The winter solstice was yesterday. The shortest day of the year saw temps plunge 30 degrees in 15 minutes at Denver International Airport – from 42 degrees to just 13, according to a Denver Post headline that came through my email.
Over here in the southwestern corner of the state (note to news source that said the temps would be “shockingly cold pretty much everywhere in Colorado“: we’re actually in Colorado, thanks), we started *warming* a little bit today. I saw 34 degrees, but it may have gotten a bit warmer. 🙂
Quite a start to winter. Stay warm out there, wherever you live!
When I was visiting with Sundance’s band recently, he suddenly became very interested in the little pinon-juniper forest nearby, which alerted me to a fairly big group of mule deer does and fawns. By the time I saw them, at least half were slipping silently into the trees. I was happy to get this group portrait of several of the girls looking toward me and the horses, alert but not upset.
Behind me, Sundance was watchful, but his mares had already settled into nap mode under the ever-so-lightly falling snow.
The power of water, all in one image, illustrated by the lovely Terra!
Frozen water in the form of snow. Over eons and eons, it has fallen and settled on that boulder, and the freezing and thawing, thawing and freezing, has cracked it all the way through.
And as the sun set, the snow was still coming down!
There were some breaks during the day – and depending on location – but the day ended as it started – with snow falling lightly, gently.
What made it surprising – at least to me, who looks fairly obsessively at forecasts this time of year, hoping to see snow icons that warrant further, detailed investigation – is that this wasn’t really in the forecast. There were some minor mentions of “a flurry or two,” but chances were low, which *didn’t* warrant those further, more detailed looks.
Another surprise is that here in Colorado, snow waves usually give way to our typical bluebird, clear-sky, bright-snow days. Today, the snow just sort of kept on coming!
The mustangs were tucked into sheltered places again, apparently, because I saw a couple of lone bachelors and only two bands. Fortunately, one of those bands was Sundance’s, and he’s always up for a bit of modeling work. 🙂 That said, it’s hard to tell the story of falling snow with a grey mustang! If you click on the pic to enlarge it, you might be able to zoom in and see the tiny little snowflakes that show a bit better against the far northeast east-pocket ridge.
Hollywood is usually one of the specific horses I look for in Spring Creek Basin to help show off the white goodness when we get snow because his color is so RICH and divine. The clouds had come over by the time I found him and his family, but he still stands out like a particularly bright spot in an otherwise mostly-monochrome landscape. He may not have the “beard” some of the horses grow in winter, but you can see how wonderfully thick is his velvet coat!
Mother Nature blanketed Spring Creek Basin with at least a couple of inches of snow! The amount varies a bit, but I’d guess there’s an average of at least 2 inches of the golden white stuff covering the range. It came in on a fairly warm wind, and the snow was nice and wet. Now, our temps are going to drop significantly, with highs in the 30s – much more seasonal for Colorado in December than the 40s and 50s we’d been enjoying lately.
Mostly, the horses seemed to be sheltering in out-of-the-way places, and I didn’t see many bands, but Cassidy Rain and her family were happy to visit briefly (well, maybe *I* was the one happy to visit?). 🙂
Now, let me take you on a little tour around Spring Creek Basin, seen under a pristine cover of fresh snow:
From near the original water catchment looking northwest over the rimrocks above Spring Creek canyon over northern/northwestern Disappointment Valley. Utah’s La Sal Mountains are usually visible along the horizon in the distance … but it was still snowing over them while the clouds over us were breaking and giving us that brilliant Colorado sunshine.
Our newest water catchment got a good dose of snow to start melting and filling the tanks!
From the north(ish) part of the basin, looking southeast toward McKenna Peak and Temple Butte. Look at all that pillowy white frozen goodness!
Approaching the basin’s east pocket: Juniper and her family – and the rest of us – got our snowy wish. 🙂
As I was heading out of the basin, just as the sun was sinking into a cloud bank above the valley’s southern ridges, I stopped on rollercoaster ridge to photograph a wild little snowburst over western Disappointment Valley beyond Spring Creek Basin – from a single crazy cloud! And yes, in the foreground is a pond, still – still! – nearly full to the brim.
Despite the coming frigid temps, I think we’re all pretty happy about the snowfall. 🙂
