3 Little Foxes

Wild Horse Herd

Salem Pond, Salem, Utah

The famous bridge at Salem Pond.

A good morning to fish and to enjoy the new spring weather at the park. There were a couple of old timers, who were fishing when I pulled up. They had cast their lines, and were just relaxing and enjoying the spring sunshine in their lawn chairs. I thought to myself, "That is what a Saturday should be about."

One of my very favorite predators: The Preying Mantis

I found this cute little fella last fall, and brought him home. Eventually, I let him go, and I'm sure he probably froze during the winter. Mantids are some of nature's greatest predators, and I am very fond of them, as they are AMAZING fly catchers. They are predators, not scavengers; if you put a dead fly in front of them, they probably won't touch it. However, if you can just maim a fly, and set it down in front of the mantis, he'll wait patiently, and when the fly goes for the getaway, BAM!! The mantis will grab him in his barbed, folded arms, and have a nice feast. They are pretty fun to watch. There is a great youtube series, which includes a video about the mantis; it's called "True facts about the Mantis." It's a little crass, but hilarious.

http://youtu.be/0aSCPmabRpM

Onaqui Wild Horses Part 3

Gandolf and his companion horse, Three Socks. This behavior is called "phlemen." They curl up their upper lip, and are smelling the air to see if any of the mares are in estrus.

A peaceful, sweet moment, shared between mama and baby.

The stallions are in a constant struggle for dominance, and it's fairly common to witness fighting and chases like this one. That swift back kick just barely missed!

It gets so dusty out here; so dry. This is the entire herd of between 130-135 individuals, heading to the water hole, and stirring up clouds of dust.

Onaqui Wild Horses Part 2

This was one of the last trips I made to the herd, last fall. I always hope to be able to approach the herd in my car, at least within 100 or so yards; they're used to seeing a few cars and trucks everyday, rolling through the desert. If you have to approach them from out of nowhere, on foot, they're much more skiddish, as you can seem like a predator, rather than just a peaceful Joe with only a camera.
This particular evening, I caught the herd a good ways from a dirt road. So, they didn't see me park my car. I hiked at least 1000 yards to get to them, and when I got within sight of them, a half dozen of them ran out to meet me; ears perked up, nostrils flared, looking for a showdown if I wanted one. I stopped where I was, and let them stare at me and my tripod for a while; long enough that they could all calm down a bit.
By the time I got to start shooing some good stuff, the daylight was quickly fading. I was lucky to get the shots that I did; very few. But because of the lighting, this shot ended up being rather beautiful. These horses are so pretty. They are wild; they are quite different than any Quarter Horse you may have been around. They have a wild, natural spirit, and you can feel it if you try.
I sure hope that these precious symbols of the wild American West will remain for many, many centuries to come. I'm crossing my fingers than man won't screw it up.

Onaqui Wild Horses Part 1

It was so hot this day; 101 degrees when I arrived, only to see the entire herd stampeding, being chased around by some jackass's Doberman Pincher dog. Needless to say, I gave the guy a piece of my mind; not only was he harassing wild animals with a dog, he was harassing a federally protected species. Anyway, with the heat, and all that running, the stallions were feeling extra ornery and short-tempered; fighting was rampant for a couple of hours, until they were all able to cool off down at one of the watering holes.
I love their crazy manes in this shot.

I cropped in on this shot a bit, to be able to show you the intensity of these fights. In those struggles for dominance, among the competing stallions, they literally "go for the jugular."

Trying to woo a few new ladies.

Some good relief from the hot sun, and dry, dusty desert.

Utah Lake at sunset

I liked the high-contrast B&W on this; it added some texture and intensity to an otherwise mild, but chilly wind.

This is my buddy, Cody--also a photographer.

Just before the light was gone.

Black Bear

On this particular trip to Yellowstone, I saw FIFTEEN bears in a single day. However, they were far, far away, until I found this mother with her yearling cub. You can see that there is some color variation among Black Bears. They can be brown, black, even blonde, or with a hint of blue/silver.

This shot would be AMAZING, if I'd have been just a little more at the ready. In this case, I got a shot, but the cub was not in focus. Bummer for a picture. But still a great thing to see.

Cute little yearling cub.