tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420782694059002482024-03-05T16:34:38.845-08:00prairie girlart and soulprairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.comBlogger254125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-62652897208616704582018-03-24T18:32:00.000-07:002018-03-24T18:32:33.794-07:00Anything can happen, and anything does<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n031uNDlU_k/Wrb7zY0IG4I/AAAAAAAAINk/zuFz4Ju2Lh4um1FxmlRzF0pJHsaa0HF_gCHMYCw/Bwpilgrim"><img title="Bwpilgrim" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n031uNDlU_k/Wrb7zY0IG4I/AAAAAAAAINk/zuFz4Ju2Lh4um1FxmlRzF0pJHsaa0HF_gCHMYCw/Bwpilgrim" alt="" width="554" height="369" data-json="" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
</div>
<p style="text-align: center;">I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done my share of eating too. I am not washed and beautiful, in control of a shining world in which everything fits, but instead am wandering awed about on a splintered wreck I’ve come to care for, whose gnawed trees breathe a delicate air, whose bloodied and scarred creatures are my dearest companions, and whose beauty beats and shines not IN its inperfections but overwhelmingly in spite of them, under the wind-rent clouds, upstream and down.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">One evening, just when I needed it most, a very good friend of mine sent this passage from the book PILGRIM AT TINKER CREEK</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> by Annie Dillard. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">When I read it, it spoke to me. I read it again and again. I really wanted to share it with you, too. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">A very long time ago I tried to read PILGRIM AT TINKER CREEK. It was just a year after she wrote that book that I was living in a tiny old log cabin in Southesast Alaska, reading by the light of a kerosene lamp. But, I didn’t get it then. I wasn’t ready, I guess. Maybe I was too young to understand what she really meant. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Now I’m revisiting The Pilgrim. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">TEACHING A STONE TO TALK is also new on my night stand. I am enthralled with the essay LIVING LIKE WEASELS.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Everybody knows how the weasel lives. Joyfully, right? </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">“I would like to learn, or remember, how to live.”</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> I would like to live as I should, as the weasel lives as he should. And I suspect that for me the way is like the weasel’s: open to time and death painlessly, noticing everything, remembering nothing, choosing the given with a fierce and pointed will.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> —Living Like Weasels</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Thank you Nikki, for sending me those words the other night. For turning me on to Annie’s writing, again. Now, I know I’m ready.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁ </span></p>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-1279537448835392592018-03-08T06:47:00.000-08:002018-03-08T06:47:43.181-08:00One More Sunrise<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7WO6Dc83byA/WqEzg1edf2I/AAAAAAAAIM8/dbIiYPlD2-cnuJlk0cxWINrsg88-sYfjgCHMYCw/Pink"><img title="Pink" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7WO6Dc83byA/WqEzg1edf2I/AAAAAAAAIM8/dbIiYPlD2-cnuJlk0cxWINrsg88-sYfjgCHMYCw/Pink" alt="" width="521" height="395" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">“Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Thich Nhat Hahn</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">
</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Monday: Ultrasound. </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Suspicious lump.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Wednesday: Biopsy</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress; text-align: center;">Thursday: Results. Cancer cells present. Surgeon consultation. Schedule immediate surgery. What to expect.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress; text-align: center;">Friday: Lumpectomy/ Sentinel lymph node removal/ biopsy</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress; text-align: center;">Saturday: Many visits from friends. Cards filled with kind words and encourgement and the most beautiful cactus terrarium.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress; text-align: center;">Sunday: I am clearly a depressed and hopeless burrowing prairie dog.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress; text-align: center;">Monday: Still tucked away in my lair. Stopped taking the pain killers.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress; text-align: center;">Tuesday:</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: center; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"> Biopsy report back from pathologist. Stage 1. Tumor is small and has NOT spread to lymph nodes. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress; text-align: center;">Tears of joy. Relief. Gratitude. The dancing begins. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress; text-align: center;">Wednesday: Visit with my amazing surgeon. Everything is discussed. Instructions. Treatment plan. Radiation. Chemo? </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: center; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">What to expect.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: center; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Thursday: I no longer look for Owls. I only see Bluebirds.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">💙💙💙💙💙💙💙</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress; text-align: center;">
</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life waiting to start living. — Eckhart Tolle</span></p>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-25554759502824159432018-02-21T11:28:00.000-08:002018-02-21T11:43:55.312-08:00Another Rolling Red Horse <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DAFSVscGUl4/Wo3JUMw0pSI/AAAAAAAAIKw/yfNSFGvNhHsQJv34Ck-6w1-xTXefolowgCHMYCw/Toss"><img title="Toss" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DAFSVscGUl4/Wo3JUMw0pSI/AAAAAAAAIKw/yfNSFGvNhHsQJv34Ck-6w1-xTXefolowgCHMYCw/Toss" alt="" width="556" height="313" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<p style="text-align: center;">Nearly one year ago, something remarkable happened that I will never forget. I came face to face with <a style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: none; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" href="http://prairiemountaingirl.blogspot.com/2016/03/look-who-i-met-today.html">A Boy Named Ruby</a>. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Last week, I had a similar encounter with yet another red horse. I have given him the name </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Cimarrón.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Here is a moment by moment procession of our “join up.”</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uGUNxeFckFM/Wo3D-A4axlI/AAAAAAAAIKU/1SO35MTNGN80W7nI6UYzME56moooIL-QQCHMYCw/Seven"><img title="Seven" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uGUNxeFckFM/Wo3D-A4axlI/AAAAAAAAIKU/1SO35MTNGN80W7nI6UYzME56moooIL-QQCHMYCw/Seven" alt="" width="556" height="344" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cimarrón and all his beauties. </div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--1VC3TPuhs8/Wo3KKWRf-oI/AAAAAAAAILM/bZkPNv2HnY4TIoWNZs_zx_1fwqKLNLnPQCHMYCw/Look"><img title="Look" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--1VC3TPuhs8/Wo3KKWRf-oI/AAAAAAAAILM/bZkPNv2HnY4TIoWNZs_zx_1fwqKLNLnPQCHMYCw/Look" alt="" width="556" height="416" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">As his band moves on, Cimarrón lays down. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I am less than twenty feet from this stallion. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhOBywWry6e56ky93V_qZ6Iun6oQKnIObZQDRBk1CPJpwfyrpqR0puPLiafIFjUiUNpraaOD7h3DtxaWCartlh2gRgs8_Ps8HAwMgqTxco8cQmJ8qlukbreKGX0yGBK0KkAiaSp3kxOt1/"><img title="Roll" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhOBywWry6e56ky93V_qZ6Iun6oQKnIObZQDRBk1CPJpwfyrpqR0puPLiafIFjUiUNpraaOD7h3DtxaWCartlh2gRgs8_Ps8HAwMgqTxco8cQmJ8qlukbreKGX0yGBK0KkAiaSp3kxOt1/" alt="" width="554" height="431" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The roll.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EzmVObg6ahU/Wo3KM8GVQiI/AAAAAAAAILU/b5NduMffcZUPfcoaT-MdDhtEwyg2yGB0ACHMYCw/Up"><img title="Up" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EzmVObg6ahU/Wo3KM8GVQiI/AAAAAAAAILU/b5NduMffcZUPfcoaT-MdDhtEwyg2yGB0ACHMYCw/Up" alt="" width="554" height="442" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tirSIWssx-I/Wo3Kf2JAyEI/AAAAAAAAILc/Ufw75IgPImsovNRMETxETfERHz-dWCTxACHMYCw/Get%2Bup"><img title="Up" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tirSIWssx-I/Wo3Kf2JAyEI/AAAAAAAAILc/Ufw75IgPImsovNRMETxETfERHz-dWCTxACHMYCw/Get%2Bup" alt="" width="556" height="392" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uWhAPNb6nYM/Wo3K8gzL06I/AAAAAAAAILo/1w_zXcxtn40diIBzDi3J2m1-iIzExQhSwCHMYCw/Shake"><img title="Shake" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uWhAPNb6nYM/Wo3K8gzL06I/AAAAAAAAILo/1w_zXcxtn40diIBzDi3J2m1-iIzExQhSwCHMYCw/Shake" alt="" width="554" height="379" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The shake.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1CnjXhmpnnk/Wo3K9jrQnnI/AAAAAAAAILs/cImkCduashA0pdibXjLR-oK7jPL4LNLHACHMYCw/Look"><img title="Look" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1CnjXhmpnnk/Wo3K9jrQnnI/AAAAAAAAILs/cImkCduashA0pdibXjLR-oK7jPL4LNLHACHMYCw/Look" alt="" width="556" height="400" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The look.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KZkfFgiw-zY/Wo3L4QUAYqI/AAAAAAAAIMI/R5JVFDW-QVQgFgNIfrRWX3aTrJe56XYBwCHMYCw/Dance"><img title="Dance" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KZkfFgiw-zY/Wo3L4QUAYqI/AAAAAAAAIMI/R5JVFDW-QVQgFgNIfrRWX3aTrJe56XYBwCHMYCw/Dance" alt="" width="556" height="417" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He does a slight frolic dance and mane toss.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-euBOZ3kv6F0/Wo3L5RjfMCI/AAAAAAAAIMM/efLkS1iaaoAL0vjGYJv73z-e2pkgRQxGQCHMYCw/Walk"><img title="Walk" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-euBOZ3kv6F0/Wo3L5RjfMCI/AAAAAAAAIMM/efLkS1iaaoAL0vjGYJv73z-e2pkgRQxGQCHMYCw/Walk" alt="" width="554" height="373" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Catching up with his band.</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y3WT6zkTgcE/Wo3D-1ycV5I/AAAAAAAAIKY/nmU3YakMOkkZ6zI0LKqVbQ0-5VtDHQAWACHMYCw/Band"><img title="Band" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y3WT6zkTgcE/Wo3D-1ycV5I/AAAAAAAAIKY/nmU3YakMOkkZ6zI0LKqVbQ0-5VtDHQAWACHMYCw/Band" alt="" width="581" height="344" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">I watch as they all walk away. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">I bow my head in gratitude. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Experiences like these make my life richer.
</p>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-78541570187376612752018-02-19T12:35:00.000-08:002018-02-20T08:08:23.895-08:00It’s like I’m in a snow globe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QKmRmJAXNac/WosyQgCIj-I/AAAAAAAAII0/Jm0MGjEBLX0wiFwTcBZbLj8krd7UCNWIQCHMYCw/Snow%2Bcones"><img title="Snow cones" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QKmRmJAXNac/WosyQgCIj-I/AAAAAAAAII0/Jm0MGjEBLX0wiFwTcBZbLj8krd7UCNWIQCHMYCw/Snow%2Bcones" alt="" width="556" height="417" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-umBF6IsFIqA/WoszlxQqEEI/AAAAAAAAIJA/moc0pY7fol8qgxZTtnM9J4CYvW96Zs13gCHMYCw/Snow"><img title="Snow" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-umBF6IsFIqA/WoszlxQqEEI/AAAAAAAAIJA/moc0pY7fol8qgxZTtnM9J4CYvW96Zs13gCHMYCw/Snow" alt="" width="554" height="415" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N2WKbidEbRg/Woszm_F9WNI/AAAAAAAAIJE/VEus_W5LE-YMP-VR1Z-cJoHMpZCyLyaywCHMYCw/Magazine"><img title="Magazine" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N2WKbidEbRg/Woszm_F9WNI/AAAAAAAAIJE/VEus_W5LE-YMP-VR1Z-cJoHMpZCyLyaywCHMYCw/Magazine" alt="" width="534" height="713" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3ECzkb6IOnc/WosznlSZc5I/AAAAAAAAIJI/9_FKXmey4hIR5Q6XcTP1vRuGPPpODpjawCHMYCw/Pine"><img title="Pine" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3ECzkb6IOnc/WosznlSZc5I/AAAAAAAAIJI/9_FKXmey4hIR5Q6XcTP1vRuGPPpODpjawCHMYCw/Pine" alt="" width="533" height="711" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mXmHAEecu-I/Woszor_eoDI/AAAAAAAAIJM/vyvL88ibwG0M7KtfenQzpdfymYbRFBNWACHMYCw/Tree%2Band%2Bbirds"><img title="Tree and birds" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mXmHAEecu-I/Woszor_eoDI/AAAAAAAAIJM/vyvL88ibwG0M7KtfenQzpdfymYbRFBNWACHMYCw/Tree%2Band%2Bbirds" alt="" width="533" height="711" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MpJFv5mHrwQ/WoszpRgUUvI/AAAAAAAAIJQ/UOgJgkXbSZIJKY8t2Na8NLjBfw5TqRKSgCHMYCw/Birdcage"><img title="Birdcage" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MpJFv5mHrwQ/WoszpRgUUvI/AAAAAAAAIJQ/UOgJgkXbSZIJKY8t2Na8NLjBfw5TqRKSgCHMYCw/Birdcage" alt="" width="540" height="662" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z17Ln7Wziu8/WoszqTSuDPI/AAAAAAAAIJU/cZ_mVitdfbsa9DFbwiHTvt7-mk6t5xlKgCHMYCw/More%2Bbirds"><img title="More birds" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z17Ln7Wziu8/WoszqTSuDPI/AAAAAAAAIJU/cZ_mVitdfbsa9DFbwiHTvt7-mk6t5xlKgCHMYCw/More%2Bbirds" alt="" width="534" height="713" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t-Zoo4f5pdA/Woszq3fXzgI/AAAAAAAAIJY/h-kkN713n-01jEpHVPncrDL0lH22-2hdwCHMYCw/Bird"><img title="Bird" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t-Zoo4f5pdA/Woszq3fXzgI/AAAAAAAAIJY/h-kkN713n-01jEpHVPncrDL0lH22-2hdwCHMYCw/Bird" alt="" width="554" height="527" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ljQuFLr4XCQ/Woszrs-31NI/AAAAAAAAIJc/Pzc-pfMpPisq2_ACNGoW5BwRZu4269NlwCHMYCw/Red%2Bfinch"><img title="Red finch" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ljQuFLr4XCQ/Woszrs-31NI/AAAAAAAAIJc/Pzc-pfMpPisq2_ACNGoW5BwRZu4269NlwCHMYCw/Red%2Bfinch" alt="" width="554" height="526" data-json="" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px;">Pretty, isn’t it? </span>
</div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px;">It’s also zero degrees. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px;">While watching the Olympics on T.V last night, all the girl’s doing Big Air crazy tricks on their snowboards, our temperature dropped to 3 below. It was snowing. The sky was yellow. I slept with the blinds open because it was just so eerie and beautiful.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px;">There’s a mighty blizzard going on outside. It’s a whiteout. The wind is blowing heavy and fast. It is thick with whirling snowflakes, gusting and churning in circles. I look out every window and see bright white. I count 16 inches of snow. Tonight it is expected to turn bitterly cold. Like -12 below. Who likes that?! </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px;">The bird feeder is swinging. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px;">I wanted to go to my girlfiriend, NaNá’s Spinning class with Chad but the Y is closed due to the storm. Before we heard that they were not going to be open today, she had sent a notice out for us “Spinners” to either get to class by ski or dog sled. (Or by Subaru).</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px;">I feel stranded. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">I feel cooped up! </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">But, I have my cats. I’ve got a couple of letters to write. I can finish reading an amazing Monty Roberts book, </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">SHY BOY: THE HORSE THAT CAME IN FROM THE WILD. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">And look at these vintage SW Art and Arizona Highways magazines. The Friends of the Library staff gave me a huge box full of very, very old Arizona Highway’s that come in their own Native American decorative binder. They knew I would be thrilled. It’s a </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">perfect retirement gift. They know </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">I’m planning a roadtrip to Arizona and New Mexico in May.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">While the </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">snowstorm keeps me inside I have time to linger with stories from my beloved </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Desert. Articles and old </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">colorful photographs of ancient pueblos, mud dwellings and River People. I love to read about basket weavers and pottery makers; I’m fascinated by the Anasazi people of Chaco Canyon.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Today I stare at pictures of New Mexico skies. Arts and crafts women of the desert Southwest wearing turquoise around their necks and silver bracelets up their arms drinking cactus juice with big, big smiles. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">And Navajo ponies in red Arizona canyons. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">I want to be there now. </span></p>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-36482333648911132192018-01-29T11:15:00.000-08:002018-01-29T11:21:23.029-08:00Librarians on Horseback<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My favorite friend in town shared this article with me this morning. (<a href="http://historydaily.org/">historydaily.org</a>)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> I am so taken with the story and cannot stop looking at these old time black and white photos that say so much.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thank you NaNá!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Female librarians delivered books on horseback (and mule), ca. 1930’s </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eSgN6ZwV5hI/Wm9rc2N6RhI/AAAAAAAAIGk/55OOkjm3NZYEWiQbiFYPqY4TYDTYZWTiQCHMYCw/Book"><img title="Book" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eSgN6ZwV5hI/Wm9rc2N6RhI/AAAAAAAAIGk/55OOkjm3NZYEWiQbiFYPqY4TYDTYZWTiQCHMYCw/Book" alt="" width="500" height="392" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #414141; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">In the 1930s, many people living in isolated communities had very little access to jobs, let alone a good education for their children. In Kentucky, they had isolated mountain communities which could only get their books and reading material from one source… librarians on horseback.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-soou7sSgNuE/Wm9rd8GYyDI/AAAAAAAAIGo/E35KYbEX7QINYaP0s5pGexbVcEx__3f-wCHMYCw/Lined"><img title="Lined" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-soou7sSgNuE/Wm9rd8GYyDI/AAAAAAAAIGo/E35KYbEX7QINYaP0s5pGexbVcEx__3f-wCHMYCw/Lined" alt="" width="500" height="325" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #414141; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">President Franklin Roosevelt was trying to figure out a way to resolve the Great Depression of the 1930s. His Works Progress Administration created the Pack Horse Library Initiative to help Americans become more literate so that they’d have a better chance of finding employment.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WOKUJwewifo/Wm9reojqPLI/AAAAAAAAIGs/wkLCkbKihOM7v2uKEeV8Dm5yDoqnkHvQgCHMYCw/Cabin"><img title="Cabin" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WOKUJwewifo/Wm9reojqPLI/AAAAAAAAIGs/wkLCkbKihOM7v2uKEeV8Dm5yDoqnkHvQgCHMYCw/Cabin" alt="" width="500" height="406" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #414141; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">These librarians would adventure through muddy creeks and snowy hills just to deliver books to the people of these isolated areas.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OldcXPJ_R_M/Wm9slnzK_SI/AAAAAAAAIG8/J4Fyb26eNiYOKOTASoI-ev2ledouuVYGwCHMYCw/River"><img title="River" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OldcXPJ_R_M/Wm9slnzK_SI/AAAAAAAAIG8/J4Fyb26eNiYOKOTASoI-ev2ledouuVYGwCHMYCw/River" alt="" width="500" height="622" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0pHosNIdR8U/Wm9smvOL64I/AAAAAAAAIHA/eIu-UA90HGML8lpR0crIwombvs07qq1cwCHMYCw/Bridge"><img title="Bridge" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0pHosNIdR8U/Wm9smvOL64I/AAAAAAAAIHA/eIu-UA90HGML8lpR0crIwombvs07qq1cwCHMYCw/Bridge" alt="" width="500" height="399" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #414141; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">The horseback librarians were mostly made up of women. They were paid salaries by the Works Progress Administration. The rule was that libraries had to exist in the counties where books would be delivered. Many of the local schools contributed to this effort by donating literature, such as newspapers, magazines, and books.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zKCEh8rB1wU/Wm9snLGDAgI/AAAAAAAAIHE/SPePR0M0jVYx-89uR7r2ZgvdsM0NeaPHgCHMYCw/Kids"><img title="Kids" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zKCEh8rB1wU/Wm9snLGDAgI/AAAAAAAAIHE/SPePR0M0jVYx-89uR7r2ZgvdsM0NeaPHgCHMYCw/Kids" alt="" width="500" height="391" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #414141; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">These adventurous women on horseback would ride as much as 120 miles within a given week, regardless of the terrain or weather conditions. Sometimes, they would have to finish their travels on foot if their destination was in a place too remote and tough for horses to go.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x7EnpoQvU7Q/Wm9sn59_yoI/AAAAAAAAIHI/DyNDneT3d-4Oh14ILkjsmSc8lSjI6x2vACHMYCw/Horse"><img title="Horse" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x7EnpoQvU7Q/Wm9sn59_yoI/AAAAAAAAIHI/DyNDneT3d-4Oh14ILkjsmSc8lSjI6x2vACHMYCw/Horse" alt="" width="500" height="401" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D_N08s97BU8/Wm9so6AhxKI/AAAAAAAAIHM/w7kMo51Z3ccW7ofkHDsp3qz1gDbCoJvkwCHMYCw/Cabin"><img title="Cabin" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D_N08s97BU8/Wm9so6AhxKI/AAAAAAAAIHM/w7kMo51Z3ccW7ofkHDsp3qz1gDbCoJvkwCHMYCw/Cabin" alt="" width="500" height="396" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nT-5yXN2hM4/Wm9sprUo2vI/AAAAAAAAIHQ/BgU3zOytiWYXkMvl88btzCTJmuMb5teAACHMYCw/Read"><img title="Read" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nT-5yXN2hM4/Wm9sprUo2vI/AAAAAAAAIHQ/BgU3zOytiWYXkMvl88btzCTJmuMb5teAACHMYCw/Read" alt="" width="500" height="395" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #414141; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">In 1943, the horseback book delivery program had ended because employment skyrocketed during World War II.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tB6UDTCfcpQ/Wm9sqTiuE2I/AAAAAAAAIHU/VeOWq9P3rcshUwuZQiYsvEw_2uNB5iEwQCHMYCw/Library"><img title="Library" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tB6UDTCfcpQ/Wm9sqTiuE2I/AAAAAAAAIHU/VeOWq9P3rcshUwuZQiYsvEw_2uNB5iEwQCHMYCw/Library" alt="" width="500" height="404" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #414141; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">These women had to be locally known to people too or else those living in the mountains would not trust them.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vTMvz2easVU/Wm9sq1zEKEI/AAAAAAAAIHY/2cE5f8pCUHQ7RsDJ3mnKjMcHY86X89lnQCHMYCw/Lady"><img title="Lady" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vTMvz2easVU/Wm9sq1zEKEI/AAAAAAAAIHY/2cE5f8pCUHQ7RsDJ3mnKjMcHY86X89lnQCHMYCw/Lady" alt="" width="500" height="393" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSpBJ88IrO4C4Gld-mSaQC_fPlQ_jY-43sa8wSmhyLPK7ADmFd5-JK0KOB4SdqmaT7BKsDqXxBeDsQP6B94lzLJ_x562Zp02xMHE9nvfpj3CH5b6ASCvTMf-G8CVcYwBnrYaNsZ0g_UvIr/"><img title="Library" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSpBJ88IrO4C4Gld-mSaQC_fPlQ_jY-43sa8wSmhyLPK7ADmFd5-JK0KOB4SdqmaT7BKsDqXxBeDsQP6B94lzLJ_x562Zp02xMHE9nvfpj3CH5b6ASCvTMf-G8CVcYwBnrYaNsZ0g_UvIr/" alt="" width="500" height="353" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Gcaj_thZn7U/Wm9ydWuQJ_I/AAAAAAAAIH8/hrfRcT81i4cef-ZA3YojNq96KMtZvXoUgCHMYCw/My%2Broom"><img title="My room" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Gcaj_thZn7U/Wm9ydWuQJ_I/AAAAAAAAIH8/hrfRcT81i4cef-ZA3YojNq96KMtZvXoUgCHMYCw/My%2Broom" alt="" width="534" height="713" data-json="" /></a></div>
And this poster hangs on the door to my art room.
</div>
</div>
</div>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-14495410097154512142018-01-21T08:33:00.000-08:002018-01-21T16:17:24.279-08:00Three minutes and forty six seconds of last summer<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁ </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁ </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁ </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁ </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁</span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kUbyMcoRAzY/WmS5uRQMkfI/AAAAAAAAIEo/Onjd8IfWBZMVRd-NzE2kAO6Bi9UqmAbagCHMYCw/Two"><img title="Two" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kUbyMcoRAzY/WmS5uRQMkfI/AAAAAAAAIEo/Onjd8IfWBZMVRd-NzE2kAO6Bi9UqmAbagCHMYCw/Two" alt="" width="558" height="310" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iwjXYKzonSM/WmS5vPLZSrI/AAAAAAAAIEs/eD0ysou_s-kXBksEvrdH8jnk7NcFEcmDgCHMYCw/Family"><img title="Family" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iwjXYKzonSM/WmS5vPLZSrI/AAAAAAAAIEs/eD0ysou_s-kXBksEvrdH8jnk7NcFEcmDgCHMYCw/Family" alt="" width="556" height="299" data-json="" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEIhvZyL_i1GLmbnp2YSUiUACNtoWaCVeRLKEKx4oyGf6PFKSbMefJilzoM-GUd2CDejRaiWkK6eNqvwWNSI6oj6WP8BHQWWfYXnSRvCpxBKYosK6eeGeC20pGeCG6ayhmgBBXRRUKKrQN/"><img title="Reach over fence" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEIhvZyL_i1GLmbnp2YSUiUACNtoWaCVeRLKEKx4oyGf6PFKSbMefJilzoM-GUd2CDejRaiWkK6eNqvwWNSI6oj6WP8BHQWWfYXnSRvCpxBKYosK6eeGeC20pGeCG6ayhmgBBXRRUKKrQN/" alt="" width="556" height="333" data-json="" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-trk0_ToFRvg/WmS5wO5nwBI/AAAAAAAAIE0/OY3Nn6mFxx4vnFNx3poOfdvZDScV-gPZwCHMYCw/Waiting"><img title="Waiting" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-trk0_ToFRvg/WmS5wO5nwBI/AAAAAAAAIE0/OY3Nn6mFxx4vnFNx3poOfdvZDScV-gPZwCHMYCw/Waiting" alt="" width="554" height="415" data-json="" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K4xC7J1rOXA/WmS5w2UIauI/AAAAAAAAIE4/Bc9Q1dsopvssl_5WDMNsJqwy9VNNTmrtwCHMYCw/Fenceline%2Brun"><img title="Fenceline run" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K4xC7J1rOXA/WmS5w2UIauI/AAAAAAAAIE4/Bc9Q1dsopvssl_5WDMNsJqwy9VNNTmrtwCHMYCw/Fenceline%2Brun" alt="" width="554" height="397" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qthyk3zsNKw/WmS5xW1M6VI/AAAAAAAAIE8/O-C5-PimCYswO3LXx1Q1MnBHd8-wpsGWwCHMYCw/Green%2Bpasture"><img title="Green pasture" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qthyk3zsNKw/WmS5xW1M6VI/AAAAAAAAIE8/O-C5-PimCYswO3LXx1Q1MnBHd8-wpsGWwCHMYCw/Green%2Bpasture" alt="" width="556" height="370" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj0f0pvEb9ZPPUCkyeGkAD6QngeMWsZ4V5Sy6edJHAqqrmTD5aVN088fjuyUcrZxjGR7yrgVO6xKbrZ-ckjVrK_2YtVB0EBYwBYU0xyO4OfLP1NjrJx4mnLx9jAOPAsjSSixWvs1fYR2yK/"><img title="Mountain plover eggs" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj0f0pvEb9ZPPUCkyeGkAD6QngeMWsZ4V5Sy6edJHAqqrmTD5aVN088fjuyUcrZxjGR7yrgVO6xKbrZ-ckjVrK_2YtVB0EBYwBYU0xyO4OfLP1NjrJx4mnLx9jAOPAsjSSixWvs1fYR2yK/" alt="" width="556" height="418" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">[Mountain Plover nest]</span> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JVfBQKZ7WD8/WmS8p3G0MvI/AAAAAAAAIFg/eQ2lervXVCgl1IyseQ8JEUoNPlx_iHltgCHMYCw/Horses%2Bon%2Bfenceline"><img title="Horses on fenceline" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JVfBQKZ7WD8/WmS8p3G0MvI/AAAAAAAAIFg/eQ2lervXVCgl1IyseQ8JEUoNPlx_iHltgCHMYCw/Horses%2Bon%2Bfenceline" alt="" width="556" height="376" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PflBKbgIDD0/WmS8qXMoGqI/AAAAAAAAIFk/NOXYQ9nVaXs_3qURBOKZB6VU06cn0bnjACHMYCw/Tic%2Bhorse"><img title="Tic horse" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PflBKbgIDD0/WmS8qXMoGqI/AAAAAAAAIFk/NOXYQ9nVaXs_3qURBOKZB6VU06cn0bnjACHMYCw/Tic%2Bhorse" alt="" width="554" height="383" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5gjVa_-cXJY/WmS8rEYew7I/AAAAAAAAIFo/t3vE2jnTSpoRm2Sw6OtL5p4Ogp8I_EfqACHMYCw/Tic%2Beating"><img title="Tic eating" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5gjVa_-cXJY/WmS8rEYew7I/AAAAAAAAIFo/t3vE2jnTSpoRm2Sw6OtL5p4Ogp8I_EfqACHMYCw/Tic%2Beating" alt="" width="554" height="364" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8GAMIG3tpq0/WmS8rtDjvWI/AAAAAAAAIFs/bv0Z2yzC_lgZXH9s2s5wFGJOpnHBs2vOACHMYCw/Tic%2Band%2Bfriend"><img title="Tic and friend" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8GAMIG3tpq0/WmS8rtDjvWI/AAAAAAAAIFs/bv0Z2yzC_lgZXH9s2s5wFGJOpnHBs2vOACHMYCw/Tic%2Band%2Bfriend" alt="" width="554" height="357" data-json="" /></a> </div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">This winter I’ve been thinking about last summer. I found some photographs that I took on one beautiful and green June day.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">It was the day we scored seeing all the pretty mustangs. Altogether. Crowded and confined, really. They were mysteriously fenced off from being able to venture up high into the more forested, 8,000 ft. elevation, tip top of Green Mountain. Naturally, in the summertime, they like to go where it’s cooler. To the abundant meadows of new grasses and wildflowers and to be able to duck into the shade of some pines when the sun is hottest.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">As you can see, groups of them stick close to the fence line. Waiting for the gate to open? </span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The rancher who leases that BLM land for his cows decided to leave the gate closed until he felt like opening it up. (This was confirmed when we stopped by the BLM office not long afterwards). Frankly, I don’t know why they were there in the first place. That gate would allow two hundred wild horses to leave that pasture and to spread out and up to the rest of the 117,000 acres they call home. At the time, while I was out there photographing the horses, I kept wondering why they were confined between the mountain and the prairie. I wondered why there hadn’t been someone </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">in charge of that HMA (Herd Management Area) checking in </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">on the activity on Green Mountain.</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"> Maybe the cow owner calls the shots.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Of course, you can see all that green grass and the trickle of the springs looks like heaven for those horses. It appeared so, but to tell you the truth, those horses were agitated and restless. I have been observing that herd for over six years now and I noticed a difference in their behavior that day. (And the day after that.) Noticeably, they aren’t usually all hanging out together, for one thing. I don’t think they particularly enjoyed HAVING to stay in that lush green fenced in pasture. Bands of horses were too close for comfort. Pesky gnats and flies were relentless and it was obvious that every single horse was bothered by them. There was no escaping the situation. </span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I filmed a few frames of horse activity going on that afternoon. It’s 3:46 seconds of clicks and gusts of wind. [Keep in mind, this was my first attempt at using the video setting on my camera and I didn’t have my reading glasses with me to know precisely what the heck I was doing, so hopefully you won’t get too dizzy]. </span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GhZhumvpNis">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GhZhumvpNis</a></span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">While hiking around the same area, only further east of the pasture, we noticed a family band of mustangs sticking like glue to one side of the fenceline. On the immediate opposite side of the fence stood a mare and her foal. They obviously belonged to this band and somehow had gotten separated. The gray Stallion took turns nuzzling his mare and new son across the barbed wire fence. At one point, somehow, someway, that tiny little foal squeezed through a small opening in the fence! Chad and I watched for a long time to see what would happen next. The Stallion and his family were showing signs of distress and urgency, as they all followed the fenceline, back and forth, wondering what to do next. You can imagine </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; color: #454545; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">how that mare must have felt. Now she was all alone on one side, her family on the other side of the rusty wire fence. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; color: #454545; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">She became frantic. She went bonkers. We watched that mare tear around, galloping and zig-zagging every which way. She was all over the place trying to find her way out of the corral. She would arch her strong neck up and out, her dark and desperate eyes searching for the location of her baby. She marched along the fenceline, determined to find a way out. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">What do you think happened?</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress; color: #454545; font-family: Georgia;">The mare got out. She reunited with her family.</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"> And they all excitedly ran away together to the top of Green Mountain and lived happily ever after.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress; color: #454545; font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">❁ </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁ </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁ </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁ </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">❁</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; color: #454545; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Driving along a deep rutted two track road, we came upon a couple of bachelor stallions. One we recognized immediately. The lovely dappled gray, the one with a bone deformity in one of his shoulders. He used to belong to Beast’s band. That was four years ago. Who knows why he isn’t with that family anymore. Maybe he couldn’t keep up. Maybe he got kicked out. For all we know he could be a son of Beast and it was time for him to go off on his own. Whatever the reason, we’ve always enjoyed seeing that boy. He gets around pretty good. He’s just one of the endearing aspects one might find on Wyoming’s Green Mountain.</span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ahXZ2IwbwaQ/WmS9r-JKxhI/AAAAAAAAIGE/ytwp1NOL1xwCsrvoeYkmx1Xuu6xjYSm5ACHMYCw/That%2Bface"><img title="That face" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ahXZ2IwbwaQ/WmS9r-JKxhI/AAAAAAAAIGE/ytwp1NOL1xwCsrvoeYkmx1Xuu6xjYSm5ACHMYCw/That%2Bface" alt="" width="607" height="366" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">♥ </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">♥ </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">♥ </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">♥ </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">♥</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-83407228287145939272018-01-01T07:18:00.000-08:002018-01-01T07:18:56.983-08:00A Day in Aspen<p style="text-align: center;">It really is a Sweet Rocky Mountain Paradise!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">John Denver was right. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qJnoebGlkaU/WkpOIYMQyTI/AAAAAAAAICs/MVieOPoX7d4CrpIiCm0y3Qwvo-rx5LWRQCHMYCw/Ski%2Blifts"><img title="Ski lifts" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qJnoebGlkaU/WkpOIYMQyTI/AAAAAAAAICs/MVieOPoX7d4CrpIiCm0y3Qwvo-rx5LWRQCHMYCw/Ski%2Blifts" alt="" width="538" height="403" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fvHJiiNUS7M/WkpOJtLaFeI/AAAAAAAAICw/SGIXqMUZsMsOxHu_8VyoaCQEPQ2W0qNSgCHMYCw/Me%2Bwith%2Bink"><img title="Me with ink" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fvHJiiNUS7M/WkpOJtLaFeI/AAAAAAAAICw/SGIXqMUZsMsOxHu_8VyoaCQEPQ2W0qNSgCHMYCw/Me%2Bwith%2Bink" alt="" width="536" height="402" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fkzWRxspnco/WkpOKKQijxI/AAAAAAAAIC0/mPnTUAJ08qkfRrY6jfbc86bO7fu5DLW3QCHMYCw/Skis"><img title="Skis" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fkzWRxspnco/WkpOKKQijxI/AAAAAAAAIC0/mPnTUAJ08qkfRrY6jfbc86bO7fu5DLW3QCHMYCw/Skis" alt="" width="477" height="790" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3NNmO73bHHc/WkpPupb_IjI/AAAAAAAAIDA/c2vSNEFYuQAkVFdm9roOCja9FuGmpK5GQCHMYCw/Gondola"><img title="Gondola" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3NNmO73bHHc/WkpPupb_IjI/AAAAAAAAIDA/c2vSNEFYuQAkVFdm9roOCja9FuGmpK5GQCHMYCw/Gondola" alt="" width="514" height="660" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1YRS2dqDsZs/WkpPvKG9Z-I/AAAAAAAAIDE/cL8EMcmq7MEtaeyLl_7M7eSlgd1yrWA2wCHMYCw/Pic"><img title="Pic" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1YRS2dqDsZs/WkpPvKG9Z-I/AAAAAAAAIDE/cL8EMcmq7MEtaeyLl_7M7eSlgd1yrWA2wCHMYCw/Pic" alt="" width="547" height="365" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fRD-nJz9JSk/WkpPvvgUbjI/AAAAAAAAIDI/c6GeI2VguIwdiSapemZ5c0Xle8HBBubDQCHMYCw/Wheeler"><img title="Wheeler" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fRD-nJz9JSk/WkpPvvgUbjI/AAAAAAAAIDI/c6GeI2VguIwdiSapemZ5c0Xle8HBBubDQCHMYCw/Wheeler" alt="" width="525" height="626" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CF7jtkujpqQ/WkpPwZS3ZCI/AAAAAAAAIDM/OcGUPJgCXc4CsaNUGvgLQ9zLdEjWqY2uwCHMYCw/Brick"><img title="Brick" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CF7jtkujpqQ/WkpPwZS3ZCI/AAAAAAAAIDM/OcGUPJgCXc4CsaNUGvgLQ9zLdEjWqY2uwCHMYCw/Brick" alt="" width="536" height="402" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WV_C4wK0DSA/WkpPxA4OS1I/AAAAAAAAIDQ/WtSyG60LLPAzygM9hxkL011sz562FBXlACHMYCw/Us"><img title="Us" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WV_C4wK0DSA/WkpPxA4OS1I/AAAAAAAAIDQ/WtSyG60LLPAzygM9hxkL011sz562FBXlACHMYCw/Us" alt="" width="522" height="716" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l66YvrGdcCs/WkpPxp4X0RI/AAAAAAAAIDU/TAeW6djcAXk5ym6rdO2BH3avTgiLxHtWgCHMYCw/Boy%2Bon%2Bdonkey"><img title="Boy on donkey" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l66YvrGdcCs/WkpPxp4X0RI/AAAAAAAAIDU/TAeW6djcAXk5ym6rdO2BH3avTgiLxHtWgCHMYCw/Boy%2Bon%2Bdonkey" alt="" width="532" height="499" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MZ5hvvIUKQQ/WkpPx9UncvI/AAAAAAAAIDY/aaO5m2K94kIN5gBf-z34FDsTmL6blhn3gCHMYCw/Lights"><img title="Lights" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MZ5hvvIUKQQ/WkpPx9UncvI/AAAAAAAAIDY/aaO5m2K94kIN5gBf-z34FDsTmL6blhn3gCHMYCw/Lights" alt="" width="558" height="293" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FJZMmyKC33k/WkpPyaSyIYI/AAAAAAAAIDc/IdnspU53BoIwN4rwClCldPYEa04TnPF5ACHMYCw/Christmas"><img title="Christmas" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FJZMmyKC33k/WkpPyaSyIYI/AAAAAAAAIDc/IdnspU53BoIwN4rwClCldPYEa04TnPF5ACHMYCw/Christmas" alt="" width="549" height="398" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fqkDpPvBBoQ/WkpQe2m7C0I/AAAAAAAAIDk/-BpchqHokG8oF0iOpHh96knT-1PGyb1PwCHMYCw/Moose"><img title="Moose" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fqkDpPvBBoQ/WkpQe2m7C0I/AAAAAAAAIDk/-BpchqHokG8oF0iOpHh96knT-1PGyb1PwCHMYCw/Moose" alt="" width="539" height="404" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JcOCVROW7Vs/WkpQfaYgFLI/AAAAAAAAIDo/h0uOV7VkmdIAIcDR2sDFjeGa-T75VTJhQCHMYCw/Beads"><img title="Beads" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JcOCVROW7Vs/WkpQfaYgFLI/AAAAAAAAIDo/h0uOV7VkmdIAIcDR2sDFjeGa-T75VTJhQCHMYCw/Beads" alt="" width="538" height="450" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nnRawreO_IQ/WkpREf6OqFI/AAAAAAAAID0/pfDYjjR6P_APo46OcwMjgJQ23v7ipjYuACHMYCw/Horses"><img title="Horses" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nnRawreO_IQ/WkpREf6OqFI/AAAAAAAAID0/pfDYjjR6P_APo46OcwMjgJQ23v7ipjYuACHMYCw/Horses" alt="" width="538" height="403" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">
</p>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-56322951458193528432017-12-22T05:56:00.000-08:002017-12-22T05:56:35.658-08:00Winter<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"> Now more than ever do i realize that i will never be content with a sedentary life, that i will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><span style="font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">—Isabelle Eberhardt</span></span></p>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pM3eV0CKkqQ/Wj0KIHzSgyI/AAAAAAAAIAs/Vdu_f_l8KmAgmsTuzRs0rVzUeKYJUu17QCHMYCw/Branch"><img title="Branch" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pM3eV0CKkqQ/Wj0KIHzSgyI/AAAAAAAAIAs/Vdu_f_l8KmAgmsTuzRs0rVzUeKYJUu17QCHMYCw/Branch" alt="" width="538" height="403" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NNgxLlApF5M/Wj0KIyhDADI/AAAAAAAAIAw/4woKz7m5wHQpIfUGFLfZMDi7vSQ2oawJACHMYCw/Wheat"><img title="Wheat" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NNgxLlApF5M/Wj0KIyhDADI/AAAAAAAAIAw/4woKz7m5wHQpIfUGFLfZMDi7vSQ2oawJACHMYCw/Wheat" alt="" width="538" height="459" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sLgLryeHM3o/Wj0LLX-q0TI/AAAAAAAAIBI/f4Q1oTMPaRAhDOLZyrQDsTbs_Y5fY9YLgCHMYCw/Vanilla%2Bhorse"><img title="Vanilla horse" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sLgLryeHM3o/Wj0LLX-q0TI/AAAAAAAAIBI/f4Q1oTMPaRAhDOLZyrQDsTbs_Y5fY9YLgCHMYCw/Vanilla%2Bhorse" alt="" width="545" height="367" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U3rglutrhR8/Wj0KJWTcXEI/AAAAAAAAIA0/Pc-SftQbwLAViOr5QiN_rVmGHUjjt33XwCHMYCw/Vast"><img title="Vast" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U3rglutrhR8/Wj0KJWTcXEI/AAAAAAAAIA0/Pc-SftQbwLAViOr5QiN_rVmGHUjjt33XwCHMYCw/Vast" alt="" width="558" height="302" data-json="" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OoXDNlOcYm8/Wj0Khvt8SXI/AAAAAAAAIA4/YVcPStorl0gYmWMMCjRL2YwZjZZOdRiBwCHMYCw/Horse%2Bhill"><img title="Horse hill" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OoXDNlOcYm8/Wj0Khvt8SXI/AAAAAAAAIA4/YVcPStorl0gYmWMMCjRL2YwZjZZOdRiBwCHMYCw/Horse%2Bhill" alt="" width="537" height="393" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-555dab__EOc/Wj0LMEBn5KI/AAAAAAAAIBM/0tIiAju1Yp0GXYFfNIe3Udwd-L37PML9gCHMYCw/Diamonds"><img title="Diamonds" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-555dab__EOc/Wj0LMEBn5KI/AAAAAAAAIBM/0tIiAju1Yp0GXYFfNIe3Udwd-L37PML9gCHMYCw/Diamonds" alt="" width="543" height="387" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CbI5nFJwHSc/Wj0Lpd4Ky6I/AAAAAAAAIBQ/_t1q3nyquEwizhzsIpYoVBM9OW-919rMgCHMYCw/Horses%2Bout"><img title="Horses out" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CbI5nFJwHSc/Wj0Lpd4Ky6I/AAAAAAAAIBQ/_t1q3nyquEwizhzsIpYoVBM9OW-919rMgCHMYCw/Horses%2Bout" alt="" width="547" height="370" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rzdxNNyRr7M/Wj0LqDjcqZI/AAAAAAAAIBc/_Am68KUI3lM40YOQ00f7GfG9e0kM2jJwgCHMYCw/Tracks"><img title="Tracks" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rzdxNNyRr7M/Wj0LqDjcqZI/AAAAAAAAIBc/_Am68KUI3lM40YOQ00f7GfG9e0kM2jJwgCHMYCw/Tracks" alt="" width="539" height="404" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3ntIUcT6N4c/Wj0LrECc-YI/AAAAAAAAIBg/IQgvRmobXtw4J8q6F3h2v_B_uo3l_ppQgCHMYCw/Three%2Bin%2Bsnow"><img title="Three in snow" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3ntIUcT6N4c/Wj0LrECc-YI/AAAAAAAAIBg/IQgvRmobXtw4J8q6F3h2v_B_uo3l_ppQgCHMYCw/Three%2Bin%2Bsnow" alt="" width="538" height="403" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4lTEMjU3afs/Wj0NG4rm8lI/AAAAAAAAIBw/cPE_zsm-XuEBrqYzXkIkvdKtKo2pBoknQCHMYCw/Bunny%2Btracks"><img title="Bunny tracks" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4lTEMjU3afs/Wj0NG4rm8lI/AAAAAAAAIBw/cPE_zsm-XuEBrqYzXkIkvdKtKo2pBoknQCHMYCw/Bunny%2Btracks" alt="" width="538" height="418" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nyz-SDVfrNE/Wj0NHT6PmdI/AAAAAAAAIB0/RJA68DDIgskaGWC66ZQvxbNm7UCuRTmZgCHMYCw/Three"><img title="Three" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nyz-SDVfrNE/Wj0NHT6PmdI/AAAAAAAAIB0/RJA68DDIgskaGWC66ZQvxbNm7UCuRTmZgCHMYCw/Three" alt="" width="536" height="402" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QPXkKhONKeQ/Wj0N5mWW2jI/AAAAAAAAIB8/KDI9EFxYNGEjvDssZXJTWegDvahXE3hOQCHMYCw/Tiny"><img title="Tiny" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QPXkKhONKeQ/Wj0N5mWW2jI/AAAAAAAAIB8/KDI9EFxYNGEjvDssZXJTWegDvahXE3hOQCHMYCw/Tiny" alt="" width="551" height="351" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-W6hrrcIRi80/Wj0N6HzdaOI/AAAAAAAAICA/BRT5lWspCBQaETkN6lDnkVjtNiiN-S_2QCHMYCw/Beast%2Blike"><img title="Beast like" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-W6hrrcIRi80/Wj0N6HzdaOI/AAAAAAAAICA/BRT5lWspCBQaETkN6lDnkVjtNiiN-S_2QCHMYCw/Beast%2Blike" alt="" width="551" height="340" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6w0Zoqh42Sg/Wj0OGpwKygI/AAAAAAAAICE/EL-JKGhnpag8y6lvkun1sS6tdBX1NhkIwCHMYCw/Steam"><img title="Steam" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6w0Zoqh42Sg/Wj0OGpwKygI/AAAAAAAAICE/EL-JKGhnpag8y6lvkun1sS6tdBX1NhkIwCHMYCw/Steam" alt="" width="539" height="404" data-json="" /></a></div>
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
Stay warm!
</div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"> </div>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-79519993590287970022017-12-06T05:43:00.000-08:002017-12-06T06:01:44.473-08:00Jewels in the Snow<p style="text-align: center;">Our kinship with Earth must be maintained; otherwise we will find ourselves trapped in the center of our own paved-over souls with no way out.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">— Terry Tempest Williams <span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: transparent;"> </span> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu5wL26jqbuLszyT1jhZEdibVeW4-CuFrOdZPiEtRCrqUlHnsimRnafioCvRoLYy8AP9_Mv71xISv7P9O5-AR-UkJWumaGxdHOUWGsJGN4nG9sCwNXQSkgBSUnklWts4bYZj_hHwIK2DQs/"><img title="Snowy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu5wL26jqbuLszyT1jhZEdibVeW4-CuFrOdZPiEtRCrqUlHnsimRnafioCvRoLYy8AP9_Mv71xISv7P9O5-AR-UkJWumaGxdHOUWGsJGN4nG9sCwNXQSkgBSUnklWts4bYZj_hHwIK2DQs/" alt="" width="553" height="328" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AkDaooTtxto/WifyJeyyFrI/AAAAAAAAH_E/4jkGDzQYc1sjLjgt2GM2GI4qtYFlg8tPQCHMYCw/Two"><img title="Two" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AkDaooTtxto/WifyJeyyFrI/AAAAAAAAH_E/4jkGDzQYc1sjLjgt2GM2GI4qtYFlg8tPQCHMYCw/Two" alt="" width="542" height="381" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t6Gk57b0Rl8/WifyKJxtukI/AAAAAAAAH_I/I7NHXzs_f54_U1y3FXb0MUDhkB0PAtr5QCHMYCw/Look"><img title="Look" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t6Gk57b0Rl8/WifyKJxtukI/AAAAAAAAH_I/I7NHXzs_f54_U1y3FXb0MUDhkB0PAtr5QCHMYCw/Look" alt="" width="522" height="661" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R7h_YRy-CYk/WifyK5CluBI/AAAAAAAAH_M/7XRhWpaqFucAmjRz9ZUKe2LeH2jRKNV2gCHMYCw/Many"><img title="Many" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R7h_YRy-CYk/WifyK5CluBI/AAAAAAAAH_M/7XRhWpaqFucAmjRz9ZUKe2LeH2jRKNV2gCHMYCw/Many" alt="" width="536" height="417" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gV8tDxXW79s/WifyLXBGF6I/AAAAAAAAH_Q/gJfg56zbWRIZariZjkMdUNVM-l-PzeLnwCHMYCw/Sweet"><img title="Sweet" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gV8tDxXW79s/WifyLXBGF6I/AAAAAAAAH_Q/gJfg56zbWRIZariZjkMdUNVM-l-PzeLnwCHMYCw/Sweet" alt="" width="538" height="403" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lCBFM6edVzU/WifyMIgIrUI/AAAAAAAAH_U/ZCvXaqqWkqw3eqXIn5Mqurz9K8t4QAoPACHMYCw/Blue%2Bsky"><img title="Blue sky" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lCBFM6edVzU/WifyMIgIrUI/AAAAAAAAH_U/ZCvXaqqWkqw3eqXIn5Mqurz9K8t4QAoPACHMYCw/Blue%2Bsky" alt="" width="536" height="402" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8pvR3ZYKHEpJjIrn_IR-1idOsp2QmqC56ZY-5Qfab5FsPhW1BGWBpiqeTDlNCuUi9a0kKR1R4F3xNcIN67sMQzWxQovlFyasNTx5JU47S9GT7a3embZ-ikNZ17qdUbzHY-fNqk2CsiV0z/"><img title="Cutie" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8pvR3ZYKHEpJjIrn_IR-1idOsp2QmqC56ZY-5Qfab5FsPhW1BGWBpiqeTDlNCuUi9a0kKR1R4F3xNcIN67sMQzWxQovlFyasNTx5JU47S9GT7a3embZ-ikNZ17qdUbzHY-fNqk2CsiV0z/" alt="" width="536" height="467" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0bwZ2eNjs9o/WifzwKJFsMI/AAAAAAAAH_k/uTd_xbqVRwwodTPpWnioY3-6IEROMp4DwCHMYCw/Nice"><img title="Nice" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0bwZ2eNjs9o/WifzwKJFsMI/AAAAAAAAH_k/uTd_xbqVRwwodTPpWnioY3-6IEROMp4DwCHMYCw/Nice" alt="" width="538" height="403" data-json="" /></a></div>
<h1 class="quoteText" style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; color: #181818; font-weight: normal; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: center;">All this grace—just a few blocks away.</h1>
prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-3634347035631056212017-12-04T10:06:00.000-08:002017-12-05T05:08:08.861-08:00She Was Thankful for Horses<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
</div>
</div>
<a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--uH5epUuOnk/WiNa6iRZqdI/AAAAAAAAH7c/jJKULf1xdZ4HegMhqeYhPQah0SJ1c_P-gCHMYCw/Road"> <img title="Road" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--uH5epUuOnk/WiNa6iRZqdI/AAAAAAAAH7c/jJKULf1xdZ4HegMhqeYhPQah0SJ1c_P-gCHMYCw/Road" alt="" width="554" height="293" data-json="" /></a><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJ9VQGOLT48cjiuJKWzrWaULDydLUCjKzwr8XWTXdZLh85EMcN5pCgnEJgtMBSWKBs02e37SOEwfTgnWzCjw1TfVvaFOPtW4W-T_uTnk2N81VmlYs6uOA37lqFaT6hAhOhwV6thiAJDD9/"><img title="Fog" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJ9VQGOLT48cjiuJKWzrWaULDydLUCjKzwr8XWTXdZLh85EMcN5pCgnEJgtMBSWKBs02e37SOEwfTgnWzCjw1TfVvaFOPtW4W-T_uTnk2N81VmlYs6uOA37lqFaT6hAhOhwV6thiAJDD9/" alt="" width="554" height="328" data-json="" /></a>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Gr69ChEboRE/WiVzhAJxQhI/AAAAAAAAH9s/RvEecPBjXog5n-h5dNg5qRRctfeVkCKhgCHMYCw/Frost"><img title="Frost" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Gr69ChEboRE/WiVzhAJxQhI/AAAAAAAAH9s/RvEecPBjXog5n-h5dNg5qRRctfeVkCKhgCHMYCw/Frost" alt="" width="536" height="402" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C9-bNFamzDw/WiNTdAckyKI/AAAAAAAAH6U/Ay-NuxYQBhQhf97BeIs2ufYN1581eORTgCHMYCw/Golden%2Bfog"><img title="Golden fog" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C9-bNFamzDw/WiNTdAckyKI/AAAAAAAAH6U/Ay-NuxYQBhQhf97BeIs2ufYN1581eORTgCHMYCw/Golden%2Bfog" alt="" width="548" height="355" data-json="" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rm8LAXunQYk/WiNUPYLqEVI/AAAAAAAAH6o/lzv7o4IHjZAN5JMzgHSpLehj2nn-AuXJgCHMYCw/Sage"><img title="Sage" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rm8LAXunQYk/WiNUPYLqEVI/AAAAAAAAH6o/lzv7o4IHjZAN5JMzgHSpLehj2nn-AuXJgCHMYCw/Sage" alt="" width="554" height="321" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SkJye_dXZJs/WiVSx3bS3jI/AAAAAAAAH9U/ie-XuQ-U6LsqLsa_kgmEtWroZVXPDKizwCHMYCw/Butte"><img title="Butte" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SkJye_dXZJs/WiVSx3bS3jI/AAAAAAAAH9U/ie-XuQ-U6LsqLsa_kgmEtWroZVXPDKizwCHMYCw/Butte" alt="" width="556" height="273" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U9t1o4ju8U8/WiVSy0ZH4yI/AAAAAAAAH9Y/7Muvod-Ia2why_TWwxCLgQ-PoANpWA-owCHMYCw/Peek"><img title="Peek" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U9t1o4ju8U8/WiVSy0ZH4yI/AAAAAAAAH9Y/7Muvod-Ia2why_TWwxCLgQ-PoANpWA-owCHMYCw/Peek" alt="" width="536" height="402" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_WMN5THfQC0/WiV4ADHz12I/AAAAAAAAH94/jrk_lB5_vGEEva-WaDPlJsTC514N7TxaQCHMYCw/Ni%2BNikki%2521"><img title="Ni Nikki!" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_WMN5THfQC0/WiV4ADHz12I/AAAAAAAAH94/jrk_lB5_vGEEva-WaDPlJsTC514N7TxaQCHMYCw/Ni%2BNikki%2521" alt="" width="556" height="325" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Aag5v8Ip-nM/WiNa9AbnBMI/AAAAAAAAH7o/nu-vKMi3l0c9bH6LxKWYFEHy92EmwrDHwCHMYCw/Green%2Briver%2Btrain"><img title="Green river train" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Aag5v8Ip-nM/WiNa9AbnBMI/AAAAAAAAH7o/nu-vKMi3l0c9bH6LxKWYFEHy92EmwrDHwCHMYCw/Green%2Briver%2Btrain" alt="" width="539" height="430" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y9u0pn5Tg7s/WiNa9xN8AjI/AAAAAAAAH7s/UlKp5p5PxSUPDzdkBRS7JeNb94tiocQbQCHMYCw/Neapolitan"><img title="Neapolitan" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y9u0pn5Tg7s/WiNa9xN8AjI/AAAAAAAAH7s/UlKp5p5PxSUPDzdkBRS7JeNb94tiocQbQCHMYCw/Neapolitan" alt="" width="558" height="299" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lxzVB_RhMgA/WiV4A3f4U8I/AAAAAAAAH98/aQEwe5HOgY0zq7q9Avd3ph8n1s3g-MpewCHMYCw/Trail%2Bto%2Bhorses"><img title="Trail to horses" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lxzVB_RhMgA/WiV4A3f4U8I/AAAAAAAAH98/aQEwe5HOgY0zq7q9Avd3ph8n1s3g-MpewCHMYCw/Trail%2Bto%2Bhorses" alt="" width="538" height="403" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b3XKQtJ8ySc/WiNc6u2D_dI/AAAAAAAAH8A/DcCOcMQxBsgD0jr-IQWO02sEIlw5GvTsACHMYCw/Family"><img title="Family" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b3XKQtJ8ySc/WiNc6u2D_dI/AAAAAAAAH8A/DcCOcMQxBsgD0jr-IQWO02sEIlw5GvTsACHMYCw/Family" alt="" width="538" height="403" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-o9t261ozm9I/WiNc7WHLs0I/AAAAAAAAH8E/tnEH5j5ypAADRrhSgzdlkZWugNkYvw6UgCHMYCw/Chad"><img title="Chad" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-o9t261ozm9I/WiNc7WHLs0I/AAAAAAAAH8E/tnEH5j5ypAADRrhSgzdlkZWugNkYvw6UgCHMYCw/Chad" alt="" width="538" height="396" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z3Ub0ZgzBFE/WiNc9vTJmsI/AAAAAAAAH8Q/glSIZekURowrMBG2byE0RA0rWgFyysz0wCHMYCw/Two"><img title="Two" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z3Ub0ZgzBFE/WiNc9vTJmsI/AAAAAAAAH8Q/glSIZekURowrMBG2byE0RA0rWgFyysz0wCHMYCw/Two" alt="" width="651" height="439" data-json="" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O4aF8w5KriM/WiNc_A5Q3oI/AAAAAAAAH8Y/qM4Lvxyn6EgJWUjEQ7hsUwvu-RXq24okACHMYCw/Sweeetoe%2Btow"><img title="Sweeetoe tow" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O4aF8w5KriM/WiNc_A5Q3oI/AAAAAAAAH8Y/qM4Lvxyn6EgJWUjEQ7hsUwvu-RXq24okACHMYCw/Sweeetoe%2Btow" alt="" width="556" height="321" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T8_fblDTeD0/WiNc_7s04mI/AAAAAAAAH8c/kvS_5dnzePQdvAyZNPJCMWUFGO2QJxF7wCHMYCw/Pintos"><img title="Pintos" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T8_fblDTeD0/WiNc_7s04mI/AAAAAAAAH8c/kvS_5dnzePQdvAyZNPJCMWUFGO2QJxF7wCHMYCw/Pintos" alt="" width="550" height="343" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-63tAYD9EJ6k/WiNdAhyKCeI/AAAAAAAAH8g/LpBogLfGFdILZ8z_JmP-b-5m6DIE9253wCHMYCw/Blonde"><img title="Blonde" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-63tAYD9EJ6k/WiNdAhyKCeI/AAAAAAAAH8g/LpBogLfGFdILZ8z_JmP-b-5m6DIE9253wCHMYCw/Blonde" alt="" width="543" height="366" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4lKAlvw8gf4/WiV4BqELOdI/AAAAAAAAH-A/EvETvqB53WQHVu5bFlY_SVy9cwasBzKQACHMYCw/Blackie"><img title="Blackie" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4lKAlvw8gf4/WiV4BqELOdI/AAAAAAAAH-A/EvETvqB53WQHVu5bFlY_SVy9cwasBzKQACHMYCw/Blackie" alt="" width="549" height="353" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hi0QPWKfXZY/WiV4vUUVdjI/AAAAAAAAH-U/K5B4WAhhBJoJtLqfNG1i5Bz8RyCCydsOgCHMYCw/Group"><img title="Group" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hi0QPWKfXZY/WiV4vUUVdjI/AAAAAAAAH-U/K5B4WAhhBJoJtLqfNG1i5Bz8RyCCydsOgCHMYCw/Group" alt="" width="565" height="365" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yHVxf5NcYHo/WiV5Rsbj6eI/AAAAAAAAH-c/npi684em8Vk56kt9xsIhoo7puJ2v3d6BgCHMYCw/Turn"><img title="Turn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yHVxf5NcYHo/WiV5Rsbj6eI/AAAAAAAAH-c/npi684em8Vk56kt9xsIhoo7puJ2v3d6BgCHMYCw/Turn" alt="" width="538" height="439" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FelsKPS8ons/WiV4CGHK-iI/AAAAAAAAH-E/Xz6nb0EAdz8rWiS0ex41bWxnytKwulfCgCHMYCw/Vern"><img title="Vern" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FelsKPS8ons/WiV4CGHK-iI/AAAAAAAAH-E/Xz6nb0EAdz8rWiS0ex41bWxnytKwulfCgCHMYCw/Vern" alt="" width="555" height="335" data-json="" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Y8AuKhWN1YQ/WiV4wDXuFjI/AAAAAAAAH-Y/1fU05hqL-jgDF2tPbzPqPGmBeJn7TYqbwCHMYCw/West"><img title="West" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Y8AuKhWN1YQ/WiV4wDXuFjI/AAAAAAAAH-Y/1fU05hqL-jgDF2tPbzPqPGmBeJn7TYqbwCHMYCw/West" alt="" width="556" height="310" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K_1QZ9mshvQ/WiV4CoHpL8I/AAAAAAAAH-I/0hB66ZTRqvw7DnjKkv5I4npCB4TMvqPMACHMYCw/End"><img title="End" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K_1QZ9mshvQ/WiV4CoHpL8I/AAAAAAAAH-I/0hB66ZTRqvw7DnjKkv5I4npCB4TMvqPMACHMYCw/End" alt="" width="554" height="311" data-json="" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thanksgiving Day</div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">The morning after waking </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">up in the yurt, we drove into The Big Empty, the Red Desert of Wyoming, home to the mustangs.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">Well, until the majority of them were rounded up just last September. I was there. I saw it. It was NOT pretty.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">Damn you BLM </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">Fog and roads of gumbo kept us from traveling very far.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">We tried. We drove as far as we could, through a gray veil, to find a shadow, an outline. Anything resembling a horse. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">My attention shifted to the land. I know this land.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">The rabbit brush had turned a pretty copper color. The sage was always like I want it to be. Still scented musky sweet and lots of it. </span></p>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">Everything was pale, muted brown, green or gold. The land presented their colors in a way you’d imagine a prairie landscape in winter. There was beauty all around me.</span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">So, it didnt matter that there were no horse outlines.</span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">I knew they were there. </span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">The horses of the great Red Desert are spectacular. If you want to see a fantastic stallion who has eluded the helicopter for years on end, take a look at an incredible horse who JUST SAID NO to a roundup or any kind of human. </span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JYSrjHeBiiU/WiWPJDsAX-I/AAAAAAAAH-s/hcDisLpBVYcmUYA0RfD1RdTM3JApPILxQCHMYCw/One"><img title="One" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JYSrjHeBiiU/WiWPJDsAX-I/AAAAAAAAH-s/hcDisLpBVYcmUYA0RfD1RdTM3JApPILxQCHMYCw/One" alt="" width="549" height="354" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">Heading down to Rock Springs (cough cough) we drove the Pilot Butte wild horse scenic tour range just to say we’ve been there. </span>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">The only place we saw horses were the seven standing right in front of Pilot Butte. What luck! </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">After spending an hour with this band, we thanked them for letting us be in their presence, waved goodbye and turned around. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">We stopped at the overview to wave to one of our dearest friends, Nikki, who is from the quaint old-timey hideaway town of Green River. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">By the time we got to Stewart Creek, wild horse heaven, the wind had calmed and the sun came out just enough for comfort, as we sat in the field observing, documenting each family band, taking notes and hundreds of pictures. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">We chose to spend the day looking for horses rather than sitting down to a thanksgiving meal. We were thankful to have the privilege of spending time with these special animals, still wild and free. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">If only a feast for our eyes. </span></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">
</span></p>
prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-4283986080999750102017-11-28T10:03:00.000-08:002017-11-28T10:03:53.070-08:00A Yurt on a River in a Canyon <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c02RA7BDaW4/Wh2bZG9zQeI/AAAAAAAAH4g/hKkFc0ZmXHY-Kbj_lN9FnLDwbCnLfNM9ACHMYCw/Yurt"><img title="Yurt" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c02RA7BDaW4/Wh2bZG9zQeI/AAAAAAAAH4g/hKkFc0ZmXHY-Kbj_lN9FnLDwbCnLfNM9ACHMYCw/Yurt" alt="" width="536" height="469" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">For the Thanksgiving holiday we went away. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">At Sinks Canyon State Park outside Lander, Wyoming there are a handful of yurts to stay in.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r0cIO3FCaf0/Wh2bzH0eS8I/AAAAAAAAH4k/StD31ViLKSs1vzuXJxUgOST4TEAz4Q55wCHMYCw/C%2Bon%2Briver"><img title="C on river" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r0cIO3FCaf0/Wh2bzH0eS8I/AAAAAAAAH4k/StD31ViLKSs1vzuXJxUgOST4TEAz4Q55wCHMYCw/C%2Bon%2Briver" alt="" width="538" height="421" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Let me tell you, that river roars.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I’m more a babbling brook kind of gal. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cvWmQGquukU/Wh2b0Lj6aLI/AAAAAAAAH4o/UL-ZHj8xAyAmr7i4MKayziFurExO1yHkACHMYCw/Juniper"><img title="Juniper" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cvWmQGquukU/Wh2b0Lj6aLI/AAAAAAAAH4o/UL-ZHj8xAyAmr7i4MKayziFurExO1yHkACHMYCw/Juniper" alt="" width="536" height="402" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CB6Mz4WRPpw/Wh2cO1gvHeI/AAAAAAAAH4w/iICazmFK1fopnaloqn4bvB886sM0LPjsgCHMYCw/Deer"><img title="Deer" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CB6Mz4WRPpw/Wh2cO1gvHeI/AAAAAAAAH4w/iICazmFK1fopnaloqn4bvB886sM0LPjsgCHMYCw/Deer" alt="" width="536" height="455" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We were in ‘Joe Huto’ country. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You know, that nice man from the book and companion film, Touching The Wild.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">Those are his friends with the big ears. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vFZBdnusK1U/Wh2d99dEyvI/AAAAAAAAH5U/HJEwwAtrcuUqAl4_ePjJqzL4gq3eTaOtQCHMYCw/Dorky%2Bme"><img title="Dorky me" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vFZBdnusK1U/Wh2d99dEyvI/AAAAAAAAH5U/HJEwwAtrcuUqAl4_ePjJqzL4gq3eTaOtQCHMYCw/Dorky%2Bme" alt="" width="521" height="694" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dorky me.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Trying to look happy and not sick from something that I ate the night before.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Let’s just say, “I’ll never do THAT again.”</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fOidXmfYr24/Wh2dVvqMMQI/AAAAAAAAH5A/V17ze-BBaaoRZhDVSp61KTPC2vxkmX5tQCHMYCw/Climber"><img title="Climber" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fOidXmfYr24/Wh2dVvqMMQI/AAAAAAAAH5A/V17ze-BBaaoRZhDVSp61KTPC2vxkmX5tQCHMYCw/Climber" alt="" width="519" height="692" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Around here climbing is a big deal. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9Lwqa1ElW5c/Wh2dW_f5lnI/AAAAAAAAH5E/x59Itj7g4uUjsznsqUBPFrzfAw1RTaangCHMYCw/River"><img title="River" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9Lwqa1ElW5c/Wh2dW_f5lnI/AAAAAAAAH5E/x59Itj7g4uUjsznsqUBPFrzfAw1RTaangCHMYCw/River" alt="" width="538" height="403" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6hdFbvuafFA/Wh2dXt4BRjI/AAAAAAAAH5I/RZlmzjY2RZgjyMfceP_4SNq2uQdLg5uogCHMYCw/Canyon"><img title="Canyon" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6hdFbvuafFA/Wh2dXt4BRjI/AAAAAAAAH5I/RZlmzjY2RZgjyMfceP_4SNq2uQdLg5uogCHMYCw/Canyon" alt="" width="538" height="403" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BSMfv2RUtm0/Wh2fGVvuehI/AAAAAAAAH5c/muZrn3dNv-IEuBrZCKYerL5oqx7GOb5RQCHMYCw/Prof"><img title="Prof" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BSMfv2RUtm0/Wh2fGVvuehI/AAAAAAAAH5c/muZrn3dNv-IEuBrZCKYerL5oqx7GOb5RQCHMYCw/Prof" alt="" width="536" height="402" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">Reading by the roar of the river.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zLkJ3HBRdNs/Wh2fHLsHCKI/AAAAAAAAH5g/9wXu1hau1MsG6lz14TPUGIx3-py9RdlWQCHMYCw/Me%2Bat%2BYurt"><img title="Me at Yurt" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zLkJ3HBRdNs/Wh2fHLsHCKI/AAAAAAAAH5g/9wXu1hau1MsG6lz14TPUGIx3-py9RdlWQCHMYCw/Me%2Bat%2BYurt" alt="" width="545" height="350" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">Yurt life!</p>
prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-67419840227257819922017-11-14T09:49:00.000-08:002017-11-14T09:49:57.922-08:00Bear Art<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U6wVWzYPiA4/WgsdbEq44dI/AAAAAAAAH2I/miQOK-Jm1EAQYhrJpwihp3C6OY8Nc_g_ACHMYCw/Black%2Bbear"><img title="Black bear" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U6wVWzYPiA4/WgsdbEq44dI/AAAAAAAAH2I/miQOK-Jm1EAQYhrJpwihp3C6OY8Nc_g_ACHMYCw/Black%2Bbear" alt="" width="538" height="403" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A1sELCeMCaU/WgseQZ54TUI/AAAAAAAAH2Q/jrh2qmyGh9Mmcc790MrSHjMuqreIlo7kwCHMYCw/Coffe%2Band%2Bsunlight"><img title="Coffe and sunlight" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A1sELCeMCaU/WgseQZ54TUI/AAAAAAAAH2Q/jrh2qmyGh9Mmcc790MrSHjMuqreIlo7kwCHMYCw/Coffe%2Band%2Bsunlight" alt="" width="538" height="403" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yQhWAaQ6vIw/WgseRK_cYrI/AAAAAAAAH2U/f-BtPEL_uCEwKcRRHFnk9elMZ77_e1VEACHMYCw/Bear%2Bflowers"><img title="Bear flowers" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yQhWAaQ6vIw/WgseRK_cYrI/AAAAAAAAH2U/f-BtPEL_uCEwKcRRHFnk9elMZ77_e1VEACHMYCw/Bear%2Bflowers" alt="" width="556" height="301" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-09RGf0HqHLU/WgseRloEiRI/AAAAAAAAH2Y/wRL5hSLBfvIfZSp9pgrNVYY4KMQodc-xwCHMYCw/Golden%2BBears"><img title="Golden Bears" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-09RGf0HqHLU/WgseRloEiRI/AAAAAAAAH2Y/wRL5hSLBfvIfZSp9pgrNVYY4KMQodc-xwCHMYCw/Golden%2BBears" alt="" width="556" height="292" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xRCp34KE-7g/WgshCPrW5FI/AAAAAAAAH2k/YW6TGi9D6FMu6NPmV5JiJawEwIg_AIZYwCHMYCw/Cards"><img title="Cards" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xRCp34KE-7g/WgshCPrW5FI/AAAAAAAAH2k/YW6TGi9D6FMu6NPmV5JiJawEwIg_AIZYwCHMYCw/Cards" alt="" width="521" height="722" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b1_DGTLmRpg/WgshClYm4gI/AAAAAAAAH2o/Ru9wOM7V7eoqot0ay7FTSKVFDUWvYsIJQCHMYCw/Table%2Bwith%2Bcards"><img title="Table with cards" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b1_DGTLmRpg/WgshClYm4gI/AAAAAAAAH2o/Ru9wOM7V7eoqot0ay7FTSKVFDUWvYsIJQCHMYCw/Table%2Bwith%2Bcards" alt="" width="538" height="391" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x9VYfT0Zvro/WgshDU3nahI/AAAAAAAAH2s/tSnuzuLAcfghdEOEVAQ82NvupIqsWG7OQCHMYCw/Sherpa"><img title="Sherpa" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x9VYfT0Zvro/WgshDU3nahI/AAAAAAAAH2s/tSnuzuLAcfghdEOEVAQ82NvupIqsWG7OQCHMYCw/Sherpa" alt="" width="538" height="403" data-json="" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">This bear is a lino block print that I carved for an annual gallery auction. </span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">It is titled ‘Mato’.</span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">Then I decided to experiment with mixed media variations on the many hand-pulled relif prints I had leftover. They’ve now been printed into cards.</span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">A Bison is next, then a Coyote. The WILD BLOCK PRINTS series will also include Raven, </span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">Pronghorn, Moose, a heart-faced Owl and lot’s and lot’s of Mustangs.</span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">Also, I’m writing letters today! </span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">I couldn’t possibly write to Marie without including a BEAR CARD! Afterall, her name IS Bernard. </span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">I can’t wait to write to you guys, my steadfast and truest interwebular friends, HA! about what I’ve been doing (besides working full time) where I’ve been, who I’ve seen, and how much joy I find in this wild place I live.</span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;">PS: Sherpa says hello!</span>
</div>
</div>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-45232627842690005282017-11-07T09:55:00.000-08:002017-11-08T07:47:40.034-08:00The Horse with A Thousand Names<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ya-YZVSzDjg/WgHpn9EUOlI/AAAAAAAAH0M/vTuhiYD8okwfp9YCUbkovB3MAzl2cwAKQCHMYCw/Ponyboy"><img title="Ponyboy" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ya-YZVSzDjg/WgHpn9EUOlI/AAAAAAAAH0M/vTuhiYD8okwfp9YCUbkovB3MAzl2cwAKQCHMYCw/Ponyboy" alt="" width="547" height="365" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #5b5946; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 1.9em; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">The Horse with a Thousand Names</span></p>
<div> </div>
<h1 class="contributorName" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px 0px; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-weight: 300; line-height: 1.1; color: #5b5946; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.1em; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: center;">CHAD HANSON</h1>
<div style="text-align: center;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">To be human is to be linguistically … enframed.</em><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">—Max Oelschlager</em></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">When you live in Wyoming, you feel the gravity of the National Parks. They tug on your attention. For the first decade that my wife and I lived in Casper, we spent our spare time together in Yellowstone. On route from our house to the northwest corner of the state, we drove along the edge of Green Mountain. Each time we passed its peaks, Lynn would say things like, “We should drive up there some day.” I would reply, “Yeah. I could fly fish.” Last summer, our responsibilities kept us from ranging too far away from home, but in July a free weekend showed up on the calendar. We packed our tent and drove to Green Mountain. I intended to fish the creek that runs from the high country to the plains at the base of the range. Lynn planned to pick sagebrush. She likes to wrap and bundle the branches.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">* * * *</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Two miles from the spot where we expect to stay, we notice a sign on the side of the road. In brown and white it says, “Cottonwood Campground—2 miles.” The next line says, “Wild Horse Point—10 miles.” The arrows lead in the same direction. We look at each other. Lynn says what we are both thinking, “Wild horses?” We pitch the tent beside Cottonwood Creek. Then we take a minute to open a couple of beers. It’s a tradition. We drink a brew when we christen a new campsite. We unfold our collapsible chairs and gather a bunch of firewood. I consider fishing, but the thought of wild horses keeps me off the stream. I ask Lynn, “Do you think there are mustangs on this mountain?” She says, “I don’t know. Let’s drive up and take a look.”</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">* * * *</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N5V4lyEXS3A/WgHr_6U0SOI/AAAAAAAAH0g/pi0FNF7mwgcRJosLmFEHKUX5nqAqwwJUwCHMYCw/Ponyboy%2Btail%2Bup"><img title="Ponyboy tail up" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N5V4lyEXS3A/WgHr_6U0SOI/AAAAAAAAH0g/pi0FNF7mwgcRJosLmFEHKUX5nqAqwwJUwCHMYCw/Ponyboy%2Btail%2Bup" alt="" width="554" height="319" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">It’s an uneven path that leads to the top of the range. It switchbacks through stands of limber pine to an elevation of 9,600 feet. At the top, the trees thin out. The road runs beside the rim of a ledge that offers a view of the Red Desert stretching toward the south. At the summit another sign directs us to the east. We plunk between ruts on the trail for a mile and then stop at a parking lot. Wild Horse Point hosts a picnic ground with a long view.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">We store a pair of binoculars in the backseat of our car. We usually use them to look for owls, but this time we train the glass on a row of dots in the distance. They look like horses, but they’re too far off. I can’t tell. They could be cows. Still, it’s fun to stare into the panorama.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">After we’re satisfied that there are no mustangs at Wild Horse Point, we climb back in the car. Instead of driving back to camp, we take a left on a road that winds through a meadow. Lynn admires the blue-green sage. I notice something, though. I see a patch of gold and white. It’s the back of a mustang. My instincts shoot my right foot to the brake pedal. The car lurches. Lynn says, “What?” so I point out through my window. Then we grab our cameras. We start to walk slowly, through the brush, toward the horse. He’s grazing in a gully. The sound of tires on gravel alerted him to our presence, so when we appear over the crest of the ridge he’s not surprised. He looks at us and then lowers his head. He nibbles at the grass. <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Beep. Click.</em> Shutters open and close.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Once we’ve hiked enough to take a good look at the horse, we see that he’s not alone. He is standing in the shadow of four other mustangs—a band of bachelors—gray and black males spending the summer at the top of the mountain. They coordinate their grazing. Heads shift from side-to-side, between bunches of grass. We hedge up to the gold and white horse. We move closer. Then he takes a step to maintain his distance. Lynn and I notice, when he walks away, the others also readjust. They shift to separate themselves from him.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Lynn says, “He’s an outsider. They won’t let him join the group.”</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">I ask, “Do you want to loop around and try to move in closer to the bachelors?”</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">“No,” she answers. Then she says, “I want to stay with Ponyboy.”</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MS-g-9hYdeU/WgHsAjcOnrI/AAAAAAAAH0k/kO0eutt47oQB5mlhJve_jtTCrQGXhZTWQCHMYCw/Me%2Band%2BPonyboy"><img title="Me and Ponyboy" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MS-g-9hYdeU/WgHsAjcOnrI/AAAAAAAAH0k/kO0eutt47oQB5mlhJve_jtTCrQGXhZTWQCHMYCw/Me%2Band%2BPonyboy" alt="" width="465" height="428" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;"> <span style="text-align: start;">He is the first mustang we named. Together, we’ve spent a long time observing and making photographs of animals. We had never named any of them. In Yellowstone, for example, grizzly bears each have a number. We used to search the Park looking for bear “399.” Numbers don’t lend themselves to narrative. It’s tough to build a meaningful story about a number. On the other hand, the name “Ponyboy” inspires our imaginations. We talk about the character by that name in the film </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Outsiders</em><span style="text-align: start;">, based on the book by S.E. Hinton. We wonder if the painted horse had been marginalized on account of his two-toned, gold and white coat. We ponder the question of whether horses can feel excluded. We start to build Ponyboy’s past. We begin to weave him a story. We cannot help ourselves. People are storytellers.</span></p>
</div>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Other creatures engage the world by different means. Ospreys absorb the ground with their vision, for example. They interpret their habitat with their two eyes. Badgers live in dark and quiet haunts. They depend on their sense of touch—feeling their way through rocks and bones under the surface of the Earth. A grizzly bear can smell food four miles away, but we don’t work like that. During the course of human evolution our senses lost acuteness. We cannot see or smell or hear like other animals. Our senses provide our brains with a simple baseline of information. Upon that line, our minds go to work assembling words. We use words to give meaning to places and events. For example, when I look out my living room window onto my lawn, I see “dandelions.” The word defines my experience of the “weeds” in my front yard. “Dandelions” are “weeds.”</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">When you walk through the lawn “care” aisle of a hardware store you smell the herbicide. Pesticide. Mists and sprays and bags of granules. We must eradicate the weeds. If we fail, it becomes a commentary on our character. Dandelions in the yard serve as a sign—an indication of negligence. When homeowners allow dandelions onto the lawn it means that they don’t care about the value of their real estate. Worse, it could mean that they don’t care about the value of their neighbor’s property.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">In some nations, when they speak of “values,” they invoke a set of principles. For some, values represent the standards that they work to live up to and embody. The Sioux value commitment to community. The Navajo value beauty in their lives and in the world. When Americans use the word “value” we rarely refer to standards or principles. More often, we use the term to refer to the cost of goods or services. Our tendency is to reduce our understanding of both our environment, and ourselves, to prices set in the market. For example, when our superiors set our annual salaries, they put a price tag on a year’s worth of our days. After work, we go home to our largest investments, or largest expenses, our homes. The story that we use to understand life is the story of economics.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">It’s a potent story. When Americans made their way out of the eastern forests and onto the grasslands of the West, we found the largest mass of migrating mammals ever known: bison. We also found an array of plants and animals living in concert with the herds, a complement of flora and fauna more rich and diverse than any that we are aware of, historically. We didn’t see the western prairie as a miracle of nature, however. We saw parcels of real estate. We saw the soil as property and the grass as a means to grow commodities. Cattle, mostly. The narrative we used to explain what we found centered on finance. In our culture, we leave little room for moral and aesthetic considerations. We don’t dwell on questions of truth or rightness or beauty. Our story demands that we use “resources” to contribute to economic growth.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">In the beginning, grizzly bears lived on the prairie. The marketplace does not value grizzlies. Plus, they are big and dangerous. We killed them first. Then we removed the wolves. Afterward, we turned a herd of 60 million bison into a group of 23 animals. We placed bounties on the heads of coyotes and mountain lions. We poisoned the prairie dog. When prairie dog towns disappeared, we lost the predators that depend on them: burrowing owls and black-footed ferrets. In short, we turned the wildest region on Earth—the Great Plains—into an enormous, one dimensional, mono-cultural, veal-fattening pen. We created “flyover country,” the geographical equivalent of a factory floor.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">I know that we’re taught to picture trees and mountains when we picture “wilderness.” The official wilderness areas protected by the government contain either forests or mountain peaks. I’ve visited many of the wilderness areas in the West. The weather is wild. Straight-line winds tear at the fabric of tents. Sometimes it sounds like you’re stuck in the same room as lightning. Most animals know better than to dwell in places covered by snow for a large part of the year, however. Our wilderness areas are pretty, but the land is often barren. Wilderness areas rarely provide homes for large or diverse collections of animals. Some wilderness areas consist solely of rock and ice. Rock and ice possess no economic value, so when politicians went to designate wild places, “untrammeled by man,” they had the tops of mountain ranges to choose from. Since we found ways to make money on grasslands, we trammeled them thoroughly, but in the past, prairies were ferocious. The Great Plains were the wildest places on the planet.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">* * * *</span> </div>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WDUhFinDrPg/WgHsazKxXgI/AAAAAAAAH0o/_14JmxN8U_onf8zi5es3Jucst4JFYd8ewCHMYCw/Ponyboy%2Bin%2Bsage"><img title="Ponyboy in sage" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WDUhFinDrPg/WgHsazKxXgI/AAAAAAAAH0o/_14JmxN8U_onf8zi5es3Jucst4JFYd8ewCHMYCw/Ponyboy%2Bin%2Bsage" alt="" width="554" height="346" data-json="" /></a> </p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">Not long after Lynn and I discovered that there were wild horses in Wyoming, we learned that the term “wild” is not universally used to describe them. In Wyoming, and other states with herds of mustangs, organized groups are fighting to remove the word “wild,” from conversations about horses. In particular, agribusiness people who graze cattle on public land want the term “wild” removed from our vocabulary. They prefer the word “feral.” In English, we define the terms similarly. Synonyms for both include: savage, untamed, and undomesticated. But the connotations of the words differ. We use “wild” to suggest a state of freedom and originality. In contrast, we use the term “feral” to describe domestic animals that have escaped.</span></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;">The term “wild” conjures romantic feelings in our culture. When we see wild animals through the windows of our cars, we’re often thrilled. We’ll pull off of a road and stop to admire a wild animal. We take photographs and post them on the Internet. As a resident of Wyoming, I can attest: people travel for thousands of miles to drive the roads of my home state, just for the chance to <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">maybe</em> see something wild. The term feral does not move us that way. We don’t plan summer vacations around feral animals. With regard to the feral—we feel disdain.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;">Animals are animals. Even so, some we like and some we don’t. We take naps with some of them on the couch. Some we butcher and eat. We love German shepherds, but we built a Federal office with the charge of trapping, poisoning, and blowing up the dens of coyotes. We snuggle with huskies, but in most of Wyoming, anyone can shoot a wolf on sight. Scholars have only recently begun to give attention to the significance that we attach to animals. In contrast, social scientists have spent years giving thought to the ways that we treat each other. Sociologists have spent a century trying to understand the relationships among groups of people. Among those who study groups, the work of Gordon Allport stands out as distinctive. In his book, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Nature of Prejudice</em>, he describes the processes that lead to bigotry.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;">Allport suggests that our first contact with a group can color our attitudes toward them for generations. His theory hinges on the power or status of groups when they contact one another for the first time. Allport’s model predicts that two groups will enjoy respectful relations when their first contact occurs at a time when they are equal. On the other hand, when groups of unequal status meet, the contact results in racism, or a scenario where the dominant group fails to accept the humanity of the other. Of course, such views provide the make-believe justification for wars, colonialism, and even enslavement.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;">When we see horses for the first time, it is nearly always in the context of a domestic setting. They pull our carts, buggies, and handsome cabs. We watch them run on tracks. Sometimes we ride on them ourselves. We come to know horses as property, although most of us will never possess the land or resources needed to keep them. For many in the West, however, particularly those who own horses, free roaming mustangs represent a threat to the established order. Westerners often see wild horses as having moved up beyond their station. This point of view can breed contempt. Many in the West look at mustangs with the same sort of condescension that we used to reserve for runaway slaves in colonial America.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;">It should come as no surprise to find stock growers working to change the way we talk about wild horses. The word “feral” reduces the romanticism and admiration that we feel toward the animals. From the standpoint of those who use our public lands for their personal businesses, the foals of wild horses appear on the prairie as weeds. In their minds, mustangs deserve the same kind of disrespect that we apply to dandelions sprouting uninvited on suburban lawns. The wild horses that roam free in the West have never known owners or domesticity. Even so, lobbyists for agribusinesses have begun a campaign to define the American mustang as a “feral” animal. If they succeed, it is conceivable that horses would suffer the same fate that we prescribe for other animals that we refer to as feral: poison, traps, and bullets.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">* * * *</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uykSZbBZuPI/WgHt_Wut3SI/AAAAAAAAH00/pKOMQw1B1RgV3jUNmQvP1dxEwom1n83QwCHMYCw/Ponyboy%2Bwalking%2Baway"><img title="Ponyboy walking away" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uykSZbBZuPI/WgHt_Wut3SI/AAAAAAAAH00/pKOMQw1B1RgV3jUNmQvP1dxEwom1n83QwCHMYCw/Ponyboy%2Bwalking%2Baway" alt="" width="556" height="370" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;"> <span style="text-align: left;">Agribusiness people have an economic agenda. They look at the prairies of the West through a lens shaped by the workings of the marketplace. When it comes to our prairie grasses, they see “animal-units-per-month,” or the number of cows that a parcel can feed. The language of economics animates the stories that we tell about the western states. The market that provides us with goods and services shapes our worldview to such a degree, the practice of reducing everything to economics can feel inevitable.</span></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;">But within the scope of history, the market-based approach to life is relatively new. Historically, human beings tempered the judgments that take place in the market with mythology. In the past, we used myths to provide members of society with lessons, ethics, morals, and aesthetic preferences. Cultural narratives offered a way for human beings to reduce the intensity of our obsession with economics. Stories and legends allowed people to sidestep concerns about what is profitable in order to focus on questions like, “How should we live?” or “What is a good life?”</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">* * * *</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;">During the time of their empire, Greeks found so much meaning in horses that they began to imagine a race of creatures that combined the body of a horse with the torso of a man: the centaur. Greeks valued the freedom of wild horses. Observing the creatures no doubt gave them a reason to consider the contrast between the autonomy of the beasts and their overly kempt cities. Centaurs possessed the traits of both horse and man, but their nature leaned toward that of the animal. In Greek mythology, centaurs appear feisty and spirited. That is, with one exception—the centaur Chiron—brother to Zeus and the tutor of Achilles. For the Greeks, Chiron represented patience, skill, and kindness. He served as a model for the group that would later become physicians. Myths serve the function of helping people to entertain the promise of a better world. For ages horses have been a part of that promise.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;">As societies like ours evolved, we used the science story to banish our myths. Even so, for most of American history, horse narratives gave us meaning. We’ve used horses as characters to help us define who we are, but we’re two generations removed from <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">My Friend Flicka</em> and <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Black Stallion</em>. The romance waned. We are at a point where we use cold calculations to provide the rationale for removing wild horses from public land. We’re left with the hollow characterization of the prairie as a commercial landscape. It can feel like we are caught in a Greek tragedy. In the production of a tragedy, a principle is set in motion. Then the principle plays itself out—all the way out—despite the efforts of those who understand the plot is sad.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tCbq529Fhk8/WgHu5BtRYEI/AAAAAAAAH08/5M_BMk28Jigj4OOXnCXP05q0jj5-pmNqACHMYCw/Landscape%2Bwith%2Bhorses%2Band%2Bcows"><img title="Landscape with horses and cows" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tCbq529Fhk8/WgHu5BtRYEI/AAAAAAAAH08/5M_BMk28Jigj4OOXnCXP05q0jj5-pmNqACHMYCw/Landscape%2Bwith%2Bhorses%2Band%2Bcows" alt="" width="500" height="318" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;"> <span style="text-align: left;">When my wife and I set out to look for mustangs we meet like-minded people. We’ve met photographers and naturalists. Horse owners and horse lovers. Outdoor enthusiasts of different stripes. We’re all interested in one thing. We want a glimpse of something big and beautiful. We want to look at, and thus become a part of, something that is still untamed. At home, we are welders, accountants, teachers, salespeople, and librarians. Day-to-day, our lives are more or less prescribed by the scripts embedded in our culture. Work … followed by a little bit of television … followed by sleep. Repeat. It’s the occasions that we have for recreation that allow us to craft the stories we need to define ourselves against the mundane aspects of our economic lives.</span></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;">When you break the word “recreation” down to unlock its original meaning, you find: “re-creation.” Human beings use recreational outings to re-create themselves. We fashion a different version of ourselves when we take time away from our roles at work or home. Recreation allows us to become multi-dimensional. Leisure offers us a chance to set our feelings free.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">* * * *</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KGrbRnzwFPo/WgHwaG0-d0I/AAAAAAAAH1M/gJH-dNxFqSw0ZVvQQ9Vkb6QLZot2wjYHgCHMYCw/Run%2Band%2Bdust"><img title="Run and dust" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KGrbRnzwFPo/WgHwaG0-d0I/AAAAAAAAH1M/gJH-dNxFqSw0ZVvQQ9Vkb6QLZot2wjYHgCHMYCw/Run%2Band%2Bdust" alt="" width="556" height="293" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;"> <span style="text-align: left;">Lynn and I watched Ponyboy, off and on, for seven months. He stayed at the margins. We’d find him eating grass twenty feet from a group of bachelor stallions. Then, one day, we found the group that he tended to lurk near, but no Ponyboy. Through the winter, and into spring, Lynn and I would ask each other, “Where is Pony?” It became a meme. Now, it’s been more than a year since we’ve seen the gold and white horse, but we still ask each other, “Where is Ponyboy?” It makes me wonder where he went. I also wonder how many other people knew the horse. It makes me curious about the names they might have given to him. The last time we saw Pony, he had grown accustomed to cars on the road through his favorite meadow. He might have a thousand other names.</span></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">* * * *</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;">Much has been written about the Adopt-a-Mustang program sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management. It’s a good program. Or, at least, a necessary one. Adoption is a better fate than a glue factory for horses that threaten to eat the grass that we would rather feed to cattle. Government agents round up the horses that they find. Then they offer them to potential owners, for a modest charge. Of course, in the arrangement, wild horses become property. They are broken. Although, we like to say that they are “trained.”</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;">Mustang trainers will repeat a horse’s name until the animals develop new identities. Horses are smart. You don’t have to echo their names too often before they start to recognize them. Knowing one’s name is the first step toward taking on all of the obligations that go along with being somebody. “Buttercup,” for example. If you can get a horse to accept the name, that is the first step toward getting them to fulfill the responsibilities involved in being Buttercup.</p>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; margin-left: 34.875px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buttercup holds still for a halter.</em><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buttercup stands quietly in her stall.</em><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buttercup walks into the barn to eat her grain.</em><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Etc.</em></div>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Having a name is like having a job. Ponyboy may have a thousand names, but the lucky horse does not know one of them.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">* * * *</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;">Lynn and I keep planning new trips into the sagebrush. Part of me hopes that we find Ponyboy. There is also part of me that hopes he’s hiding somewhere in a valley or a canyon, out of reach—far from tourists and government officials. Near the end of the film <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Outsiders</em>, the character Johnny says something to the namesake of the horse that we met at the top of Green Mountain. He borrows a line from a poem by Robert Frost. He whispers, “Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.”</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a3bB74CgNrI/WgHw9g6SClI/AAAAAAAAH1Y/L41L-zYEXeQPjgYK4dZwK5r8LaDRPpIQgCHMYCw/Gold%2BPonyboy"><img title="Gold Ponyboy" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a3bB74CgNrI/WgHw9g6SClI/AAAAAAAAH1Y/L41L-zYEXeQPjgYK4dZwK5r8LaDRPpIQgCHMYCw/Gold%2BPonyboy" alt="" width="556" height="353" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">To learn more about The Black Earth Institute and their journal this story was published in,</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> here is the link:</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://aboutplacejournal.org/issues/political-landscapes/political/chad-hanson/">aboutplacejournal.</a></em></div>
<div style="text-align: start;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">
</em></div>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <em style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-style: normal; text-align: center;">a literary journal published by the Black Earth Institute dedicated to re-forging the links between art and spirit, earth and society</span></em></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-style: normal; text-align: center;">* * * *</span></em></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-style: normal; text-align: center;">Thank you for taking the time to read Chad’s story!
</span></em></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';"><span style="font-size: 20px;">xo</span></span></p>
</div>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-85633529081647187012017-10-26T19:31:00.000-07:002017-10-26T19:31:51.324-07:00Rolling West<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
<a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BYoGDQTUV_I/WfI49nZpqEI/AAAAAAAAHxU/uts-xVmBeTA_4X0mp9PxF9-ig_3NkdreACHMYCw/Tracks">
<img title="Tracks" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BYoGDQTUV_I/WfI49nZpqEI/AAAAAAAAHxU/uts-xVmBeTA_4X0mp9PxF9-ig_3NkdreACHMYCw/Tracks" alt="" width="554" height="244" data-json="" /></a>
</div>
<p style="text-align: center;">Steel rails, chasing sunshine round the bend</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Winding through the trees, like a ribbon in the wind</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">I don’t mind not knowing what lies down the track</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Cause I’m looking out ahead, to keep my mind from turning back</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qO-yeh3rQbk/WfI4jYEsuUI/AAAAAAAAHxQ/7Ac4mDALtXsAmW_I64x1rVn4LSZbau-rwCHMYCw/Union%2Bstation"><img title="Union station" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qO-yeh3rQbk/WfI4jYEsuUI/AAAAAAAAHxQ/7Ac4mDALtXsAmW_I64x1rVn4LSZbau-rwCHMYCw/Union%2Bstation" alt="" width="542" height="369" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EwO8cdYLIcw/WfI5fDxSDXI/AAAAAAAAHxc/Qzmm2ky32uwdQqJxF3M66olE7MtzGbZYQCHMYCw/Train"><img title="Train" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EwO8cdYLIcw/WfI5fDxSDXI/AAAAAAAAHxc/Qzmm2ky32uwdQqJxF3M66olE7MtzGbZYQCHMYCw/Train" alt="" width="547" height="362" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8bnzKXaS01o/WfI5fk-wbuI/AAAAAAAAHxg/5Ueh7W8ThQsU87AEfhyCaYzaqnOT0-t1gCHMYCw/Mesa"><img title="Mesa" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8bnzKXaS01o/WfI5fk-wbuI/AAAAAAAAHxg/5Ueh7W8ThQsU87AEfhyCaYzaqnOT0-t1gCHMYCw/Mesa" alt="" width="554" height="263" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ih-z5remAIE/WfI5geLO0cI/AAAAAAAAHxk/iXCJKkffpXovg_pAGjBL3xLxkw_NmD7swCHMYCw/Station"><img title="Station" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ih-z5remAIE/WfI5geLO0cI/AAAAAAAAHxk/iXCJKkffpXovg_pAGjBL3xLxkw_NmD7swCHMYCw/Station" alt="" width="554" height="297" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-me_eFVl7Iq0/WfI6H9rfrHI/AAAAAAAAHx0/0JtNvw2tzl4wBAmWWBnGlwnPX3jel-6UgCHMYCw/Sf"><img title="Sf" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-me_eFVl7Iq0/WfI6H9rfrHI/AAAAAAAAHx0/0JtNvw2tzl4wBAmWWBnGlwnPX3jel-6UgCHMYCw/Sf" alt="" width="552" height="340" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aOX1PLfTjYo/WfI6IRSmPTI/AAAAAAAAHx4/h2fhzEMIA74LJrBFmPqlYqGnLapR7qhOwCHMYCw/Horses"><img title="Horses" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aOX1PLfTjYo/WfI6IRSmPTI/AAAAAAAAHx4/h2fhzEMIA74LJrBFmPqlYqGnLapR7qhOwCHMYCw/Horses" alt="" width="554" height="288" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I wondered if this cluster of horses were wild? I wish I would have taken note on the location as the Southwest Chief rolled through New Mexico, then I could know for sure.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qqiTJL2vmPQ/WfI6ZSMsO8I/AAAAAAAAHx8/ezW9Tr5rCdAkrI2JkV7wXWXe7nz9K9tBgCHMYCw/Me"><img title="Me" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qqiTJL2vmPQ/WfI6ZSMsO8I/AAAAAAAAHx8/ezW9Tr5rCdAkrI2JkV7wXWXe7nz9K9tBgCHMYCw/Me" alt="" width="538" height="403" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8lRNnRAVRRE/WfI69G9OcYI/AAAAAAAAHyE/i-afeAv1IIEdkHWUNWyI4XO4DqBfOa18gCHMYCw/Bend"><img title="Bend" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8lRNnRAVRRE/WfI69G9OcYI/AAAAAAAAHyE/i-afeAv1IIEdkHWUNWyI4XO4DqBfOa18gCHMYCw/Bend" alt="" width="544" height="370" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IDhv2IEK2HU/WfI69w8U_QI/AAAAAAAAHyI/GYiQV-LxVwUJeGj2mJ4BkylwEH8KvOrsQCHMYCw/Lonely"><img title="Lonely" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IDhv2IEK2HU/WfI69w8U_QI/AAAAAAAAHyI/GYiQV-LxVwUJeGj2mJ4BkylwEH8KvOrsQCHMYCw/Lonely" alt="" width="556" height="266" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cKfs7gIAs1Y/WfI6-Ukwc1I/AAAAAAAAHyM/bfLCKOl7Z-oHKt8HBY7wOjQerGKCNN_XACHMYCw/Stuff"><img title="Stuff" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cKfs7gIAs1Y/WfI6-Ukwc1I/AAAAAAAAHyM/bfLCKOl7Z-oHKt8HBY7wOjQerGKCNN_XACHMYCw/Stuff" alt="" width="536" height="402" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A2xI-_z99-w/WfI6_BRQZOI/AAAAAAAAHyQ/lxdTUlaljCcYpdYcleUIFDgDkyeKDQLkwCHMYCw/Gold"><img title="Gold" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A2xI-_z99-w/WfI6_BRQZOI/AAAAAAAAHyQ/lxdTUlaljCcYpdYcleUIFDgDkyeKDQLkwCHMYCw/Gold" alt="" width="561" height="279" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LEfGaOddzyc/WfI7ty0KabI/AAAAAAAAHyg/ny8N92ZSKvIM7xP48HcRPFzuNpLVouPeQCHMYCw/Legs"><img title="Legs" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LEfGaOddzyc/WfI7ty0KabI/AAAAAAAAHyg/ny8N92ZSKvIM7xP48HcRPFzuNpLVouPeQCHMYCw/Legs" alt="" width="524" height="669" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A tiny room of my own. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V0rpe3o6F4U/WfI7uZdI-NI/AAAAAAAAHyk/ijNEzY7gqOg-M0-f360IIfHHnpjPldOmwCHMYCw/Desert"><img title="Desert" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V0rpe3o6F4U/WfI7uZdI-NI/AAAAAAAAHyk/ijNEzY7gqOg-M0-f360IIfHHnpjPldOmwCHMYCw/Desert" alt="" width="554" height="308" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZddWpzey1-s/WfI7u6weApI/AAAAAAAAHyo/8rVRSrD_wewQj0QLYMHVayn6_KQj__ciACHMYCw/Gully"><img title="Gully" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZddWpzey1-s/WfI7u6weApI/AAAAAAAAHyo/8rVRSrD_wewQj0QLYMHVayn6_KQj__ciACHMYCw/Gully" alt="" width="548" height="351" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VC4RsJ1PAAc/WfI8JktfapI/AAAAAAAAHys/39dEkRgqXWc9tT8RPdjVrokcOpCI0J6IgCHMYCw/House"><img title="House" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VC4RsJ1PAAc/WfI8JktfapI/AAAAAAAAHys/39dEkRgqXWc9tT8RPdjVrokcOpCI0J6IgCHMYCw/House" alt="" width="558" height="322" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Quaint houses and solar shacks tucked in the pinõn trees and red hills.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sll8dZeIlDE/WfI8Kf6kVbI/AAAAAAAAHyw/wRxx6tU8OOAIY1beJ595lCFSXKNWcaz3ACHMYCw/Horse"><img title="Horse" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sll8dZeIlDE/WfI8Kf6kVbI/AAAAAAAAHyw/wRxx6tU8OOAIY1beJ595lCFSXKNWcaz3ACHMYCw/Horse" alt="" width="547" height="367" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Train tracks run through backyards, back roads, old dilapidated corrals and chicken coops, swimming pools and patios, places that you would otherwise not get to see if you were traveling the freeways in an automobile. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxleM7_ZrIYnesJ9iMP3Sz__TQUrEOdRUdh9k8_UF6r7TBsJJekOC0_o7aYHJB2rphrwGVPKUNGvXTgvnz_dUn9QgsxOBf9cFgKYAbOIqfM5PP1_4O7NqPj6XEmgmMFkdYNcZUsXRmZ_Xx/"><img title="Graffiti" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxleM7_ZrIYnesJ9iMP3Sz__TQUrEOdRUdh9k8_UF6r7TBsJJekOC0_o7aYHJB2rphrwGVPKUNGvXTgvnz_dUn9QgsxOBf9cFgKYAbOIqfM5PP1_4O7NqPj6XEmgmMFkdYNcZUsXRmZ_Xx/" alt="" width="554" height="321" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lots and lots of self expression; art and graffiti.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2rhAhW-7uwfBkz_m66_ft9qEnAcOhgkpFHKf3ZFN9yZm2iV_ZJTO4ptWlIO5rPE0oqXGRnLg-qmaj0rpOKlbVyaUpmPxA2dhgEm9fpk9DLHRD_rpStEiWwHCyPXILKg9Flm43X085iqfM/"><img title="Sb" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2rhAhW-7uwfBkz_m66_ft9qEnAcOhgkpFHKf3ZFN9yZm2iV_ZJTO4ptWlIO5rPE0oqXGRnLg-qmaj0rpOKlbVyaUpmPxA2dhgEm9fpk9DLHRD_rpStEiWwHCyPXILKg9Flm43X085iqfM/" alt="" width="536" height="491" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vjZfsTz6oWQ/WfI8pvX83rI/AAAAAAAAHzE/KB8q0LxTZ1kVaJZXuJJKw4ChalbguF_qgCHMYCw/Dad"><img title="Dad" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vjZfsTz6oWQ/WfI8pvX83rI/AAAAAAAAHzE/KB8q0LxTZ1kVaJZXuJJKw4ChalbguF_qgCHMYCw/Dad" alt="" width="536" height="425" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My dad listening to old hobo songs on the transistor radio, I mean the iPad. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n3Fvctx85O8/WfI8qMMWbOI/AAAAAAAAHzI/4-duQfB5T-Y_C8hi171c0a6v0B3EG7SswCHMYCw/Momanme"><img title="Momanme" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n3Fvctx85O8/WfI8qMMWbOI/AAAAAAAAHzI/4-duQfB5T-Y_C8hi171c0a6v0B3EG7SswCHMYCw/Momanme" alt="" width="500" height="667" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My mom and I talked, laughed and sang songs. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-371mGlPPH3Q/WfI9T0Pe0oI/AAAAAAAAHzU/74uIFwulook_-1fzefZlNrN4QZK_uC1wgCHMYCw/Rails"><img title="Rails" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-371mGlPPH3Q/WfI9T0Pe0oI/AAAAAAAAHzU/74uIFwulook_-1fzefZlNrN4QZK_uC1wgCHMYCw/Rails" alt="" width="579" height="263" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O1JgJRzUAck/WfI9U63_bMI/AAAAAAAAHzY/SLpm6xjZBkMWxWpyyiMW7SyKAhkFmgyOwCHMYCw/La"><img title="La" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O1JgJRzUAck/WfI9U63_bMI/AAAAAAAAHzY/SLpm6xjZBkMWxWpyyiMW7SyKAhkFmgyOwCHMYCw/La" alt="" width="521" height="670" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The famous clock at the beautiful Union Station in Los Angeles. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-788RSe37y40/WfI97_Y1RoI/AAAAAAAAHzk/d2dEX9VDjgkeSioMgAukzrLW7X_Wr9ZZgCHMYCw/Caboose"><img title="Caboose" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-788RSe37y40/WfI97_Y1RoI/AAAAAAAAHzk/d2dEX9VDjgkeSioMgAukzrLW7X_Wr9ZZgCHMYCw/Caboose" alt="" width="536" height="401" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<p style="text-align: center;">Jolly Santa, the engineer. </p>
prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-76796281634536163182017-10-11T05:27:00.000-07:002017-10-11T05:40:40.157-07:00On Watch Before They Fly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7CvKSL8P6vg/Wd4OKNhpOWI/AAAAAAAAHwc/0bbT-LwleawP4Kfn65NeynYs31bcnYBwwCHMYCw/Pronghorn"><img title="Pronghorn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7CvKSL8P6vg/Wd4OKNhpOWI/AAAAAAAAHwc/0bbT-LwleawP4Kfn65NeynYs31bcnYBwwCHMYCw/Pronghorn" alt="" width="558" height="321" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">All through autumn we hear a double voice:
</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">One says everything is ripe; the other says everything is dying.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">The paradox is exquisite.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">We feel what the Japanese call “aware”—an almost untranslatable word meaning something like “beauty tinged with sadness.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Gretel Ehrlich The Solace of Open Spaces</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">
</span></p>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-48413692692481773232017-10-09T07:13:00.000-07:002017-10-09T07:13:53.427-07:00No! Not The Curlies!<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: center;"> </p>
<h1 style="margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; color: #66727c; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 24px !important;">More Wild Horses Including Curlies Lose Their Freedom in Salt Wells Creek</h1>
<div id="introduce" style="margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; line-height: 1.3em; letter-spacing: 1px; color: #cc9955; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">
<div class="entry_meta" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;">October 9, 2017 </div>
<div class="entry_meta" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: center;">By Carol J. Walker</div>
<div class="entry_meta" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: center;"> </div>
</div>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: center;"> <a style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" href="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/blog/more-wild-horses-including-curlies-lose-their-freedom-in-salt-wells-creek">http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/blog/more-wild-horses-including-curlies-lose-their-freedom-in-salt-wells-creek</a></p>
<img class="size-full wp-image-4253" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker181.jpg" alt="Maestro and a yearling" width="525" height="479" />
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Yesterday I went out to see wild horses that were still free after the horrible morning watching 167 get captured. It usually serves as a balm and helps combat the feelings of helplessness generated by watching large groups of wild horses that should never be captured rounded u with helicopters. But this time I knew that freedom was fleeting for these horses. I had heard that the BLM was going to round up horses the next day who were near the 191 highway in Salt Wells Creek because some horses had been killed on the highway and it was a hazard for public safety. We passed a game warden who told us that there was a big group at the top of the hill.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4255" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: center; margin-top: 2px !important; margin-bottom: 2px !important;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker183.jpg" alt="17CarolWalker183" width="525" height="286" /></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Sure enough, once we wound our way up the hill we saw a large group of wild horses grazing behind a fence on a flat area. I parked and we walked out toward them. The horses were completely unconcerned by our approach.<span style="text-align: center; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<img class="size-full wp-image-4251" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker179.jpg" alt="Little black foal nursing" width="525" height="372" />
<img class="size-full wp-image-4262" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker190.jpg" alt="Curly mare and foal" width="525" height="554" />
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Many foals were lying down napping, and I spotted a bald faced sorrel mare who had a tiny foal nursing. He or she looked to be less than a week old. I was concerned about the little one’s ability to run from the helicopter the next day and decided to let them know about this foal so they would hopefully look out for it. As we were watching I realized that many of these horses were Curlies, with curly coats and manes. Here is a link for information on them: <a style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: #b9720c; outline: none 0px; text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" href="http://www.curlyhorses.com/">www.curlyhorses.com</a></p>
<img class="size-full wp-image-4252" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker180.jpg" alt="Maestro chasing off another stallion" width="525" height="436" />
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">There was an impressive bay stallion with a very wavy curly mane and there was a gorgeous pinto stallion red and white, who really seemed to be the big boss, who I learned was named Maestro.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img class="size-full wp-image-4289" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: #f5f5f5; text-align: center;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker215.jpg" alt="Beautiful curly mane" width="525" height="822" /></p>
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 5px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: #f5f5f5; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Beautiful curly mane</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"> <img class="size-full wp-image-4287" style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center; background-color: transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker189-1.jpg" alt="Goliath breeding the little black foal's mom" width="525" height="350" /></p>
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 5px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">Bay Curly stallion breeding the little black foal’s mom</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4260" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: center; margin-top: 2px !important; margin-bottom: 2px !important;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker188.jpg" alt="17CarolWalker188" width="525" height="350" /></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4259" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: center; margin-top: 2px !important; margin-bottom: 2px !important;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker187.jpg" alt="17CarolWalker187" width="525" height="367" /></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">We got to see Goliath breed the little foal’s mom, so I am pretty sure my guess of less than a week old was correct – the mares come into “foal heat” within a week of giving birth. It was so peaceful standing there watching the horses get up from their nap and move along and I was saddened thinking that that peace would not last for long.</p>
<img class="size-full wp-image-4288" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker214.jpg" alt="Curly sorrel colt" width="525" height="316" />
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"> <img class="size-full wp-image-4257" style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center; background-color: transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker185.jpg" alt="Two black Curlies" width="525" height="383" /></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 12px; background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two black Curlies</span></p>
<img class="size-full wp-image-4264" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker192.jpg" alt="Mare and little foal walk together" width="525" height="325" />
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"> <span style="font-size: 12px; background-color: #f5f5f5;">Mare and little foal walk together</span></p>
<div> </div>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">This morning when we stopped 2 miles south of where I had seen the horses I knew I was right – they were the target today. I was glad I had had an opportunity to see them still wild and free.</p>
<img class="size-full wp-image-4285" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker213.jpg" alt="On the ridge before the helicopters flew" width="525" height="264" />
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">We drove down to Maggie Springs, then followed the BLM to the site they had picked out for us to observe from on top of this hill, going up a rocky and rough two track. The wind was blasting us and we all bundled up as well as we could and held onto our cameras for dear life. We were quite a long way from the trap, but I hoped we would be able to see the horses coming toward us along the road first. I let the BLM know about the little black foal being so young.</p>
<div><img class="size-full wp-image-4265" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker193.jpg" alt="Many horses running" width="525" height="233" /> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4275" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: center; margin-top: 2px !important; margin-bottom: 2px !important;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker203.jpg" alt="17CarolWalker203" width="525" height="266" /></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Leaping onto the road</p>
</div>
<div> <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: transparent;">Suddenly someone yelled over the wind that the horses were coming. There was a huge group that met a smaller group, and the helicopter was pushing them along. There were too many directions to look. Maestro was leading one group – his distinctive markings made him stand out easily. Then I finally spotted the bald faced mare and little foal. He was keeping up! There were many other foals but he was the littlest. In all the confusion of the horses turning, jumping onto the road, then turning again I lost sight of him then saw him again and he was falling behind his mother. I began to worry a bit.</span></div>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4276" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: center; margin-top: 2px !important; margin-bottom: 2px !important;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker204.jpg" alt="17CarolWalker204" width="525" height="219" /></p>
<img class="size-full wp-image-4270" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker198.jpg" alt="The little black foal trying to keep up with mom" width="525" height="151" />
<div> </div>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4271" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: center; margin-top: 2px !important; margin-bottom: 2px !important;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker199.jpg" alt="17CarolWalker199" width="525" height="197" /></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">The little black foal is falling behind</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4274" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: center; margin-top: 2px !important; margin-bottom: 2px !important;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker202.jpg" alt="17CarolWalker202" width="525" height="258" /></p>
<img class="size-full wp-image-4279" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker207.jpg" alt="Two helicopters behind the huge group of horses" width="525" height="344" />
<img class="size-full wp-image-4281" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker209.jpg" alt="All went into the trap" width="525" height="299" />
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4282" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: center; margin-top: 2px !important; margin-bottom: 2px !important;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker210.jpg" alt="17CarolWalker210" width="525" height="316" /></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">The whole group was getting closer and closer to the trap. I watched one of the helicopters get down and right up behind the horses while the other hung back. They all went in, and I cannot imagine that they would have captured less than the 60 more they planned to catch in Salt Wells Creek. We waited quite a while before we heard that that was it for the day.</p>
<img class="size-full wp-image-4284" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17CarolWalker212.jpg" alt="The saddest sight - leaving in the trailers" width="525" height="242" />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: #f5f5f5;">The saddest sight – leaving in the trailers</span>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">This evening, Jason Lutterman from the BLM who had been out there with us sent me a photo of the bald face mare and the little black foal who had been reunited at the temporary corrals. I was extremely relieved and grateful that he sent me this photo. I was told that they captured 66 wild horses today, which was 6 more than their number, so they are releasing 6 wild horses. They are keeping 46 adults and 14 foals.</p>
<img class="size-full wp-image-4291" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" src="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/image1Mare-and-Foal.jpg" alt="Curly mare and foal reunited at temporary holding, photo courtesy of Jason Lutterman" width="600" height="448" />
<span style="font-size: 12px; text-align: justify; background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Curly mare and foal reunited at temporary holding, photo courtesy of Jason Lutterman</span>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-align: justify; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">I have to wonder how many Curlies are left in Salt Wells Creek? I hope that some of these beautiful and unique horses remain.</p>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-31040101510267885132017-10-07T16:33:00.000-07:002017-10-08T06:29:57.160-07:00One Last Look<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_O_2JR83G8s/WdljRgB0tKI/AAAAAAAAHv8/86EGEOyCNCYPLZpy0VxoE7Pl78IxAzw9gCHMYCw/Three"><img title="Three" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_O_2JR83G8s/WdljRgB0tKI/AAAAAAAAHv8/86EGEOyCNCYPLZpy0VxoE7Pl78IxAzw9gCHMYCw/Three" alt="" width="577" height="343" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">Remember this family? I posted their picture a few days ago. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Well, they deserve another look. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Today they lost their freedom.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">I just found out they got captured from their wide open prairie home and taken out by helicopters and boys who get paid for being cruel. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">This little wild family got split up. The Cremello mare with all the wisdom and character of an older and happy wild horse. Her grey stallion; an old guy, too. They’ve obviously been together for a very long time. And then there’s their little Palomino yearling....</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">needlessly torn apart and put into separate cramped iron pens, never to see each other again. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">The BLM is heartless. Their program is a failure. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Today is just another sad day in America.</p>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: Roboto-Regular, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; color: #000000; font-family: proxnov-sbold, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.301961); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Freedom for the stallion</span><br style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Freedom for the mare and her colt</span><br style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Freedom for the baby child</span><br style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Who has not grown old enough to vote</span><br style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Lord, have mercy, what You gonna do</span><br style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">About the people who are praying to You?</span><br style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">They got men making laws that destroy other men</span><br style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">They make money, God, it's a doggone sin</span><br style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Oh Lord, You got to help us find a way</span><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: Roboto-Regular, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~Boz Scaggs </span></div>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-45014262809031561502017-10-05T07:30:00.000-07:002017-10-05T07:32:07.314-07:00Wild Horses and Barbed Wire Fences Don't Mix<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D8rp1rna8PQ/WdY-All1tqI/AAAAAAAAHuE/2CC2yLZDr84KLpCDyAps64kajtS5fH7NgCHMYCw/Lone"><img title="Lone" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D8rp1rna8PQ/WdY-All1tqI/AAAAAAAAHuE/2CC2yLZDr84KLpCDyAps64kajtS5fH7NgCHMYCw/Lone" alt="" width="554" height="466" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">See what happened on day 8 of the wild horse roundup in Wyoming.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;" href="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/blog/wild-horses-and-barbed-wire-fences-do-not-mix-checkerboard-roundup-day-8?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WildHoofbeats+%28Wild+Hoofbeats">http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/blog/wild-horses-and-barbed-wire-fences-do-not-mix-checkerboard-roundup-day-8</a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Eloquently and passionately told by my dear friend </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Carol J. Walker</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aDrMnrRP0o8/WdY-rafwUYI/AAAAAAAAHuM/zP6YO38ffUUjEQpUSZC_gzVaVEEBSC1GgCHMYCw/Band"><img title="Band" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aDrMnrRP0o8/WdY-rafwUYI/AAAAAAAAHuM/zP6YO38ffUUjEQpUSZC_gzVaVEEBSC1GgCHMYCw/Band" alt="" width="556" height="315" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cQFBCQ5W2xg/WdY-sJW30JI/AAAAAAAAHuQ/CPActar3pBESH0KwUIEUwJdGR8NaS4tLwCHMYCw/Grey"><img title="Grey" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cQFBCQ5W2xg/WdY-sJW30JI/AAAAAAAAHuQ/CPActar3pBESH0KwUIEUwJdGR8NaS4tLwCHMYCw/Grey" alt="" width="554" height="326" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SLYvlYeq4TI/WdY-snrkHII/AAAAAAAAHuU/zSRQG27qbDoaGJbG9kL2QhoKBpNQ7ErXgCHMYCw/Family"><img title="Family" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SLYvlYeq4TI/WdY-snrkHII/AAAAAAAAHuU/zSRQG27qbDoaGJbG9kL2QhoKBpNQ7ErXgCHMYCw/Family" alt="" width="556" height="306" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpvaJAFWvRoPcSNsAFz09si7sNNnFbaVJzmgDN0gydur4KprvppLTCkjDSsI_VtZ8-OPrn7ArT5GqA2XJDUvFOLrp97VJGgCjdNIKdn96G5hdTvD_6dDgLUDb4hObk1pEpV0v-0Y5BfLkK/"><img title="Copter" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpvaJAFWvRoPcSNsAFz09si7sNNnFbaVJzmgDN0gydur4KprvppLTCkjDSsI_VtZ8-OPrn7ArT5GqA2XJDUvFOLrp97VJGgCjdNIKdn96G5hdTvD_6dDgLUDb4hObk1pEpV0v-0Y5BfLkK/" alt="" width="556" height="239" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WQT7VNNmcdQ/WdY_kxAubAI/AAAAAAAAHus/UW4RLU3pVO8HUotwIhsgxM2jyGZ7EfsOACHMYCw/Foal"><img title="Foal" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WQT7VNNmcdQ/WdY_kxAubAI/AAAAAAAAHus/UW4RLU3pVO8HUotwIhsgxM2jyGZ7EfsOACHMYCw/Foal" alt="" width="558" height="426" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pjcCZp2hZ90/WdY_lUDGCAI/AAAAAAAAHuw/rwOJZeWUwEESh-tthDDp7qYnH8qSV_ZAACHMYCw/Dust"><img title="Dust" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pjcCZp2hZ90/WdY_lUDGCAI/AAAAAAAAHuw/rwOJZeWUwEESh-tthDDp7qYnH8qSV_ZAACHMYCw/Dust" alt="" width="554" height="347" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M7SJ3zuQgeM/WdZADaCIUdI/AAAAAAAAHu0/C0aqb0OZZkQcBm2W0nqkTj_6gv_wJMH2ACHMYCw/Copter%2Bpushing"><img title="Copter pushing" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M7SJ3zuQgeM/WdZADaCIUdI/AAAAAAAAHu0/C0aqb0OZZkQcBm2W0nqkTj_6gv_wJMH2ACHMYCw/Copter%2Bpushing" alt="" width="554" height="343" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pDT_0AcMQF0/WdZAD3gREdI/AAAAAAAAHu4/DKsjK25X12ciHYsF1TDFhcr13WNuh-GowCHMYCw/Two"><img title="Two" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pDT_0AcMQF0/WdZAD3gREdI/AAAAAAAAHu4/DKsjK25X12ciHYsF1TDFhcr13WNuh-GowCHMYCw/Two" alt="" width="556" height="300" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_17Z6Ly49g0/WdZA8Zv0fKI/AAAAAAAAHvI/x0nE3OhG81oKyCzv6rOQqYJWGj3m-UE7wCHMYCw/Colorful"><img title="Colorful" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_17Z6Ly49g0/WdZA8Zv0fKI/AAAAAAAAHvI/x0nE3OhG81oKyCzv6rOQqYJWGj3m-UE7wCHMYCw/Colorful" alt="" width="556" height="325" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_89wTC3t9e4/WdZA8wx2V8I/AAAAAAAAHvM/93O2QcP_Qec_TevnbhF2EcGwWBN28VLLQCHMYCw/Let%2Bme%2Bout"><img title="Let me out" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_89wTC3t9e4/WdZA8wx2V8I/AAAAAAAAHvM/93O2QcP_Qec_TevnbhF2EcGwWBN28VLLQCHMYCw/Let%2Bme%2Bout" alt="" width="558" height="316" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T9TZt8FLG60/WdZA9ZOaZRI/AAAAAAAAHvQ/XydbbN429IsQC5KSUn2wx25VoWfxup8zgCHMYCw/Haul"><img title="Haul" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T9TZt8FLG60/WdZA9ZOaZRI/AAAAAAAAHvQ/XydbbN429IsQC5KSUn2wx25VoWfxup8zgCHMYCw/Haul" alt="" width="556" height="310" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SNuqkqNYMIo/WdZBLyx9deI/AAAAAAAAHvU/sPPZkZsXL5AQiVwKVtorJOSMLBaM3Se2ACHMYCw/Jennifer"><img title="Jennifer" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SNuqkqNYMIo/WdZBLyx9deI/AAAAAAAAHvU/sPPZkZsXL5AQiVwKVtorJOSMLBaM3Se2ACHMYCw/Jennifer" alt="" width="556" height="417" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nRXgx26VRz4/WdZBsjFUTnI/AAAAAAAAHvc/hH10zNYnOAEtYPLtxe2IQL-428Wfo_xKACHMYCw/Pinto"><img title="Pinto" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nRXgx26VRz4/WdZBsjFUTnI/AAAAAAAAHvc/hH10zNYnOAEtYPLtxe2IQL-428Wfo_xKACHMYCw/Pinto" alt="" width="554" height="386" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-79149188880672402782017-09-30T16:33:00.000-07:002017-10-01T05:46:47.100-07:00Wyoming's Wild Horse Roundup 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
<a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RL6wQhHn-kg/Wc-314fWqgI/AAAAAAAAHsU/O3q8EwaTT1Ixy8L4VyhdSkCbJUUdCbd-ACHMYCw/Palomino"> <img title="Palomino" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RL6wQhHn-kg/Wc-314fWqgI/AAAAAAAAHsU/O3q8EwaTT1Ixy8L4VyhdSkCbJUUdCbd-ACHMYCw/Palomino" alt="" width="558" height="380" data-json="" /></a>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I must share with you this account of what happened at one of the helicopter roundups this week.</div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><<<<====== !!!!!!!!! ======>>>></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.701961);">The Checkerboard Roundup Day 7 – Great Divide Basin by Carol J. Walker</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.701961);"><a style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: start; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none;" href="http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/blog/the-checkerboard-roundup-day-7-great-divide-basin">http://www.wildhoofbeats.com/blog/the-checkerboard-roundup-day-7-great-divide-basin</a></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">And here are some of my pictures from last Monday, after witnessing such an atrocity one day in the American West. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-koxmjSf8AnE/Wc-5SwrN6UI/AAAAAAAAHsg/rZ47Zp5ttpEIjpS24uBpt09ryTxUFaE0gCHMYCw/Family"><img title="Family" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-koxmjSf8AnE/Wc-5SwrN6UI/AAAAAAAAHsg/rZ47Zp5ttpEIjpS24uBpt09ryTxUFaE0gCHMYCw/Family" alt="" width="554" height="354" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b0ZjvSFaE74/WdAiEqfxq4I/AAAAAAAAHs0/eqZGvpktMagamEky6vcPYor1r_knBbppACHMYCw/Band"><img title="Band" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b0ZjvSFaE74/WdAiEqfxq4I/AAAAAAAAHs0/eqZGvpktMagamEky6vcPYor1r_knBbppACHMYCw/Band" alt="" width="556" height="296" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RBCGbov9YzM/WdAiGVG30WI/AAAAAAAAHs4/9Pa2fgW1PccRXJevk_N0vCKYsU2LWvIFwCHMYCw/Greys"><img title="Greys" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RBCGbov9YzM/WdAiGVG30WI/AAAAAAAAHs4/9Pa2fgW1PccRXJevk_N0vCKYsU2LWvIFwCHMYCw/Greys" alt="" width="556" height="337" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GthmlOUtt58/WdAjV4B4BKI/AAAAAAAAHtA/ruu44U5PGHYgCF2_yMieDMhy7dJS5dkfwCHMYCw/Red"><img title="Red" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GthmlOUtt58/WdAjV4B4BKI/AAAAAAAAHtA/ruu44U5PGHYgCF2_yMieDMhy7dJS5dkfwCHMYCw/Red" alt="" width="556" height="417" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WMezlQK2yKs/WdAjWaFa4CI/AAAAAAAAHtE/yHUoO4lK990IlL8rvvqH4nK32cAgDQ6dACHMYCw/Two"><img title="Two" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WMezlQK2yKs/WdAjWaFa4CI/AAAAAAAAHtE/yHUoO4lK990IlL8rvvqH4nK32cAgDQ6dACHMYCw/Two" alt="" width="556" height="329" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3Tkv50zkFJk/WdAjWx7N2XI/AAAAAAAAHtI/bAyflmCHdp0krO-n0rDwo3JReOJ02FZuQCHMYCw/Play"><img title="Play" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3Tkv50zkFJk/WdAjWx7N2XI/AAAAAAAAHtI/bAyflmCHdp0krO-n0rDwo3JReOJ02FZuQCHMYCw/Play" alt="" width="556" height="532" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JERQBAoA-qs/WdAjXltpoPI/AAAAAAAAHtM/VveXE-aCFmUEvuNPFXsE6uUeIt3AMFXSACHMYCw/Dreadlocks"><img title="Dreadlocks" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JERQBAoA-qs/WdAjXltpoPI/AAAAAAAAHtM/VveXE-aCFmUEvuNPFXsE6uUeIt3AMFXSACHMYCw/Dreadlocks" alt="" width="554" height="383" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LT7SxWePktA/WdAjYF8M4hI/AAAAAAAAHtQ/yZljTg5sGR8HpLvq8P4YEXHeSJKeAifBgCHMYCw/Cremello"><img title="Cremello" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LT7SxWePktA/WdAjYF8M4hI/AAAAAAAAHtQ/yZljTg5sGR8HpLvq8P4YEXHeSJKeAifBgCHMYCw/Cremello" alt="" width="556" height="417" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I4uGF2KaSKs/WdAkV4obNNI/AAAAAAAAHtY/LT4JGIrKJx0MYAwFNQkCLNWQYGPs0lNaQCHMYCw/Mare%2Ban%2Bfoal"><img title="Mare an foal" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I4uGF2KaSKs/WdAkV4obNNI/AAAAAAAAHtY/LT4JGIrKJx0MYAwFNQkCLNWQYGPs0lNaQCHMYCw/Mare%2Ban%2Bfoal" alt="" width="550" height="598" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EpVJ4cwa9SE/WdAkWbwKRgI/AAAAAAAAHtc/Q0_dNFn9WxcEbx41WhwX9dnOIeDyV7s1wCHMYCw/Palomino%2Band%2Bfriend"><img title="Palomino and friend" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EpVJ4cwa9SE/WdAkWbwKRgI/AAAAAAAAHtc/Q0_dNFn9WxcEbx41WhwX9dnOIeDyV7s1wCHMYCw/Palomino%2Band%2Bfriend" alt="" width="556" height="317" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SJ7x2LowiSA/WdAkW4LeWwI/AAAAAAAAHtg/iVQ0kndnC3QaFq3fUPQOYFGwQyalCQthgCHMYCw/One%2Balone"><img title="One alone" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SJ7x2LowiSA/WdAkW4LeWwI/AAAAAAAAHtg/iVQ0kndnC3QaFq3fUPQOYFGwQyalCQthgCHMYCw/One%2Balone" alt="" width="556" height="361" data-json="" /></a> </div>
</div>
</div>
<p style="text-align: center;">These are the faces and families of horses who did NOT get rounded up that day.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">After all the helicopters shut down for the night, the jute fencing and traps removed and the last trailer they crammed with mustangs sped off in a cloud of dust, Carol and I found some WILD and FREE horses enjoying the mid-day sun. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">It was hard for me to take their pictures. My heart wasn't into it. I sat down next to some rabbit brush staring at these family bands and thought about tomorrow.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Most likely I would recognize their eyes through the bars of a trailer taking them far, far away from their home, in yet another cloud of dust.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">The Bureau of Land Management just doing "business as usual" without a care in the world. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">I will be heading out to the Great Divide Basin, Salt Wells Creek or perhaps Adobe Town in the Red Desert (they never tell us where we're going until we get there) next Sunday to photograph and document more of these unnecessary and relentless removals of America's Mustangs. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Thank you for being here. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">💙<<<<<<======>>>>>>💙</p>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-47571907036315935012017-09-17T07:45:00.000-07:002017-09-17T07:45:53.432-07:00Wildness Endures<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yIIBofSoJDI/Wb579uGpIvI/AAAAAAAAHpk/Rh4ZiIGxfjA3xzKegt_VfGTqNzm0zG70QCHMYCw/Wildness%2Bendure"><img title="Wildness endure" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yIIBofSoJDI/Wb579uGpIvI/AAAAAAAAHpk/Rh4ZiIGxfjA3xzKegt_VfGTqNzm0zG70QCHMYCw/Wildness%2Bendure" alt="" width="561" height="346" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">
We can try to kill all that is native, </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">string it up by its hind legs for all to see, but spirit howls and wildness endures.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">~ Terry Tempest Williams</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hGsaZ6-4LFs/Wb6DcbyCs6I/AAAAAAAAHqs/nqx04JwR4VoaN9eAUMdu6jO3WdxMygp2ACHMYCw/Three"><img title="Three" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hGsaZ6-4LFs/Wb6DcbyCs6I/AAAAAAAAHqs/nqx04JwR4VoaN9eAUMdu6jO3WdxMygp2ACHMYCw/Three" alt="" width="556" height="264" data-json="" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b_yADbbtFEw/Wb582YlJjTI/AAAAAAAAHpw/ZUUI1Nr0Q9cyPR8TkFKyxq-Ma21aQPBFwCHMYCw/Run"><img title="Run" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b_yADbbtFEw/Wb582YlJjTI/AAAAAAAAHpw/ZUUI1Nr0Q9cyPR8TkFKyxq-Ma21aQPBFwCHMYCw/Run" alt="" width="558" height="309" data-json="" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Zh5V33tFIHM/Wb5-dZKgdUI/AAAAAAAAHp8/BSoWjd0ArHctC5a0GZD5G_LKRwATLVSRwCHMYCw/Flower"><img title="Flower" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Zh5V33tFIHM/Wb5-dZKgdUI/AAAAAAAAHp8/BSoWjd0ArHctC5a0GZD5G_LKRwATLVSRwCHMYCw/Flower" alt="" width="554" height="389" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cCgah0GcnIg/Wb58XqbbhrI/AAAAAAAAHpo/LV80qZdEYAQPjQW606LbWy-0WQalLo1jQCHMYCw/Hooves"><img title="Hooves" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cCgah0GcnIg/Wb58XqbbhrI/AAAAAAAAHpo/LV80qZdEYAQPjQW606LbWy-0WQalLo1jQCHMYCw/Hooves" alt="" width="558" height="322" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q-RZ-jUmwxI/Wb5-1yufYuI/AAAAAAAAHqA/-Zg3WDo1fwoerK7Mr_aIEtdvaj7ZZ0OLwCHMYCw/Dusty"><img title="Dusty" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q-RZ-jUmwxI/Wb5-1yufYuI/AAAAAAAAHqA/-Zg3WDo1fwoerK7Mr_aIEtdvaj7ZZ0OLwCHMYCw/Dusty" alt="" width="554" height="321" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-91ec95EUYRU/Wb6BFN_qekI/AAAAAAAAHqQ/QhknsiCfKC4wi0-wyUVfyZ1up1Rp91KKACHMYCw/Coyote"><img title="Coyote" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-91ec95EUYRU/Wb6BFN_qekI/AAAAAAAAHqQ/QhknsiCfKC4wi0-wyUVfyZ1up1Rp91KKACHMYCw/Coyote" alt="" width="554" height="434" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Y2sZdDV3338/Wb6AxMrDAvI/AAAAAAAAHqM/0YsRSeXVLGgimCK0DmVqF3kbuqfIy91UACHMYCw/Coyote%2Bflower"><img title="Coyote flower" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Y2sZdDV3338/Wb6AxMrDAvI/AAAAAAAAHqM/0YsRSeXVLGgimCK0DmVqF3kbuqfIy91UACHMYCw/Coyote%2Bflower" alt="" width="554" height="316" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y6r3CLmKF90/Wb6BtSJC_FI/AAAAAAAAHqY/DwbLvNen9NUBu5TjFsS46ZKVT1MfinPyACHMYCw/NE"><img title="NE" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y6r3CLmKF90/Wb6BtSJC_FI/AAAAAAAAHqY/DwbLvNen9NUBu5TjFsS46ZKVT1MfinPyACHMYCw/NE" alt="" width="554" height="415" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4JIJ4y5B8Y4/Wb6Bt2fMZ5I/AAAAAAAAHqc/EP6CLHhKG2EdDmsc-ADwxmmN-ghL4AIJACHMYCw/Burr"><img title="Burr" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4JIJ4y5B8Y4/Wb6Bt2fMZ5I/AAAAAAAAHqc/EP6CLHhKG2EdDmsc-ADwxmmN-ghL4AIJACHMYCw/Burr" alt="" width="556" height="285" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JZ53ZvUuBH4/Wb6CyW8Z_DI/AAAAAAAAHqk/pLafbEWOj80m21K5AJ1E-QjhbSRmC97vACHMYCw/Brand%2BHB"><img title="Brand HB" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JZ53ZvUuBH4/Wb6CyW8Z_DI/AAAAAAAAHqk/pLafbEWOj80m21K5AJ1E-QjhbSRmC97vACHMYCw/Brand%2BHB" alt="" width="554" height="365" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PDrNlyLQxRo/Wb6EJwTog0I/AAAAAAAAHq0/WOJ5wwIDnzQaHztNHoQRGKB6SWwGiCD7ACHMYCw/Pronghorn"><img title="Pronghorn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PDrNlyLQxRo/Wb6EJwTog0I/AAAAAAAAHq0/WOJ5wwIDnzQaHztNHoQRGKB6SWwGiCD7ACHMYCw/Pronghorn" alt="" width="554" height="366" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-70zgmqJR0Co/Wb6EgPQIsVI/AAAAAAAAHq4/HzjCtsyHrFQnaFIqd5WDuhvLQh9-xmyTwCHMYCw/Gold%2BDust%2Band%2Brust"><img title="Gold Dust and rust" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-70zgmqJR0Co/Wb6EgPQIsVI/AAAAAAAAHq4/HzjCtsyHrFQnaFIqd5WDuhvLQh9-xmyTwCHMYCw/Gold%2BDust%2Band%2Brust" alt="" width="554" height="322" data-json="" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K3QeNG82HSw/Wb6GpVJ3DvI/AAAAAAAAHrE/CIrtET92Dz8gXTqyDhst-6ELVayM-LNZwCHMYCw/Buff"><img title="Buff" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K3QeNG82HSw/Wb6GpVJ3DvI/AAAAAAAAHrE/CIrtET92Dz8gXTqyDhst-6ELVayM-LNZwCHMYCw/Buff" alt="" width="549" height="381" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UgHN4QrwB9Y/Wb6G7qti2dI/AAAAAAAAHrI/Lip8zzi9HKIqCeJiNXnvhRSpQeURjKS8wCHMYCw/Allie%2Band%2BBuffalo"><img title="Allie and Buffalo" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UgHN4QrwB9Y/Wb6G7qti2dI/AAAAAAAAHrI/Lip8zzi9HKIqCeJiNXnvhRSpQeURjKS8wCHMYCw/Allie%2Band%2BBuffalo" alt="" width="556" height="411" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sLQbfxKVxyM/Wb6HVLm5fKI/AAAAAAAAHrM/UcI1kLfyTqEqKLoJJtZ9-rrMjoicR2KZwCHMYCw/White%2Bhorse"><img title="White horse" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sLQbfxKVxyM/Wb6HVLm5fKI/AAAAAAAAHrM/UcI1kLfyTqEqKLoJJtZ9-rrMjoicR2KZwCHMYCw/White%2Bhorse" alt="" width="556" height="275" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HBeP87qVLKU/Wb6HVoEljzI/AAAAAAAAHrQ/V843uH10YFEX21ZKLE7r1mReTvpF9tZyQCHMYCw/Deer"><img title="Deer" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HBeP87qVLKU/Wb6HVoEljzI/AAAAAAAAHrQ/V843uH10YFEX21ZKLE7r1mReTvpF9tZyQCHMYCw/Deer" alt="" width="554" height="293" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M8THd5uVxh0/Wb6JNj1AAxI/AAAAAAAAHrc/LtG_wW9bytIONLXEwIGV_b0bLV6j0BV_ACHMYCw/Beauties"><img title="Beauties" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M8THd5uVxh0/Wb6JNj1AAxI/AAAAAAAAHrc/LtG_wW9bytIONLXEwIGV_b0bLV6j0BV_ACHMYCw/Beauties" alt="" width="556" height="315" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fadj0zw3PAo/Wb6JOfb_YgI/AAAAAAAAHrg/LLAIdUwfoYwYeVMVrWvGR1TTuV0x4SDZACHMYCw/Running%2Bmustangs"><img title="Running mustangs" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fadj0zw3PAo/Wb6JOfb_YgI/AAAAAAAAHrg/LLAIdUwfoYwYeVMVrWvGR1TTuV0x4SDZACHMYCw/Running%2Bmustangs" alt="" width="554" height="299" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk3s0PM8hoLAbMz4DcFYCze-oI-GRIiBcP4KoOKSvZKG8MWG8nPJNOOMEFDBmGMIR7F-V3uq7Zv103_OkkgO0_I0zihIwSTUP8xCFq6EJmJoSMpmROll06tH1RqKKyvC6oj-6Z6N_P9YPN/"><img title="Dust!" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk3s0PM8hoLAbMz4DcFYCze-oI-GRIiBcP4KoOKSvZKG8MWG8nPJNOOMEFDBmGMIR7F-V3uq7Zv103_OkkgO0_I0zihIwSTUP8xCFq6EJmJoSMpmROll06tH1RqKKyvC6oj-6Z6N_P9YPN/" alt="" width="554" height="308" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-21418589052647343402017-08-15T21:36:00.000-07:002017-08-16T07:08:43.736-07:00Dazzle me with your presence<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">
</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Ah, the world is sweet and the world is wide </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">He's there where the light and the darkness divide</span></p>
<div class="highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; line-height: 24px; color: #111111; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;">And the steam's comin' off him he's huge and he's shy </div>
<div class="highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; line-height: 24px; color: #111111; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: left;">And he steps on the moon when he paws at the sky.</div>
<div class="highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; line-height: 24px; color: #111111; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </div>
<div class="highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; line-height: 24px; color: #111111; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">And he comes to her hand but he's not really tame</div>
<div class="highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; line-height: 24px; color: #111111; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">He longs to be lost she longs for the same</div>
<div class="highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; line-height: 24px; color: #111111; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">And he'll bolt and he'll plunge through the first open pass</div>
<div class="highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; line-height: 24px; color: #111111; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">To roll and to feed in the sweet mountain grass.</div>
<div class="highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; line-height: 24px; color: #111111; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </div>
<div class="highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; line-height: 24px; color: #111111; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Or he'll make a break for the high plateau</div>
<div class="highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; line-height: 24px; color: #111111; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Where there's nothing above and nothing below.</div>
<div class="highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; line-height: 24px; color: #111111; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </div>
<div class="highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; line-height: 24px; color: #111111; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">*** Ballad of a Runaway Horse written by Leonard Cohen and sung by Emmy Lou Harris</div>
<div class="highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; line-height: 24px; color: #111111; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: center;"> </div>
<div class="highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; line-height: 24px; color: #111111; font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6NGEyy14Gvc/WZPFK-o1BcI/AAAAAAAAHm4/iGS3ABTvWb0xOlktnvJwbKFjW12QLRWzwCHMYCw/Beast%2B1"><img title="Beast 1" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6NGEyy14Gvc/WZPFK-o1BcI/AAAAAAAAHm4/iGS3ABTvWb0xOlktnvJwbKFjW12QLRWzwCHMYCw/Beast%2B1" alt="" width="554" height="284" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1eTfkRFAotY/WZPGAHHPVRI/AAAAAAAAHnA/zROUfsQmYmsYF_CX90WxfYXxN0zPXQP3ACHMYCw/Beastie"><img title="Beastie" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1eTfkRFAotY/WZPGAHHPVRI/AAAAAAAAHnA/zROUfsQmYmsYF_CX90WxfYXxN0zPXQP3ACHMYCw/Beastie" alt="" width="556" height="293" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6fhGiGByFzc/WZPGYxVZdxI/AAAAAAAAHnE/weB3lfk3Q2YrOJFsaFsKZJ7dYEUWSnTHgCHMYCw/Sideways"><img title="Sideways" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6fhGiGByFzc/WZPGYxVZdxI/AAAAAAAAHnE/weB3lfk3Q2YrOJFsaFsKZJ7dYEUWSnTHgCHMYCw/Sideways" alt="" width="556" height="299" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nK8RImjcpVw/WZPGZqrMBHI/AAAAAAAAHnI/Aft4pFLbX_snnulC_yB3Y2HgptBCkbRlQCHMYCw/Dancer"><img title="Dancer" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nK8RImjcpVw/WZPGZqrMBHI/AAAAAAAAHnI/Aft4pFLbX_snnulC_yB3Y2HgptBCkbRlQCHMYCw/Dancer" alt="" width="556" height="257" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zuSVx-XMrEE/WZPGthu4GBI/AAAAAAAAHnM/0yZAozJk_sA1rRBmQMNQ6shV2_8GbU-QwCHMYCw/Family%2Bwalk"><img title="Family walk" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zuSVx-XMrEE/WZPGthu4GBI/AAAAAAAAHnM/0yZAozJk_sA1rRBmQMNQ6shV2_8GbU-QwCHMYCw/Family%2Bwalk" alt="" width="556" height="297" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kB2OUHhNa4g/WZPGue71XkI/AAAAAAAAHnQ/GYeVJ10ECmkOU6viIs3tM_WkinL-n_zgQCHMYCw/Two%2Bfoals"><img title="Two foals" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kB2OUHhNa4g/WZPGue71XkI/AAAAAAAAHnQ/GYeVJ10ECmkOU6viIs3tM_WkinL-n_zgQCHMYCw/Two%2Bfoals" alt="" width="556" height="332" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MStLGUwe9qg/WZPHg_E9F9I/AAAAAAAAHnY/-Qk1nluloxYAJFx0Lbc8hVPy7BIA3ldJgCHMYCw/Wow"><img title="Wow" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MStLGUwe9qg/WZPHg_E9F9I/AAAAAAAAHnY/-Qk1nluloxYAJFx0Lbc8hVPy7BIA3ldJgCHMYCw/Wow" alt="" width="554" height="507" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Jh9AZhMxZxM/WZPHhRUxjbI/AAAAAAAAHnc/i8Tqd9OPEJ0hfoHOfjU0OTR2EupGat7UgCHMYCw/Flowers"><img title="Flowers" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Jh9AZhMxZxM/WZPHhRUxjbI/AAAAAAAAHnc/i8Tqd9OPEJ0hfoHOfjU0OTR2EupGat7UgCHMYCw/Flowers" alt="" width="554" height="265" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EILdQMVn9A8/WZPIebJJfrI/AAAAAAAAHns/Fmemzj-m8yknQ3Fst-t1FY3Jl8tNywTswCHMYCw/Peek"><img title="Peek" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EILdQMVn9A8/WZPIebJJfrI/AAAAAAAAHns/Fmemzj-m8yknQ3Fst-t1FY3Jl8tNywTswCHMYCw/Peek" alt="" width="554" height="300" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2inNow6DWTw/WZPJSs7du4I/AAAAAAAAHn0/kqVMxQku_ecRa537lK1KQGO-YrHVDSueQCHMYCw/Turn"><img title="Turn" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2inNow6DWTw/WZPJSs7du4I/AAAAAAAAHn0/kqVMxQku_ecRa537lK1KQGO-YrHVDSueQCHMYCw/Turn" alt="" width="554" height="466" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S9cYcUpMAYs/WZPJTVUMJNI/AAAAAAAAHn4/g2ay3cntOCwm86Cn2YJnXPxM0AONHkGvACHMYCw/Gorgeous%2Bbeast"><img title="Gorgeous beast" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S9cYcUpMAYs/WZPJTVUMJNI/AAAAAAAAHn4/g2ay3cntOCwm86Cn2YJnXPxM0AONHkGvACHMYCw/Gorgeous%2Bbeast" alt="" width="558" height="333" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9FByoMJgKAk/WZPJT7eFvCI/AAAAAAAAHn8/vu-R7wpzOeQQQxK036fCAp2993K6CWKTACHMYCw/Bangs"><img title="Bangs" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9FByoMJgKAk/WZPJT7eFvCI/AAAAAAAAHn8/vu-R7wpzOeQQQxK036fCAp2993K6CWKTACHMYCw/Bangs" alt="" width="554" height="356" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BvGzMV6R0Yg/WZPJ1rBBnRI/AAAAAAAAHoE/TLuqQHKpahg2SqZgo4M1Y88_umRsecXlgCHMYCw/Look"><img title="Look" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BvGzMV6R0Yg/WZPJ1rBBnRI/AAAAAAAAHoE/TLuqQHKpahg2SqZgo4M1Y88_umRsecXlgCHMYCw/Look" alt="" width="554" height="326" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aeyXAL3irzA/WZPJ2WXj8TI/AAAAAAAAHoI/8cnvqQ8MZ7QPyaxkiGQAV4JIsKldX2WAwCHMYCw/One%2Blast%2Blook"><img title="One last look" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aeyXAL3irzA/WZPJ2WXj8TI/AAAAAAAAHoI/8cnvqQ8MZ7QPyaxkiGQAV4JIsKldX2WAwCHMYCw/One%2Blast%2Blook" alt="" width="556" height="377" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8vdW_Mohjic/WZPJ3FIVmKI/AAAAAAAAHoM/Q4S0BTrNAKc1DcvkskXwKpHILobAD-AHwCHMYCw/Climb"><img title="Climb" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8vdW_Mohjic/WZPJ3FIVmKI/AAAAAAAAHoM/Q4S0BTrNAKc1DcvkskXwKpHILobAD-AHwCHMYCw/Climb" alt="" width="556" height="411" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HSDqRanbxRc/WZPKOA5-VUI/AAAAAAAAHoQ/ioN8ctKNPLYwbROKKaRzX8f8jwLJBUQUACHMYCw/Going"><img title="Going" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HSDqRanbxRc/WZPKOA5-VUI/AAAAAAAAHoQ/ioN8ctKNPLYwbROKKaRzX8f8jwLJBUQUACHMYCw/Going" alt="" width="556" height="519" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-83416750524527242852017-08-10T13:35:00.000-07:002017-08-10T18:40:39.840-07:00The Song of Whistling Wings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
<span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: start; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">The deepest kind of peace and Faith are represented by the dove. </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: start; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">It is thought to quiet our troubled thoughts and renew our mind and spirit.</span>
<a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-W3jMl1TnFn4/WYsKRciuaqI/AAAAAAAAHj4/_-PwSzrPfQY4CMdH4aJ-SEgcxm9L7T_4wCHMYCw/Feathers"> <img title="Feathers" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-W3jMl1TnFn4/WYsKRciuaqI/AAAAAAAAHj4/_-PwSzrPfQY4CMdH4aJ-SEgcxm9L7T_4wCHMYCw/Feathers" alt="" width="556" height="417" data-json="" /></a>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QqbU5vOaiUA/WYsKSEjQDYI/AAAAAAAAHj8/4tQWcROptnAq41a91VW6UqpEA4khaGfrwCHMYCw/Tail"><img title="Tail" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QqbU5vOaiUA/WYsKSEjQDYI/AAAAAAAAHj8/4tQWcROptnAq41a91VW6UqpEA4khaGfrwCHMYCw/Tail" alt="" width="554" height="415" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O1bcmhZ43yo/WYyLIns7gWI/AAAAAAAAHkQ/pJYtvMlmHLgIYJj2tOMzidC_4Av-AIhlwCHMYCw/Sideways"><img title="Sideways" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O1bcmhZ43yo/WYyLIns7gWI/AAAAAAAAHkQ/pJYtvMlmHLgIYJj2tOMzidC_4Av-AIhlwCHMYCw/Sideways" alt="" width="554" height="415" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QbB313sutzo/WYyLuuSZr9I/AAAAAAAAHkc/id30wZ5yMEkw3NuZgHsavUtdqfxOAJJmQCHMYCw/Two%2Bon%2Btable"><img title="Two on table" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QbB313sutzo/WYyLuuSZr9I/AAAAAAAAHkc/id30wZ5yMEkw3NuZgHsavUtdqfxOAJJmQCHMYCw/Two%2Bon%2Btable" alt="" width="554" height="347" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bEC8Y3caRao/WYyLvb6sFoI/AAAAAAAAHkg/z5jnG1-I-Ogex53KUpf7q2Y45ksUAzdBwCHMYCw/Two%2Bpatio"><img title="Two patio" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bEC8Y3caRao/WYyLvb6sFoI/AAAAAAAAHkg/z5jnG1-I-Ogex53KUpf7q2Y45ksUAzdBwCHMYCw/Two%2Bpatio" alt="" width="556" height="417" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q_uPmfHcu1g/WYyMSDF1o0I/AAAAAAAAHko/qHLg96depIMjd3oYNU26F_pnVgTHvfeQACHMYCw/By%2BFrankie"><img title="By Frankie" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q_uPmfHcu1g/WYyMSDF1o0I/AAAAAAAAHko/qHLg96depIMjd3oYNU26F_pnVgTHvfeQACHMYCw/By%2BFrankie" alt="" width="556" height="416" data-json="" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XubX5goGcMM/WYyMS2q_3uI/AAAAAAAAHks/1738yXO4_z8kFCe9KMJ-xZMBWsCzHAFTgCHMYCw/Chair%2Bsitter"><img title="Chair sitter" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XubX5goGcMM/WYyMS2q_3uI/AAAAAAAAHks/1738yXO4_z8kFCe9KMJ-xZMBWsCzHAFTgCHMYCw/Chair%2Bsitter" alt="" width="556" height="417" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dCDNkuQthK0/WYyMo0nyMrI/AAAAAAAAHkw/GzZx69kq8cIIBHt-x2VL2M5clWuH25QfQCHMYCw/Nest"><img title="Nest" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dCDNkuQthK0/WYyMo0nyMrI/AAAAAAAAHkw/GzZx69kq8cIIBHt-x2VL2M5clWuH25QfQCHMYCw/Nest" alt="" width="554" height="415" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHG-Yg_Mvdsz0zZ3gUKRACjR46mXVRB9kYWbJLDcC3k4g2vvQu5YsSXrI6dfJjw_D7KTx_pW4iLpjw3uIvITB3tqZ6cz6P-Mfe4yyTROQ4ov6KFvAqZN1DUJsHTQDIsxoM7O2BjvUzUEUu/"><img title="Two" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHG-Yg_Mvdsz0zZ3gUKRACjR46mXVRB9kYWbJLDcC3k4g2vvQu5YsSXrI6dfJjw_D7KTx_pW4iLpjw3uIvITB3tqZ6cz6P-Mfe4yyTROQ4ov6KFvAqZN1DUJsHTQDIsxoM7O2BjvUzUEUu/" alt="" width="556" height="417" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2pDkNfw7l20/WYyMpq7X2xI/AAAAAAAAHk0/zXWD16w05isNp2bWrL82hBZDLnMADdCbACHMYCw/Fence"><img title="Fence" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2pDkNfw7l20/WYyMpq7X2xI/AAAAAAAAHk0/zXWD16w05isNp2bWrL82hBZDLnMADdCbACHMYCw/Fence" alt="" width="554" height="415" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kIa99qtbar4/WYyPp7qaf1I/AAAAAAAAHlA/gziAo5Bwx885IN3jK2t2V8MmpOj6nK7MwCHMYCw/Sherpa%2Bin%2Bwindow"><img title="Sherpa in window" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kIa99qtbar4/WYyPp7qaf1I/AAAAAAAAHlA/gziAo5Bwx885IN3jK2t2V8MmpOj6nK7MwCHMYCw/Sherpa%2Bin%2Bwindow" alt="" width="556" height="485" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2aXHHl25D0N1Cbgut-rYoVawnKeWg3QwYrM3EHmBZstb87LRBnXJTjq30ocP9LHgi2WalPlkvAmdTmgmSWNc4EtW9kXnNd55C-9OLMHtQ7H9p4qUDyWsEjNeQZdBxZGK0AF2ZwxVhzWs/"><img title="By skull" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2aXHHl25D0N1Cbgut-rYoVawnKeWg3QwYrM3EHmBZstb87LRBnXJTjq30ocP9LHgi2WalPlkvAmdTmgmSWNc4EtW9kXnNd55C-9OLMHtQ7H9p4qUDyWsEjNeQZdBxZGK0AF2ZwxVhzWs/" alt="" width="554" height="415" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-608lJPqGYiQ/WYyQQY1OTaI/AAAAAAAAHlM/DcCbR_h70Ksb9Knq0ti9OPcdyx2jF4DugCHMYCw/Rock"><img title="Rock" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-608lJPqGYiQ/WYyQQY1OTaI/AAAAAAAAHlM/DcCbR_h70Ksb9Knq0ti9OPcdyx2jF4DugCHMYCw/Rock" alt="" width="558" height="414" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lvGzFmEz91Y/WYyS4qbe54I/AAAAAAAAHlY/4qVWxn4UpDw5qZfSOWgDyUgTDyltjin5QCHMYCw/Guitar"><img title="Guitar" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lvGzFmEz91Y/WYyS4qbe54I/AAAAAAAAHlY/4qVWxn4UpDw5qZfSOWgDyUgTDyltjin5QCHMYCw/Guitar" alt="" width="558" height="507" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ywQVV0xnECI/WYyS5YSqxUI/AAAAAAAAHlc/NuRjFQmp54AAKO0I9jk7JwvD2cE0rKJFwCHMYCw/Sleepy%2Bdove"><img title="Sleepy dove" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ywQVV0xnECI/WYyS5YSqxUI/AAAAAAAAHlc/NuRjFQmp54AAKO0I9jk7JwvD2cE0rKJFwCHMYCw/Sleepy%2Bdove" alt="" width="554" height="415" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JHSCC2AR5vw/WYyTyWzTnHI/AAAAAAAAHlk/riOtrVCNkI0iTkFjNyslCc867JIgc3oewCHMYCw/Pecking"><img title="Pecking" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JHSCC2AR5vw/WYyTyWzTnHI/AAAAAAAAHlk/riOtrVCNkI0iTkFjNyslCc867JIgc3oewCHMYCw/Pecking" alt="" width="581" height="436" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GlWbuHrWFyg/WYyTzfsOMbI/AAAAAAAAHlo/J3sP7O09mAAUb4ePzARrnHbUD1Lxk77tgCHMYCw/Mom%2Bvisits"><img title="Mom visits" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GlWbuHrWFyg/WYyTzfsOMbI/AAAAAAAAHlo/J3sP7O09mAAUb4ePzARrnHbUD1Lxk77tgCHMYCw/Mom%2Bvisits" alt="" width="554" height="415" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zbjcx_9aEQw/WYyUYbJys5I/AAAAAAAAHlw/9vR77-3kNkkuyZXY9p1rg8IC2hqF251eACHMYCw/Pretty"><img title="Pretty" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zbjcx_9aEQw/WYyUYbJys5I/AAAAAAAAHlw/9vR77-3kNkkuyZXY9p1rg8IC2hqF251eACHMYCw/Pretty" alt="" width="554" height="415" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GUtAWmOuOOI/WYyUZSqhOzI/AAAAAAAAHl0/XuTYlC7EPzY5PIQ0ous4gLr1fJtRTmWtgCHMYCw/Tail"><img title="Tail" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GUtAWmOuOOI/WYyUZSqhOzI/AAAAAAAAHl0/XuTYlC7EPzY5PIQ0ous4gLr1fJtRTmWtgCHMYCw/Tail" alt="" width="556" height="417" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">A pair of fledgling Mourning Doves have taken up residence in our backyard!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">A week ago we found them huddled together, tip toeing around the courtyard together, pecking the ground together, preening and flapping their wings together. At first, these two were practically inseperable. And they are so darn cute and interesting to watch.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">I'm constantly looking out the windows searching for them. They take flight to the iron table and chairs. The horse skull is a favorite perch, a "stepping stone" to the fence. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Their nest was built on the eaves of the house next door. You can see it in one of the pictures I've shared. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Mama Dove comes around to check on them. She's the one peering down from the tree. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">I see them nap under the shade of the deck to avoid the hot sun in the middle of the day.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">One evening Chad played a soft melody on his guitar. We watched one of the doves, perched on the fence above him, doze off. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Yesterday, the doves discovered the Crab Apple tree on the north side of our house where they have plenty of bugs and seeds on the ground to peck, nice branches to cling to and rest, dewy leaves from all the rain we've been getting and a fence for privacy.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Oh, our doves are delightful! </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">I never thought too much about this common bird before. I mean, they have just always been here, you know? They're everywhere. I can't imagine my mornings without hearing the sound of their cooing lament. For me, sometimes it's sad, or it can be uplifting. Mostly it's comforting. It depends on what kind of mood your're in, I suppose.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">*Did you know it is only the males who coo? </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">*Doves make a pretty whistling sound with their wings when they take flight, to warn others of danger. I always thought it was vocal! </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">*That their wingspan is 17 inches.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">* It is the most hunted game bird in North America. More than 20 million Mourning Doves are shot each year.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">*They also face death from lead poisoning. Mourning Doves forage on the ground, and in heavily hunted areas they may wind up eating fallen lead shot (records show some doves have eaten up to 43 pellets). 1 in 20 doves wind up eating lead.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">*The oldest known Mourning Dove was a male, and at least 30 years old when he was shot in Florida in 1998. He had been banded in Georgia in 1968.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">To listen to their song and whistling wings go here <a style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;" href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mourning_Dove/sounds">Dove/sounds</a> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">*************</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Thanks to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Exploring and Conserving Nature </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-10193032003121652002017-07-23T12:09:00.000-07:002017-07-23T12:11:06.525-07:00Bareback Riders<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1jue8WAaoys/WXTvBT9GYcI/AAAAAAAAHgY/5DpN5oWZVb0lZE1OKgS1q0Vsg67aP0WRwCHMYCw/B%2B1"><img title="B 1" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1jue8WAaoys/WXTvBT9GYcI/AAAAAAAAHgY/5DpN5oWZVb0lZE1OKgS1q0Vsg67aP0WRwCHMYCw/B%2B1" alt="" width="556" height="267" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bwWcX19mr3k/WXTveGmYB9I/AAAAAAAAHgc/B7SkZAKhDrUamhyjDVssRAPeaB1Dja9_wCHMYCw/Bird%2Bhorse"><img title="Bird horse" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bwWcX19mr3k/WXTveGmYB9I/AAAAAAAAHgc/B7SkZAKhDrUamhyjDVssRAPeaB1Dja9_wCHMYCw/Bird%2Bhorse" alt="" width="558" height="419" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oSlfuXcKo1s/WXT0x1UcOJI/AAAAAAAAHhg/XlSUNdLHFzkfAX3ipS4dMdPzE3Us2sFgACHMYCw/Flock"><img title="Flock" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oSlfuXcKo1s/WXT0x1UcOJI/AAAAAAAAHhg/XlSUNdLHFzkfAX3ipS4dMdPzE3Us2sFgACHMYCw/Flock" alt="" width="554" height="378" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AByKA7iK1E4/WXTwe7CZkNI/AAAAAAAAHgo/yoDQ6Wv2H88IaGNM_9feRWkpAwmup82rQCHMYCw/Appy"><img title="Appy" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AByKA7iK1E4/WXTwe7CZkNI/AAAAAAAAHgo/yoDQ6Wv2H88IaGNM_9feRWkpAwmup82rQCHMYCw/Appy" alt="" width="556" height="278" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5ar1fSBJ0cE/WXTxZttNDOI/AAAAAAAAHgw/DlX_TsBZn7onkzEWacrJMC0BPvqGgkuuwCHMYCw/Pinto"><img title="Pinto" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5ar1fSBJ0cE/WXTxZttNDOI/AAAAAAAAHgw/DlX_TsBZn7onkzEWacrJMC0BPvqGgkuuwCHMYCw/Pinto" alt="" width="556" height="417" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRhUBVhyphenhyphen5M3zIn2WYKR484zCaIvHGae4gO6WwwhVjv0O06p-VR3evR1O5xQMxo2JzIGd6FWBuwDJfHgL7by99BEf1PcoF5BAuj7U0fRnowXuf5l8mgYSmv3C2LPCdd7jnj987vRARHu3dV/"><img title="Spike" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRhUBVhyphenhyphen5M3zIn2WYKR484zCaIvHGae4gO6WwwhVjv0O06p-VR3evR1O5xQMxo2JzIGd6FWBuwDJfHgL7by99BEf1PcoF5BAuj7U0fRnowXuf5l8mgYSmv3C2LPCdd7jnj987vRARHu3dV/" alt="" width="556" height="541" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hkwGz_U4svE/WXTxaCg72pI/AAAAAAAAHg0/YlmDgAb18V0p8P1wuvORI2w6PK6SzrPggCHMYCw/Two"><img title="Two" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hkwGz_U4svE/WXTxaCg72pI/AAAAAAAAHg0/YlmDgAb18V0p8P1wuvORI2w6PK6SzrPggCHMYCw/Two" alt="" width="554" height="271" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r3dbDsxeFiw/WXTv2rbPLFI/AAAAAAAAHgk/ed3JVU3VDGcJA2WWGZWF5Cowpw8Q7-J_wCHMYCw/Birds"><img title="Birds" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r3dbDsxeFiw/WXTv2rbPLFI/AAAAAAAAHgk/ed3JVU3VDGcJA2WWGZWF5Cowpw8Q7-J_wCHMYCw/Birds" alt="" width="556" height="417" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LG1kN1c0yLo/WXTxahHCZUI/AAAAAAAAHg4/pOdAz_xOjZgaYC4Q54SwUlb0y_HldjvYACHMYCw/Pale"><img title="Pale" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LG1kN1c0yLo/WXTxahHCZUI/AAAAAAAAHg4/pOdAz_xOjZgaYC4Q54SwUlb0y_HldjvYACHMYCw/Pale" alt="" width="551" height="233" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ahkddpurK64/WXTyg-HsHcI/AAAAAAAAHhA/-YFYN3ErojoHNAdwlpSozjlUSH00X3OnACHMYCw/Green"><img title="Green" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ahkddpurK64/WXTyg-HsHcI/AAAAAAAAHhA/-YFYN3ErojoHNAdwlpSozjlUSH00X3OnACHMYCw/Green" alt="" width="535" height="366" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lde-F3Vy-G0/WXTyhmmQWWI/AAAAAAAAHhE/DzdPl0CVhmAqzGdIBMtWtIZf8BQ1RbRsgCHMYCw/Many"><img title="Many" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lde-F3Vy-G0/WXTyhmmQWWI/AAAAAAAAHhE/DzdPl0CVhmAqzGdIBMtWtIZf8BQ1RbRsgCHMYCw/Many" alt="" width="556" height="581" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a5IeGWh_QFE/WXT0IjHbsAI/AAAAAAAAHhM/xLVD2PnTTFUp0QkFYnN4YZO3dPowjKLhQCHMYCw/The%2Bsame"><img title="The same" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a5IeGWh_QFE/WXT0IjHbsAI/AAAAAAAAHhM/xLVD2PnTTFUp0QkFYnN4YZO3dPowjKLhQCHMYCw/The%2Bsame" alt="" width="545" height="386" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lBNEeo2GmTM/WXT0JZ7wyqI/AAAAAAAAHhQ/WS5OzGx_PaUQI9WA4BgRI_4LlEwPyEm-ACHMYCw/Look"><img title="Look" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lBNEeo2GmTM/WXT0JZ7wyqI/AAAAAAAAHhQ/WS5OzGx_PaUQI9WA4BgRI_4LlEwPyEm-ACHMYCw/Look" alt="" width="558" height="389" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MLTIxU0Os4k/WXT0KPYIwQI/AAAAAAAAHhU/gycWhnwaTGkI60-yIfcBWna0So_mJkViQCHMYCw/Horses"><img title="Horses" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MLTIxU0Os4k/WXT0KPYIwQI/AAAAAAAAHhU/gycWhnwaTGkI60-yIfcBWna0So_mJkViQCHMYCw/Horses" alt="" width="554" height="357" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ARetMtQXg2o/WXT0K3HDzoI/AAAAAAAAHhY/HmRpuF7U370qt9ki6ZPYf9CHZpD9JStsgCHMYCw/Fenceline"><img title="Fenceline" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ARetMtQXg2o/WXT0K3HDzoI/AAAAAAAAHhY/HmRpuF7U370qt9ki6ZPYf9CHZpD9JStsgCHMYCw/Fenceline" alt="" width="595" height="398" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lD7a4ry0y6A/WXT0LsumBJI/AAAAAAAAHhc/rQJYg57g85sLXKlrFBbkzLYM83uSVVJCACHMYCw/Black%2Bn%2Bwhite"><img title="Black n white" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lD7a4ry0y6A/WXT0LsumBJI/AAAAAAAAHhc/rQJYg57g85sLXKlrFBbkzLYM83uSVVJCACHMYCw/Black%2Bn%2Bwhite" alt="" width="556" height="497" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-49773479119953765392017-07-20T13:22:00.000-07:002017-07-20T13:25:34.008-07:00She was not an ordinary Dove<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HgPLbvLD5n0/WXAOD95wP_I/AAAAAAAAHfw/rHmhWkRvS_YYr0WqZ-JCCXdsXz7AwlhrQCHMYCw/Umberdove%2Btribute"><img title="Umberdove tribute" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HgPLbvLD5n0/WXAOD95wP_I/AAAAAAAAHfw/rHmhWkRvS_YYr0WqZ-JCCXdsXz7AwlhrQCHMYCw/Umberdove%2Btribute" alt="" width="577" height="715" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">***Her name is UmberDove</span></p>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">She was a painter. Oh, man that girl could paint!</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">She was a silversmith. </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">She handmade this "Migration" ring I wear around my finger.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">This is how she described her creation: </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">"As I pierced and hand-sawed every single little hoof print, I felt myself migrating. White-tail deer prints.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> I believe in where you are."</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">She loved all animals and rivers and birds and trees. </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Owls. </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Feathers. Feathers. Feathers.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">And rocks. </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Sun bleached bones, antlers and skulls.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">She ran to the mountains. She walked deer trails.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">She was star dust (She was Golden).</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">She was a storyteller. </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">She was brave. A real warrior.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">And she loved life.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Everyone who ever knew her, loved her.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Everyone who never met her, loved her.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">We wrote letters.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">I received words of comfort and encouragement and enlightenment from her when my very own brother was battling cancer. He is a professional drummer.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> Everyday, he is trying to beat cancer like a drum.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">I still have letters she wrote to me from coffee houses in Santa Cruz. </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">I still have letters and postcards she wrote to me when she moved to the Pacific Northwest.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">She said, "With every track, striding a bit farther north, into a depth of sun I just now realize I've been missing." </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Just two years ago, we made plans to go find the Wyoming wild horses together. </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">It never happened. </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">***Now I understand. </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">UmberDove was my friend. </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">I say with tremendous sadness, this gentle bird has flown.</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">And I will miss her. </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">
<h1 class="entry-title" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1;"><span style="font-size: 17px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">***Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha</span></h1>
<div><span style="font-size: 17px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗</span></div>
</div>prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342078269405900248.post-43870864322266796742017-07-12T13:04:00.000-07:002017-07-12T18:08:35.033-07:00Summer So Far<p style="text-align: center;">Sometimes the sky is too blue.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">~Christie Watson (Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away)</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lxOa-PzSehY/WWFPathZ9II/AAAAAAAAHcY/R4_KlAQZbe0f0EglHrW-6e167rsPE17pACHMYCw/Door"><img title="Door" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lxOa-PzSehY/WWFPathZ9II/AAAAAAAAHcY/R4_KlAQZbe0f0EglHrW-6e167rsPE17pACHMYCw/Door" alt="" width="556" height="417" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">And sometimes a door isn't blue enough.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">We were hanging out with some friends, listening to a band, talking about camper trailers, gardens and home improvement projects. Two of my girlfriends, who also live in our neighborhood, were commenting on how nice the paint job was coming along on the outside of our house. Chad was almost finished with the final wall.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';"> "What is the name of the color he's painting on your house?"</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">I told G, "Mexican Sand. Someday I might be able to talk Chad into painting our front door Turquoise. Wouldn't that look pretty?"</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">A and G both enthusiastically agreed. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">Then they each asked a few more questions, like: What color Turquoise? Light? Dark? Jade? Aloe? Then A said, "Oh, like the color of your necklace??!!"</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">"Yes! Exactly!"</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">A couple of days later, Chad and I went away to Red Feather. When we came back home, guess what?</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">We had a Turquoise door! </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">I will say this, one of us wasn't very pleased. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">But, he's getting used to it. ;)</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yqwm6L-uYxI/WWIeBFNMLsI/AAAAAAAAHcs/EPsXj8cPjLouVjlecN4Y2_CZ9TnNjyvkQCHMYCw/Pronged"><img title="Pronged" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yqwm6L-uYxI/WWIeBFNMLsI/AAAAAAAAHcs/EPsXj8cPjLouVjlecN4Y2_CZ9TnNjyvkQCHMYCw/Pronged" alt="" width="558" height="355" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">I met this guy up on Green Mountain. While photographing wild horses, he stood close by and hissed at me for fifteen minutes. Pronghorn make an unusual warning sound. A hiss. Or more like a spit.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f_loro2BZbw/WWIgGTTs5fI/AAAAAAAAHcw/ZDJsqQWew04zFPl5OkZGbSN4pF_tClLCACHMYCw/Charge"><img title="Charge" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f_loro2BZbw/WWIgGTTs5fI/AAAAAAAAHcw/ZDJsqQWew04zFPl5OkZGbSN4pF_tClLCACHMYCw/Charge" alt="" width="554" height="292" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">This bad boy was charging around keeping everybody in line. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvu0sFiqQvAAyOrKrKmrgdd3U9QYZqn_6Dgw10c-lZpOKpFDcRVzPZYXOR-e21NyJKFQ8zygsYQVeNyhc5T58XCbMYiGUtE4gmLUQOYWq0gi-gl3-dfPYgB2suSmz5eb1v7jveqpi8wvwY/"><img title="Beauty" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvu0sFiqQvAAyOrKrKmrgdd3U9QYZqn_6Dgw10c-lZpOKpFDcRVzPZYXOR-e21NyJKFQ8zygsYQVeNyhc5T58XCbMYiGUtE4gmLUQOYWq0gi-gl3-dfPYgB2suSmz5eb1v7jveqpi8wvwY/" alt="" width="558" height="522" data-json="" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">A brown eyed beauty.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IAKV-8PDqc8/WWIidEwtwJI/AAAAAAAAHdA/x6WfNnBxe0U7Ojan0u4UoQ6fE2UqR_ZIwCHMYCw/Family%2B2"><img title="Family 2" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IAKV-8PDqc8/WWIidEwtwJI/AAAAAAAAHdA/x6WfNnBxe0U7Ojan0u4UoQ6fE2UqR_ZIwCHMYCw/Family%2B2" alt="" width="556" height="351" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And his lovely family.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JtlGYibdUqk/WWYW46JcAvI/AAAAAAAAHd4/f1p_FpJfS80XM29Uy0ffM1_y9XOtleqzgCHMYCw/Deer"><img title="Deer" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JtlGYibdUqk/WWYW46JcAvI/AAAAAAAAHd4/f1p_FpJfS80XM29Uy0ffM1_y9XOtleqzgCHMYCw/Deer" alt="" width="558" height="305" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a8OGpa6sn_0/WWYW5AjZjKI/AAAAAAAAHd8/gvw0R6y5hNsy32SyqSAIWtxeEOF5SQ4JACHMYCw/Deer2"><img title="Deer2" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a8OGpa6sn_0/WWYW5AjZjKI/AAAAAAAAHd8/gvw0R6y5hNsy32SyqSAIWtxeEOF5SQ4JACHMYCw/Deer2" alt="" width="556" height="309" data-json="" /></a></div>
Forest games.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4EVcIVSQ7ts/WWYW5x4XtAI/AAAAAAAAHeA/qIGS13YQg-guSDy1615xiU3LCiwxUPzGwCHMYCw/C%2Bby%2BCreek"><img title="C by Creek" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4EVcIVSQ7ts/WWYW5x4XtAI/AAAAAAAAHeA/qIGS13YQg-guSDy1615xiU3LCiwxUPzGwCHMYCw/C%2Bby%2BCreek" alt="" width="533" height="711" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ys4g8SXeSXQ/WWYbDTJGlhI/AAAAAAAAHeE/g-R0jVLa4sI7ceOy3dY0jsyqSDUt2Z_9QCHMYCw/Creek"><img title="Creek" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ys4g8SXeSXQ/WWYbDTJGlhI/AAAAAAAAHeE/g-R0jVLa4sI7ceOy3dY0jsyqSDUt2Z_9QCHMYCw/Creek" alt="" width="534" height="713" data-json="" /></a></div>
We pitched our teepee tent not far from this creek.
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There is nothing like sleeping next to the sound of a lulling stream.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-41Kr1Qh-FiI/WWYbD-jCP6I/AAAAAAAAHeI/5eNMZ9LARKkmlDOAFV-mlHS6GQ6BzFY5QCHMYCw/Paintbrush"><img title="Paintbrush" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-41Kr1Qh-FiI/WWYbD-jCP6I/AAAAAAAAHeI/5eNMZ9LARKkmlDOAFV-mlHS6GQ6BzFY5QCHMYCw/Paintbrush" alt="" width="556" height="520" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0lcmOb74ylg/WWYcOP1PkvI/AAAAAAAAHeM/VTBEk705b5InTrLnAXidXsq91ThvkDO3wCHMYCw/Teepee"><img title="Teepee" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0lcmOb74ylg/WWYcOP1PkvI/AAAAAAAAHeM/VTBEk705b5InTrLnAXidXsq91ThvkDO3wCHMYCw/Teepee" alt="" width="536" height="692" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oLTwZIyz5po/WWYfqJ81WQI/AAAAAAAAHeU/6W6wlFO5xtQPRplaSXps-dxQOP4yvH6ZwCHMYCw/Campsite"><img title="Campsite" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oLTwZIyz5po/WWYfqJ81WQI/AAAAAAAAHeU/6W6wlFO5xtQPRplaSXps-dxQOP4yvH6ZwCHMYCw/Campsite" alt="" width="554" height="341" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Pretty inviting, wouldn't you say?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZcvMtd-oiGo/WWYdOZgiXqI/AAAAAAAAHeQ/pNKdbBKzOKQe0gDlT6T4a-drZcPiFcyrwCHMYCw/Forest%2Bflowers"><img title="Forest flowers" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZcvMtd-oiGo/WWYdOZgiXqI/AAAAAAAAHeQ/pNKdbBKzOKQe0gDlT6T4a-drZcPiFcyrwCHMYCw/Forest%2Bflowers" alt="" width="554" height="415" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Indian Paintbrush is Wyoming's state flower and this forest is full of them.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1SpPtSENMtA/WWYhd1MJMZI/AAAAAAAAHeY/bvVMxUUZw2MIP1_lwa_DZNwH3oth-Me-wCHMYCw/View"><img title="View" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1SpPtSENMtA/WWYhd1MJMZI/AAAAAAAAHeY/bvVMxUUZw2MIP1_lwa_DZNwH3oth-Me-wCHMYCw/View" alt="" width="540" height="671" data-json="" /></a></div>
That's where the wild horses live, out there.
In the summer the majority of them find refuge in the high country. Up here, in the cool pines.
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But, for some reason, it's been a real challenge trying to find them in their usual meadows this year.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5lkiQC4l30w/WWYtPgTbvfI/AAAAAAAAHeg/xDGPQWOkPU0EuD_ZujWBZ5Wwep3ymjusQCHMYCw/Fence"><img title="Fence" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5lkiQC4l30w/WWYtPgTbvfI/AAAAAAAAHeg/xDGPQWOkPU0EuD_ZujWBZ5Wwep3ymjusQCHMYCw/Fence" alt="" width="598" height="501" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is part of the problem.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The West is getting fenced off.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dPzAfFYgLRo/WWYtvveNN7I/AAAAAAAAHek/_HViINci_p86xmt71lnO3Wlpj4cnEYFEgCHMYCw/Horses%2Btrapped%2Bby%2Bfences"><img title="Horses trapped by fences" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dPzAfFYgLRo/WWYtvveNN7I/AAAAAAAAHek/_HViINci_p86xmt71lnO3Wlpj4cnEYFEgCHMYCw/Horses%2Btrapped%2Bby%2Bfences" alt="" width="556" height="399" data-json="" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7v6l4x7vvGM/WWY4kMF3-cI/AAAAAAAAHew/kiEm4yDxm4U6PRexdZYIoVBJqKJN9d8ZACHMYCw/Elk%2B%2526%2Bhorses"><img title="Elk & horses" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7v6l4x7vvGM/WWY4kMF3-cI/AAAAAAAAHew/kiEm4yDxm4U6PRexdZYIoVBJqKJN9d8ZACHMYCw/Elk%2B%2526%2Bhorses" alt="" width="600" height="371" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But, we WERE entertained up on Big Meadow! </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AlTdn_s8yt8/WWY4lsk49DI/AAAAAAAAHe0/61YXDJQ6iIoLBWnVgPJx1dC_5qKC2_ZagCHMYCw/Elk"><img title="Elk" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AlTdn_s8yt8/WWY4lsk49DI/AAAAAAAAHe0/61YXDJQ6iIoLBWnVgPJx1dC_5qKC2_ZagCHMYCw/Elk" alt="" width="554" height="394" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WB_mvegiqsI/WWY4mlsEHAI/AAAAAAAAHe4/9qBtbiHksmIbGobuVn5lF4GoJVNjpj4GQCHMYCw/Flower"><img title="Flower" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WB_mvegiqsI/WWY4mlsEHAI/AAAAAAAAHe4/9qBtbiHksmIbGobuVn5lF4GoJVNjpj4GQCHMYCw/Flower" alt="" width="556" height="471" data-json="" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3M53STVrAMY/WWIk3Qn2f-I/AAAAAAAAHdI/zGI7We37VogOmjHR86hYpgnfJC4K43C3wCHMYCw/Sleepy"><img title="Sleepy" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3M53STVrAMY/WWIk3Qn2f-I/AAAAAAAAHdI/zGI7We37VogOmjHR86hYpgnfJC4K43C3wCHMYCw/Sleepy" alt="" width="556" height="423" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BdkpTMMn3Ek/WWIk37APFDI/AAAAAAAAHdM/J9fxmu9Lc0cmIgEy18sdsosDSBWus6A_QCHMYCw/Babe"><img title="Babe" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BdkpTMMn3Ek/WWIk37APFDI/AAAAAAAAHdM/J9fxmu9Lc0cmIgEy18sdsosDSBWus6A_QCHMYCw/Babe" alt="" width="556" height="458" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uY4IOtS4aio/WWZ-uKC6AcI/AAAAAAAAHfQ/lunQBGaFX5UxPwal4iYOQaX-Nz2NuA5KwCHMYCw/Us"><img title="Us" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uY4IOtS4aio/WWZ-uKC6AcI/AAAAAAAAHfQ/lunQBGaFX5UxPwal4iYOQaX-Nz2NuA5KwCHMYCw/Us" alt="" width="498" height="410" data-json="" /></a></div>
Summer lovin'
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KRo7eE-ZCnM/WWZ8Oxas3pI/AAAAAAAAHfI/NG863IC61h02fUPmMP9CDGymx2Ua4EyKACHMYCw/Camels"><img title="Camels" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KRo7eE-ZCnM/WWZ8Oxas3pI/AAAAAAAAHfI/NG863IC61h02fUPmMP9CDGymx2Ua4EyKACHMYCw/Camels" alt="" width="556" height="318" data-json="" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Just south of Cheyenne we bumped into some camels. They seemed comfortable and feeling right at home. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T3EwffXOwvg/WWZ9SS6jlPI/AAAAAAAAHfM/m8crQ0s6S4o0n3rgpmJBhcShXTDTrMaoACHMYCw/Camel"><img title="Camel" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T3EwffXOwvg/WWZ9SS6jlPI/AAAAAAAAHfM/m8crQ0s6S4o0n3rgpmJBhcShXTDTrMaoACHMYCw/Camel" alt="" width="556" height="392" data-json="" /></a></div>
<span class="_Tgc _x9e" style="font-family: Roboto-Regular, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; color: #222222; text-align: left; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Despite their strong association with the Middle East and Africa, </span>
<span class="_Tgc _x9e" style="font-family: Roboto-Regular, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; color: #222222; text-align: left; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><strong>camels</strong> (along with wild horses) actually originated in <strong>North America</strong> some 45 million years ago. </span>
<span class="_Tgc _x9e" style="font-family: Roboto-Regular, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; color: #222222; text-align: left; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Between 3 and 5 million years ago, they crossed the Bering land bridge to Eurasia and eventually migrated south. </span>
<span class="_Tgc _x9e" style="font-family: Roboto-Regular, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: nowrap;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.541176);">~The History Channel website</span></span>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>
prairiegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10693890864889350222noreply@blogger.com6