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Hay Readers!
Now's the time to gallop on over to the other
The Equestrian Vagabond blog
http://theequestrianvagabond.blogspot.com/
on Blogger. Same content, just different page. You can subscribe, just like this one, by RSS or by email, or just bookmark it and check in every day.
See you over there, and thanks for reading and commenting!
Merri
The Equestrian Vagabond
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Thursday
May 20 2010
We went out to mark some of the trails  for
the 3-day Owyhee Fandango ride May 28-30. You'll see some of this if you
do Day One.
Holy
Moly - it wasn't deer, it was big horn sheep! I've only rarely
seen these, and never here - they are usually 2 drainages further east.
You'll be real lucky if you see these!
(We
also saw a deer, 2 lone pronghorns, a nice brown snake, a red-tailed
hawk nest, ravens.)
Picking a trail through the brush, 
heading to the Rock Corral.
The
flowers are pretty outrageous in the desert right now - lupine,
bitterbrush, Indian paintbrush, biscuitroot, buckwheat, daisies, phlox,
aster, and others I don't know. The blooming bitterbrush and the lupine
smell so sweet.
Mac
was a bit frantic on his own, but Rhett is coming now!
Don't
want to get off to tie a ribbon here.
Boot
malfunction!
We
had several boot malfunctions! This was on a steep slope that I almost
fell down on while trying to remove the hanging boot - fortunately Mac
just stood there and didn't move!
Hart Creek drainage, looking
toward the Owyhee mountains.
Coming
down into an old homestead.
Steph
points the way.
Mac
and Rhett have a discussion.
I
found a Raven feather!
There's
a crazy amount of grass, too.
Back
into the home creek after 7 hours of marking trail.
A
good day in Owyhee! Come see it at the Owyhee Fandango in southern
Idaho end of May.
More
photos of the Alder Creek loop here
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Wednesday
May 19 2010
In Owyhee, Life Is Good.
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Tuesday
May 18 2010
Even the smallest being can challenge a mighty
centuries-old theory.
A pair of Eurasian collared doves (an
invasive species here, I might add), decided to build a nest and lay
some eggs. Steph and I figured this is a Redneck pair.
"Hey
honey! I got an idea! Let's build us a nest and lay some aiy-ggs!"
"OK
well we don't got much money, so let's just throw us up a quick few
sticks right here where we're sitting so we don't got to go far! We got a
great view and it's low maintenance!"
(A few pieces of straw
were tossed haphazardly on the edge of a finger-thin tree branch where
it's touching the roof.)
"Heck
I dunno how long our straw pieces will stay so we better hurry with the
aiy-ggs! There, I popped a couple out! Whoops! This un's about to roll
out the nest! Just nevermind that second one that's just going to fall
through a hole in the nest!"
"That's
okay, I'll put a stick there to barricade it! Just don't bounce too
hard when you fly off."
The
doves are trying to blow cannon holes in Darwin's ideas of natural
selection, survival of the fittest and strongest, the intelligent
reproduce so the species survives, etc.
Who knows? Maybe the
little gray doves know more than humans. Maybe they'll defy the rules.
There are an awful lot of them around. But then, one more gusty
day, and this pair of doves aren't going to be reproducing anything but
poached eggs for the ants.
I think Darwin can rest easy.
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Saturday
May 15 2010
A gorgeous setting for the 14th annual Mt Adams
Endurance ride - 100, 75, 50, and 25 miles, 25 and 12 mile Ride N Tie,
and a Trail Ride - outside of Trout Lake, Washington, near the foot of
12,281' Mt Adams.
A
good scratching while waiting in the vet line.
He
thought about bucking at the start of the 25 mile ride!
A
group starting on the 25 miler.
One
of the CUTEST KIDS EVER. Garret's 5 years old, and did his first
endurance ride with his mom on the 25 miler. Biggest smile plastered on
his face all day!
Sherry
from Canada.
The
Ride N Tie'rs start out on the trail.
Heading
out on a loop.
One
of the other CUTEST KIDS EVER, and one of the CUTEST PONIES EVER. Clara
and Benjamin are doing their first 75 miler!
Cooling
Benjamin down at a vet check.
Tanking
up before going out on the next loop.
Dennis
Summers trotting out 19-year-old Rosie. They ended up winning the 100.
This
horse was catching everybody's eye: half Friesian, 1/4 Arabian, 1/4
Quarter horse. He and Nicole finished the 100.
Heading
out on another loop.
Nothing
better then a good roll at the end of the day!
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Wednesday
May 12 2010
He's got long bat ears, and if you squint your eyes,
you can imagine a black cape twirling behind him.
Steph
says he's like a kid with ADD (failing to pay attention to details,
appearing not to listen when spoken to, "daydreaming" (of saving the
world) , excessive distractibility, forgetfulness, difficulty
concentrating on conversations).
He's got a butt on him like a
mac truck, (it's a paint butt - he's 3/4 Arabian, 1/4 paint) an engine
back there that propels him forward at the trot like a rocket. Riding
behind him, before you can say "Hey wait a - " he's gone.
He's
excessively kind and he's curious, a sweet, gangly, somewhat dorky kid.
He's
the Caped Crusader - come to save the day! (Or, at the least, Owyhee).
(Cue
the Batman music!)
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Tuesday
May 11 2010
I saw, two or three times, a bird flee from under my
truck's tires where I park it in the grass. I'd clear away the start of
the nest in the grass - straw, sticks - but the bird would fly out
again next time I was there. (It shot out of there so fast I never got a
good look at it.) Even though I don't use the truck much, I finally
decided to move it so the bird wouldn't build a nest underneath. Had
enough trouble with those starlings
in the barbecue, you know.
Yesterday I spent the day in town
(an hour drive each way), and parked my truck in a different spot back
home overnight.
Today I took my truck to the neighbor's to have
help changing the oil.
Rick opened the hood: "Oh my God!"
Five
eggs in a robin nest!
Dang
bird.
The nest looked untouched, after driving 150 miles
around Idaho, like it was still waiting for mom to return.
But
now, at least 24 hours without incubation, the robin eggs were just
that - blue eggs.
Sorry
Robin! Next time I'll think to check under the hood during nesting
season! Maybe it's not too late for these robins to build another nest
and lay a new set of eggs. I hope so, anyway.
Robin egg omelette,
anyone?
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Sunday
May 9 2010
It's just downright cruel, forcing a horse to get out
of bed on a lazy morning and go out for a ride.
Could you do it?
Could
you come up to a horse like Jose, totally passed out and make him get
up?
He
didn't even hear me talking to him, didn't open his eyes.
When
he finally opened his eyes, he laid there a minute, then groggily sat
up.
Looked
at me. Smacked his mouth and licked his lips.
He
stared at me after I put his halter on.
Unmoving.
Not
even a tug on the rope convinced him to get up.
He
gave me a chance to change my mind. Or feel really, really guilty about
it.
OK,
if that's how I really wanted it, he'd get up.
One leg. (Wait, in
case I wanted to change my mind.)
The
other leg.
Staggered
up, stood there, stretched his back, smacked his mouth and licked his
lips some more (just like I do when I wake up!), blinked his eyes hard
(just like I do when I wake up!). Yawned.
Followed
after me, his feet shuffling along the ground, his eyes half closed.
I
felt so guilty I let him graze on the way to Carol's.
Turned
out to be quite the beautiful morning for a ride, and Jose didn't mind
being out.
Next
time, though, I would be more considerate if I picked a time when he's
not zonked out.
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Friday
May 7 2010
In some cultures, the owl is a harbinger of doom and
death.
(They're all so wrong.)
In some cultures the
owl symbolized protection and wisdom. Athena, Greek Goddess of Wisdom,
made the owl her favored creature.
Next to Ravens, Owls are a
very special bird for me. They're beautiful and mysterious, and mostly
hard to find - if you do see one, consider yourself lucky. One of my
great jobs was doing spotted owl surveys. I've gotten to hold spotted
owls when we banded them.
This spring I've been quite lucky to
find several owl nests in the area - 2 long-eared owl nests and 2 great
horned owl nests.
This is a family of great horned owls down the
creek whose progress I've been following. The three babies always looked
quite fierce when I checked on them, although they never showed alarm.
Mom and dad pretty much totally ignored me.
April 26:
May
3:
May
6, the nest was suddenly empty! Did they fledge already? Those fluffy
balls of feathers surely weren't able to fly already! We'd had a
terrible wind storm the night before, and I was so afraid they'd blown
out of their exposed nest, maybe fallen in the creek right below the
tree, and drowned.
May 7:
I hiked to their nest, and this is
what I found: all three babies had indeed fledged! (It takes 35 days
from hatching to fledging - leaving the nest.) They were all in 2 trees
50 yards up and across the creek. Two were hanging out with mom and dad,
and one sat in a tree by himself.
Owl's
well that ends well for this owl family.
(Really, there's just
nothing cooler than Ravens and Owls.)
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Thursday
May 6 2010
I headed out to chip away at a piece of my Mission of
hiking the whole of Brown's Creek, from mouth near the Snake River to
source in the Owyhee mountains.
The seed of this idea was the Two-horse
Mystery and Cats day where I discovered and detoured to another
Homestead on Brown's Creek - instead of hiking along the Second Cliffs
like I'd originally planned.
Today, I was aiming for those Second
Brown's Creek cliffs. First, I stopped to check on the First Cliffs
eagle nest. I did see a golden eagle flying in the air, but, when I came
to where I could view the nest - no eagle! And nothing on the nest! Oh
no, the nest must have failed! There appeared to be a lot more whitewash
on the cliffs, around one of the old nests and some nice eagle perches
in the cliff, and in fact a lot of little whitewashes on the walls
around the nest, but the nest itself looked a bit caved in beneath, and
there looked like there was actually some snow in the nest. Snow? It
snowed yesterday - maybe the eagles just recently abandoned the nest?
Well,
no sign of eagles, so onward with my hike.
I thought I'd make a
loop out of hiking a mile up Brown's Creek to the Second Cliffs, turn
south towards the Dam
Wash, and hike back along the Dam Cliffs and back down the Dam Wash
 to
where it ran into Brown's Creek at my starting point.
I had to
backtrack a long way just to get down into a side wash that ran into the
Dam Wash... and by the time I got down into the Dam Wash, I was
fascinated by it,  and
instead followed it down to where it ran into Brown's Creek.
Water
didn't run in the Dam Wash  often,
but when it did, it was obviously powerful. Evidence of plant debris
was several feet up the sides at places, and there were some drops over
boulders where brief waterfalls had carved out deep holes. One drop-off
was 4 feet high.  I
didn't want to be in here in a flash flood (and there were scattered
showers around).
I kept stuffing my pockets and my backpack with
cool rocks - round ones polished by water, sandstone-colored pink ones,
obsidian nuggets. The echoes of canyon wrens (very cool calls) and
chukkars echoed off the high red cliffs. A frog hopped around a little
puddle of water.  I
watched over my shoulders for cougars.
When
I reached flowing Brown's Creek,  my
plans changed. Why not hike down through the narrow canyon, below the
eagles' nest, since it was abandoned, and see what I could find?
The
creek was swift, but narrow enough to rock-hop over. I worked my way
downstream beneath the cliffs, watching for cougars, keeping my eyes on
the rocks and caves. 
A
prairie falcon was incensed at my presence and screeched his outrage,
perching on the top of a cliff  to
glare down at me as I passed far below him.
Below the old eagle
nests, 
I
found little bones (eagle meals)  and a
couple of (probably) eagle feathers. 
Further along the cliff, somewhat below the abandoned nest,  I
found more little bones of eagle meals, 
another feather or two, and 2 broken eggs. 
(Couldn't be eagle eggs - too small, and they would have shattered if
they ever made it this far down the cliff). But no signs of baby eagles,
lumps or carcasses or piles of feathers.
I was going to work my
way downstream and on out past the cliffs...  and
stopped myself right before I stepped into a collection of poison oak.
The stinging nettle caught my eye, then I realized those pretty 3-leaved
sprouts hanging out with the stinging nettle were not friendly. If they
hadn't had some red on their leaves I wouldn't have noticed them, and
I'd be in quite an itchy state now.
Instead, I thought I'd call
it a day, and I crossed the creek and scrambled among the cliffs back up
to the top. I decided to have one more look at the eagle nest. I hiked
back toward it, popped out around a rock - and a golden eagle flew off
the nest!
Oh. My. God. What an Idiot. I am the World's Worst
Amateur Wanna-Be Birder. That 'snow' on the nest - was a pile of baby
eagles! Had I figured that out, I never would have hiked through the
canyon. At this stage of development, the babies are not able to
thermoregulate, and if the adults abandoned the babies, they'd die.
Great to know I could have really eagally screwed things up.
As
it was, I must not have disturbed the adult on the nest while I was
puttering around snooping far below the nest, and as I climbed up the
other side, until I walked back to where I could see the nest.
Nevertheless, after a quick look through my good Nikon binoculars (I
couldn't tell how many baby eagles were in the nest) I did some golden
eagle penance and got out of there quickly. (Idiot!) (What did I THINK
baby golden eagles would look like, fuzzy nuggets of gold?)
Here
is a picture of golden eaglets by Carol McIntyre.
Before heading
home, I wanted to scout out a better starting point for the Dam Wash
Cliffs (I'll have to cross the Dam Wash to get to the Second Brown's
Creek Cliffs) next time. I drove another mile up the road, and found a
side road that led me closer to the cliffs. I got out and hiked the half
mile down to the cliffs and - almost stepped on a baby rattlesnake.
At
this time of year?? I know it's May, but it SNOWED yesterday, for Petes
sake. It's too cold yet for rattlesnakes! The high buzz of his rattles
were so - unexpected, I first registered it as a cicada, until I
realized we don't have those here, and I leaped away in fright, somewhat
belatedly. The buzzing stopped, but I couldn't stop myself from turning
back and creeping back, ever so carefully... to make sure... and there
it was, a beautiful, little, maybe 7 inch long rattler. The babies are
supposed to be the most deadly because they inject all their venom in a
bite. It curled and started rattling again (I figured I was out of
range, but I backed up more), and it slithered into a crevice in a rock.
Cougars,
schmougars, I was extremely jumpy about rattlesnakes now. If I squatted
down to look at the pieces of natural obsidian littering the ground,  and my
boot squeaked, I jumped. My eyeballs and ears were on hyper-alert and I
was nervous and jumpy as a spooky Arabian horse.
Crossing a
2-track road (which I wouldn't drive on) that you've ridden on, if
you've done the Castle Creek loop on one of the Owyhee rides, I made my
way to the cliffs - and right where I hit the rim - right there in
front of me across the deep canyon  -
was another golden eagle nest,  with
several white lumps on it. With my binos I still couldn't determine how
many eaglets were laying in a row, but I thought i saw 5 or 6.
Endurance riding bird biologist friend Karen S told me later 6 was
impossible; 4 young have only once been recorded in the history of the
world, and three is unusual (the normal is 1 or 2). So either I found a
hawk nest, or there were just 2 or 3 biiiiiiiiiiiiiig white lumps of
golden eaglets there. I have a feeling it was eagles, but when we return
in a couple of weeks to check it out, we'll know for sure.
And I
still have my boots set on hiking to the Second Browns Creek cliffs. I
am sure there could be another eagle territory there, too. Fascinating,
this Brown's Creek drainage!
Photos of the canyon hike here.
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