Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Horse riders

Location:  Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, Arizona

Last night I woke up at 2 o'clock and couldn't go right back to sleep.  I felt the morning hours go by one by one but I had short dreams.  Lots of them that I could remember in the morning which is unusual.  Wonder what that means?  

When I finally looked at the clock, it was exactly 8 o'clock.  Yuma wanted to go outside already, so I threw a robe on and out the door we went.  Already 57 degrees going to mid 70s again.  More prairie dog mounds but still no sightings.


Yuma can be lazy in the morning.

Sitting outside this morning looking at the Santa Rita Mountains to my west.  Sun and shade.  I've mistakenly called them the Santa Rosa Mountains, but that was wrong.  Had a big breakfast of bacon and eggs and a glass of milk.  Last night I weighed 143 pounds so things are looking much better now.  Seven more pounds and I'll be happy.
Sometime early in the morning another truck pulling a horse trailer showed up next door and around 9 o'clock they were starting to get ready for a ride.
Out of their corrals and being examined.

 

Yuma watching intently!

Time to saddle up.
Exercise before mounting the horses.
 By 10 o'clock they were on their horses and heading out for a ride through the grasslands with their dog running along with them.





Their camp and ours.
Yuma running through the grass with his tail straight up.  Only way I know where he is.  Maybe he has an eye up there. :))
 Around 1:30 they started coming home but not all together. 





Drinking water at Cienegas Creek.
Yuma and I decided to ride up to the Empire Ranch Headquarters to see if it was open.  That's when we ran into our horse friends drinking from the creek.  You'll have to wait till tomorrow night to find out about the ranch.

Around 6 o'clock, Yuma and me were going to take an evening walk to watch the sunset, but as soon as I opened the door, Yuma was gone.  I don't know how he saw them so fast but he did.  

There were two Prong Horned Sheep in the trees about 400 feet away.  They watched him come at them for a second and then they headed out.
Yuma gave up quickly, and the two turned around and watched Yuma.
 

Enough excitement for one evening.  Time for dinner.
Sunset over Cienegas Creek and the Santa Rita Mountains.


See you later.

18 comments:

  1. I guarantee you wont see any prairie dogs, while Yuma's running around! Youre so lucky to have such pretty horses passing by. It's funny that the sheep dodnt just race away. Great pictures of them. Another amazing sunset. I do enjoy all the wonderful pi tures.

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    1. Thanks Dolly. The Pronghorns are antelope and not sheep. For some reason I thought they were but I am wrong. I'm glad they're horses around. Great they were nearby so I could watch them prepare to ride. Interesting routine.

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  2. that does sound like a bit of excitement for the day. Great picture of Yuma's 'periscope' :) Another perfect sunset, ENJOY!

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    1. Thanks Jeff. Another beautiful day that's for sure.

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  3. I would agree with Dolly about the Prairie Dogs.
    Really enjoyed your pictures especially the sunset.

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    1. Thanks Deb. Yuma doesn't bother the mounds. Acts as he doesn't know they are there.

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  4. Such a beautiful day for riding. The scenery is amazing & then the colorful horses and riders. I love the Appaloosa (my favorite horse with 2nd being a Paint). Yuma is funny and his tail reminds me of a shark fin cutting thru the ocean.! Tried to research the horse marathon endurance trials & think they were cancelled this year. 😎

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    1. Thanks Moonfly. I wondered about the horse event. You know your 🐎. I just know they look neat. Yuma glides through the grasslands like a shark:))

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  5. Wow, nice pictures of the horses, very unique they are. Yuma seems to have really good eyesight! Beautiful sunset picture! Take care, Rawn

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    1. Thanks Rawn. Yuma does have sharp eyesight. Great, because I'm as blind as a bat:)). Those horses sure are pretty.

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  6. The horses are beautiful and entertaining to see the riders go through their procedures to ride. It makes us wonder how much 'physical distancing' they are practising though. From each other. They can't all be from the same household but that is just our reaction after having been quarantined for 2 weeks. Great pictures of the sheep, from a distance we would have guessed deer but would have been wrong. Stay healthy you two!

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    1. Thanks Patsy. I've been corrected. They are antelopes. I don't think the distancing thing applies to close friends that hang around a lot.:))

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  7. First time EVER I saw a pronghorn on our way back home Tuesday. He was too far away for pictures. Ummm I think they are called pronghorn antelope, least in my part of the country. I'm so jealous of those riders. Haven't been on a horse for probably two years!!

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    1. Thanks Nancy. You were nice in your correction. They are antelope in this neck of the woods too. First time I've seen any here. Al has great pictures of them here up close. Glad the horses are my neighbors.

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  8. Good for those people getting out, enjoying fresh air while having a nice ride on those beautiful horses! I was thinking those were antelope too. We have a lot of them in Northern Nevada. Love Yuma's tail too! What a beautiful sunset!!

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    1. Thanks Shirley. I don't know why but I thought pronghorn were sheep but I now know they are antelope:)) They are beautiful horses.

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  9. We've seen a number of those Gopher holes around there as well but like you we never ever did see a Gopher.

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  10. They are there because I see the recent scratches of them going in and out. I think they are wary fellows:))

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