Friday, March 20, 2009

Wild Equinox

It may appear that these Wild Mustangs are standing on the edge of a great sea but it's actually a broad, barren desert that stretches all the way to Nevada.

ROAD TRIP! This week's Friday Afternoon Club took us far west, to the town of [we'll never tell] on desolate county road number [we'll never tell] to a place so remote we did not see another car all day long.

We were searching for wild Mustangs. The chances of actually finding them is so rare I held out no hope whatsoever.

But some days... oh, do I love those days... you don't even need to turn on the porch light for good luck to knock on your door.

As we made our way down a bumpy dirt road we spotted this small group far off in the distance. A young stallion and 3 mares keeping a watchful eye on us. There were others. A mare off by herself in a sage brush thicket. Perhaps hiding a new baby?

And the 2 yearlings in the top photo. We think they're young Mustang stallions because they dog the small herd but they keep their distance. All the big guy had to do was turn and face them in order to scare them off.

Most of these photos were taken by KC who has a real gift for capturing wildlife in motion and a super duper telephoto lens - which never hurts - because when we first spotted our Mustangs, they were so far away it was hard to tell what they were.

* The Spring Equinox happens each year at one specific moment in time (rather than one whole day), when the center of the Sun is vertically above the Earth's equator. This year, it happened on 3/20 at 11:44 Universal Time and all that really means is... spring is here and the Daffodils are blooming!

** "We'll Never Tell" ~ This was an unforgettable day. As I watched the Mustangs gallop off into the distance I realized that the very best thing we could probably do for them is to never tell anyone where they live.

*** Oh! And, if you have nothing better to do...
Modern folklore claims that on the March Equinox you can balance an egg on its point. But, you can balance an egg on its point any day of the year... providing you have enough patience.

4 comments:

KC said...

YeeeHaww! I loved this one.

Granny J said...

What a grand adventure!

Linda G. said...

Wonderful pictures! I'd love to see them with my own eyes, but this is next best! Thanks!

Iron Needles said...

Must have been quite a day. I love days like that.