The clouds and radar said there was a storm coming. The weather warning confirmed it. But around 5 we decided to take our chances and head up the Dryhead. It looked like some of the rain had passed.
I never know who I will see when I head up the Dryhead. I was pretty confident we would see The Greeters, and I was not disappointed. They were much further up the road than I have ever seen them. Almost to the cattle guard just before Devils Canyon overlook.
Missing from The Greeters group since I last saw them was Jesse James. It was a bit strange to only see the three together.
We continued down the road just a short way when we came around a bend and there we saw Blizzard with his four mares. Strawberry, Bakken, Cascade and Sacajewa. Sacajewa was a new addition to this band since I had last seen them 10 miles up Sykes in April. Blizzard was doing a great job holding his band together. I wondered how long it would last now that he is down were there are so many bachelors.
We stood and watched them for several minutes while they enjoyed the mud puddle that looked like it had formed just earlier this evening.
After several minutes playing in the water they headed down the road and we went the opposite way.
Next was Fiero, alone again, just like I have seen him the last several times. He looked great as always.
Another storm was coming and we stayed in the truck as the rain started to come and the lightening flashed around us.
Fiero seemed unconcerned with the rain and wind. We left him to his grazing.
By now it was pouring raining, but far off on Mustang Flats I spotted 3 more horses. They were: Hawk, Issaquah and Joseph. We watched them for a short time through binoculars.
Continuing down the road the opposite way I saw Blizzard again up on the side of a steep hill, his mares just down from him. Wondering why he was so far up the steep hill, I glanced up and saw Merlin and Kemmerer just above him. They stayed for only a few minutes before they acted as if they were leaving. I have a feeling some changes may occur with Blizzards band soon.
We head up the morning right after sun rise.
I have heard that Crooked Creek road may be washed out in a few places. I don’t think I want to find out for sure, so I won’t be going up that way tomorrow morning. Burnt Timber was another option, but it seems that may not be good either . Unless I hear otherwise, it looks like my road of choice is going to be Sage Creek. Not only my only other choice, but probably the safest with the amount of rain that has come down. I will keep you posted.
Sandy
What an adventure! I’m glad the horses are having some fun with the extra moisture the Dryhead is getting. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
When I saw the greeters, they were on their way toward the Overlook, too. Must be some good grazing back in there someplace. That seems to be a favorite area for Merlin to frequent, too.
Hope you don’t have too much trouble getting to the top. Just think how much water there should be in the puddles up there. 🙂
Stay safe.
Hi
Any news of Prince, Two Boots and other missing horses?
Thora
I love all the pictures of them having so much fun! they’re really enjoying that mud 🙂 It’s really great to see Blizzard stepping up to be the responsible band stallion again rather than the playboy he had been. I hope he continues this and keeps his grulla girls together 🙂 I just love Bakken! She is possibly my favorite grulla. Both her and Strawberry have a tendency to look extra plump, but it would be great if one of them foaled again. Haha I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’d love to see Blizzard sire an apricot dun filly! 🙂 And I think if either of them were to foal this year it would be Fiero’s. He deserves some offspring too.
I’m thinking it’s going to be interesting to see if Blizzard loses interest when the breeding season is definitely all over with. I think maybe he has that figured out. 🙂
NEW FOAL REPORT: I just spoke with Sandy via cell phone and there is news that is sad at this point. She asked me to post for all of you and will update as soon as she can.
LaBrava delivered a filly early this morning, but in a chain of events that happens, though rarely, in the wild, the foal was separated from LaBrava. She is now mixed in with Bolder’s band and is not faring well.
Hopefully, Sandy will have better news later. We can all hope, and those who pray, can do that, as well. Godspeed, sweet filly.