Distinguished Flash, once black and white, is fading to grey and white faster than seems possible.
I don’t like to hurry seasons along, but as it gets even hotter and even more dry in Southwest Colorado (sorry, weather people, but it’s true; we’re way past “just a little dry”), I hope we’re fading through July and ever closer to our summer monsoon season. We never count on it, of course; we got monsoons last year and the year before for the first times in several years, and we were ecstatic. We’ll be ecstatic again – if they come – because we need the rains desperately (as always).
Handsome boy Sundance walks down a grade to cross an arroyo in the very last light of day.
I’ll tell you, I was scrambling, trying to force my slow lens to focus in that divine light before it – and he – was gone.
Note the mud up his legs; the nearby (to the location of this image) pond has finally diminished to mud, and at least a couple of bands have made their way to the area near one of the new water catchments. I’ve seen only one band drinking there so far – from a great distance – but hopefully it won’t be long before more mustangs are taking advantage of the cool, clear water.
The business of keeping away the flying buggies never ends for Seneca and the other mustangs during these long, hot days of summer. Savvy humans rely on head nets!
Bright-eyed Corazon waits with his family at a little water source. Another pair were waiting just behind them, and when he’d turn to look at them, he’d cast a glance in my direction, the light would fill that off-side eye, and I’d hit the shutter. I also was trying to get those long braids in the composition; any mare or woman would be envious of them!
For the last very long – days and days and days and weeks and days and weeks – we’ve had solid blue skies. Every. Single. Day.
We finally got some clouds. And when Disappointment Valley does clouds, boy, does it do spectacular clouds.
In order of appearance from around 5:30 or close to 6 p.m. to after sunset:
Looking west.
Mustangs grazing and napping under the relief of clouds.
Silver linings.
Do you see the rainbow?
Rain – or at least virga – to the west.
More mustangs. More napping.
When I left the bands pictured above, I thought I might have a chance at any late surprise light with the bands pictured higher above. But they had moved quite a bit, and the clouds were heavy, and sunset was imminent. But as I left Spring Creek Basin, rain was drifting eastish along the southern ridges of Disappointment Valley. Then I dropped below the rimrocks (the basin’s western boundary), and holy rainbow! You’ll have to take my word for it that it was SUPER intense, and the photo above doesn’t do it justice.
By the time I got to the main road, that “surprise” light was glowing, and the rain had moved away from the southern ridges.
Meanwhile, to the west … this!
Bit closer view of the mountains.
Back to the southeastish, rain was actually falling over the southern/southeastern part of Spring Creek Basin.
And THIS happened. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so glad and grateful to have a cell phone that doubles as a very wide-angle camera.
We ended the day with some post-sunset magic.
And 0.01 inch of rain. 🙂 Enough to make part of the road … actually … WET!
A couple of bands are fairly close together currently, with a water source acting as the hub. Here, Terra grazes closest to me, while …
… Bia and mama Aiyanna and daddy Buckeye graze not too far away.
The grasses are fabulous, and we need rain to keep them that way. It looks peaceful, eh? It was still 89 degrees at 8:30 p.m. Toasty out there, and dry, dry, dry.
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 