrifice time with loved ones so they may serve to protect us.

… and a guessing game.

Who is that, and what’s the landmark behind him?

This is not a hint but another teaser: He’s involved in a recent change-up in the basin … (L&K, don’t give him away; you already know!)

🙂 More promised.

Here’s looking forward to a better future for our nation’s wild horses, one of freedom rather than pens, of soaring hawks rather than the terror of helicopters, of what they – and the American public – have been promised: Horses wild, always.

Here’s to our mustangs!

A holiday success story! The palomino mare I recently posted about has been found and reunited with her owners! Thanks to members of both the Four Corners and Mesa Verde Back Country Horsemen for the news!

“Amy Wollert sent me a message last evening saying that whoever took her horse got scared and dumped the mare off on a county road near Eads, CO. All’s well. I’m positive that the amount of emails circulating by everyone (including you) put the fear into the thief. So, hooray for everyone who helped! What a great new year’s present for the Wollerts—and the horse”