Seneca walks past a sunset-lit background rarely seen from this angle in the far southeastern region of Spring Creek Basin. The usual grey of the Mancos shale was lit up by intense low light, making it glow red. A brilliant background for a brilliant girl (even if she does seem to be showing her grumpy face!).
How the little guy with the big heart makes our hearts go pitter-pat … ! 🙂
The snow that didn’t stick in Spring Creek Basin or lower Disappointment Valley DID linger on the higher ridges, including Temple Butte and McKenna Peak (not pictured in this image).
All moisture is good moisture, and we were plenty happy to get rain down-valley.
And remember the views of the Glade, where the trees were golden?
It has gotten a little snowy and grey up there now. 🙂
Before the humans knew about the existence of another little band nearby, Spirit was prompt in her investigation of the intruders. Hollywood, laidback guy that he is, wandered after her, but it was very anticlimactic, and he just quietly ushered her back to the rest of his band. All’s well that ends well!
Only a rainbow with Temple as its treasure could complete the “gold” I see when I look at this pic. 🙂
Tenaz watches another band across another drainage while Temple grazes in the background. In the FAR background, the Glade glows with late-evening, under-the-clouds, golden-aspen-glowing light.
Many of the ponies were sporting mud last night, after the rain the night before. 🙂
Shane, Maia and Alegre half-napping, half watching a visitor. 🙂
Because … even at a FAR distance, hugely cropped …
BURROWING OWL!
It’s the first one I’ve seen in Disappointment Valley in many years. Whooo (!) doesn’t love a burrowing owl!? 🙂
*** Update ***
My favorite bird photographer, Ron Dudley, posted about burrowing owls on his blog – Feathered Photography – this morning, requesting respect for these beloved owls. Maybe a coincidence, maybe an opportunity to share some love and education.
I was driving when I saw a bird zoom in front of the Jeep, and I thought it was a kestrel (also one of my favorite birds), but I looked through the window as I passed and was astounded to see the owl on the ground. I stopped and slowly backed up … and spotted it again at a fair distance from the road. It flew again and landed, and those are the shots posted above. I never got out of the Jeep to pursue further pix because I didn’t want to bother it – it WAS doing the bobbing behavior indicating stress – and spent no more than a couple of minutes watching it (I took four pix). Even though I knew the pix would be terrible quality, I was so excited, I tried anyway.
When I tried to select “burrowing owl” later on the bird ID app (Merlin) on my phone, it didn’t even give me the option! All books and websites I’ve looked at indicate that burrowing owls are uncommon and the population is declining. … Ron Dudley’s post gives some indication why that is. I’m very happy to have seen this little owl … and very much hope I didn’t cause it any harm.
Dundee, Aiyanna and Rowan are still getting used to their new home territory … and their new personal photographer. 🙂 As much as I would like them to all gather prettily in the frame, facing forward with ears alert and a stunning background in the, you know, background, they insist that they are wild girls, and it’s much too much to ask for posing postures!
Ah, OK. Much, MUCH more than I want to see any of that posing, I love to see them doing what they’re doing – eating, drinking, moseying, learning the lay of their new wild land. 🙂
