SNOW ~ Oh No!

MT ROSE - elevation 10770 Ft

Autumn was short lived.  Warm days and frosty nights last week.  Blustery, wet and cold around the clock this week.  Snow down to the foot hills.  I'm not ready and it seems that Mother Nature does not gives a fig!

Morning Glories Fending off the Cold Nights

Delicate and pretty but tenacious... botanical survivors! 

A Visit From Friends

I've not seen the Mustangs in a couple of weeks.  As the round ups continue I often worry that Winter, Sarg or Marco have been rounded up and shipped off to auction.  But yesterday in the late afternoon I heard a whinny at the gate and sure enough there were the bachelors with several friends, including the black stallion with the crocked blaze on his face.  I opened the gate and in they marched in single file to eat the dropped apples in the garden.  They are beginning to get their shaggy, thicker winter hair.   They gorged on apples, cleaned up the yard nicely, and then ambled down the road to their mountain pass home.  All is well with the Mustang world for now.

Winter

Sarg

First time these two below have ventured inside the gate.  Their last visit was spent peering through the front fence:

Nothing like a little Mustang therapy!

At Last ... RAIN!

"The later rain, ---it falls in anxious haste

 Upon the sundried fields and branches

bare,

Loosening with searching drops the rigid

waste,

As if it would each root's lost strength

repair."

~ Jones

We even have shallow puddles and a bit of red mud!

The dogs however, are not so thrilled and have taken to bed to fend of the chilled wet weather.

Exploring A State Road

A late afternoon drive south of our current home.  The highway hugs the base of the Sierras.  The slope of mountain surrounds the high desert valley floor.  The peaks flirt with the thin air that floats above them at 8000 feet.

Valley ranches  nestled at the base of the Sierra foothills...

I've been watching this bachelor for a couple of weeks   He seems to lead the herd and rules with an iron hoof.  None of the other guys can eat too near him without risking a swift and well aimed kick.  He is very wild but loves apples.  He has  taken to whinnying at the gate well after dark for a quick session of "pick your own".  He is spooky around my flash light.  It will be interesting to see if he finds his own females.  I don't yet know if the Mustangs come down the mountains when the snow begins to fall.  Have not seen the Mustang Winter in several days.