And The Melting Continues...

I blogged about the melt down back on January 9...and it's still going at it! It's warmed up, gotten cold, snowed, warmed up again...but, most of the snow is gone now except for the piles.

But the ice remains in the shaded areas, so the horses are still confined to the barn. The sun rises and shines on the north side, but the strip along the rim rock is quickly in the shade by noon.

One slick sucker!

So, Pierce, Colt and Whiskey are confined to the barn area. It was 24* this morning and the afternoon high is 40*.

The water fall was really strong on Thursday. I love hearing the sound and watching the water make its way through the rocks and sagebrush...then heading under the snow to come up in a small stream flowing toward the gates.

The temporary water fall...maybe we need to name it!?!

Being in the high desert, I miss having water like over in the west part of the state. But, I'll just enjoy this when I can...every two to three years.

Flowing water over the rocks and under the snow.

We've got ditches made now (since the top layer of soil has softened up somewhat) so, that is keeping the majority of the water out of the barn.

I turned Colt into the round pen with Pierce yesterday afternoon, and they had a great time kickin' up their heels. The footing was good enough that they didn't slip.

In a couple of weeks, we'll be moving cows from Princeton to Diamond for Rancher Dan, so I've got to get a couple of horses legged up at least a lil' bit...I'm ready to get back into the saddle again!

In other news...

It looks like moma owl has taken to nestin' in the Hole in the Rock. Both of them had been gone for a couple of days and now, for the past two days, only papa owl is in the tree...which leads me to believe that Love is in the Air!

The Hole in the Rock Nest

Can you spot the owl? Mother Nature's camouflage.

Papa owl will have to work double hard...hunting for himself and her...and then for the lil' ones when they're born. They've had 3 to 5 owlets in the past...wonder how many they'll have this year?!

Papa owl...waiting patiently...