Friday afternoon . . .
On our way down to the pond the crew and I encounter two familiar horses, the black mare and the curious young sorrel with the white face. Spike barks non-stop, of course. I take a few photos. Hmmm . . . Where’s the rest of the herd? Maybe they’re still at the pond and these two left early. I pull Spike away from the sorrel and we continue our walk. The pond comes into view and I see that no one’s there.
“C’mon, guys, let’s go back.”
We’re almost home when I spot the black and the young sorrel grazing up by the BLT. Now maybe we’ll see the rest of the herd. We hurry up the hill and approach the two horses. No others are around. Again Spike starts barking as the young sorrel comes toward us. What a pretty little filly she is!
She moves closer and closer. I talk reassuringly to Spike and he stops barking and even wags his tail slowly. As the filly steps within my reach, I attempt to touch her. This is too much for Spike. He goes ballistic and the filly trots back to the black who has been grazing disinterestedly nearby. “Okay. That’s enough. Let’s leave these two alone.”
We go back over to our campsite.
I put the crew in the pen with a bowl of fresh water. I’m extremely careful ever since Bob (Boswell’s owner) told me about the large coyote he saw crossing the lane not far from the BLT. I didn’t set up the pen until Spike snuck off the other day and scared me to tears. Bridget and I looked all over for him, finally spotting a white patch in the distance.
Without going into too many details, I became very upset and let Spike know it. He pouted until the next day, kept turning his back on me, playing his I’m-more-mad-at-you-than-you-are-at-me routine. In the morning I pulled him up into bed with Bridget and me. A few belly rubs and snuggles, and all was right again. Anyway . . .
Bridget and Spike are in the pen and I’m in my lounger by the campfire.
A horse whinnies. I jump up and run around to the other side of the PTV to see what’s going on. The black and the sorrel are trotting through the desert brush down toward the wash. They’re both whinnying excitedly, as if to say, “There they are! Hey, everybody! We’re back!”
A horse down in the wash whinnies happily in return.
This is followed by greetings from the others. “Where have you been? We missed you! I’m so happy to see you!” In a few moments all I hear are the horses’ deep, tender murmurings . . . a family reunited.
Saturday morning . . .
There seems to be more birdsong than usual. Must be the warm morning. The crew and I walk down toward the wash. Maybe we’ll see the herd. We find the area where they were reunited yesterday. It’s near the place I discovered them previously. This must be where they spend the night. Oh well, we missed them. Might as well go back, have a cup of coffee, feed the crew . . .
Bridget and Spike know the routine.
They are only too happy to go home for breakfast. As we round the last curve, the Perfect Tow Vehicle and the Best Little Trailer come into view. Oh my gosh, there they are! The horses! The herd is grazing in the brushy field next to our camp. I hurry the crew along to our door. Quickly I put out some kibble for them and secure them inside. Spikey’s not going to ruin this!
I work my way around the bushes, remembering to look for snakes as I go.
Oh, this is so exciting! I’m going to get some great photos. Maybe I’ll get one of the black stallion this time. Yep, they’re all here . . . . There’s the gray, the white, the one with the spots, the young sorrel, the buckskin . . . .
A foal! The buckskin mare has a foal!
What a beautiful sight! I start snapping photos. Apparently it’s breakfast time. The horses give me a look and go back to their grazing. I move among them, talking softly. At one point, the mare lets me know I’m getting too close to her baby and walks a few yards away, the foal scampering alongside. The foal finishes breakfast, goes potty, and looks me over before moving back closer to the mare. What a precious creature!
I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I did taking them. Notice how close the herd is to our camp!
This is what it’s all about. This is why I’m here.rvsue
rvsue and her canine crew 