Got slammed with 111 inches of snow in the most recent 5 day storm.
UC Berkeley’s Snow Lab records this as the snowiest 5 day stretch in 40 years.
But the Sierras are once again,
silent,
still,
serene.
Even the twin waterfalls are sleeping!
Life perseveres, waiting for spring thaw.
The White Mountains (in the back), are home to the few surviving California herds of wild mustangs who are now going to be captured and removed by helicopter roundup and bait water trapping. See prior post on these magnificent wild creatures and their keystone place in the wild habitat:
The US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are moving forward with plans to capture and remove approximately 500 wild horses from their home near Mono Lake in California’s Eastern Sierra. The mustangs have lived here since the 1800’s. The Forest Service and BLM claim the horses are a danger on roads and disturb sensitive habitats.
Interestingly, cattle are allowed to graze in much of this “sensitive habitat.” Reports indicate wild mustangs are consuming habitat allocated for privately owned cattle. In more than 50 years I have never seen a wild mustang on a road, and neither have my friends and family, some whom live in the area, and had no idea they were even here.
https://www.easternsierrawildhorses.com
Cheers to you from The Eastern Sierra and her not long remaining, wild & free mustangs~
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thanks as always for the beautiful photos Cindy…
You are so very welcome! Thank you more for your thoughtfulness & cheers დ
So glad to hear from you, Cindy, and to know that you’ve survived the snowstorm. The snow-covered Sierras are majestic. I’m saddened to learn about the wild mustangs.
Great to hear from you Rosaliene. Some humans are far too comfortable with destruction დ
You’re so right about that!
Sadly.
That’s some snow! ❄️ 😳 But wow! How beautiful 😍
Snow is such, as long as you aren’t digging out from it! Great to hear from you & hope all is well დ
Couldn’t agree more! And so long as you’re not breaking your neck on it after it becomes compacted and freezes over, becoming a lethal ice rink to negotiate walking on!
I’m good thanks, though this is one of my most challenging times right now! I hope everything is going great for you, you deserve it! 😀
Awww… დდდ
Such beautiful images, Cindy. Snow covered mountains are so majestic. What a shame that they are going to round up and move the wild mustangs. Money talks and the ranchers probably have a lot to do with it.
Sad and pathetic. I agree with you Carla and thanks so much for stopping by დ
Beatiful Cindy! Thank you for yhe peace on Earth.
Peace be with you Steve & thank you დ
Stunning captures, Cindy! Mesmerizing!
Hello Donna! So appreciated & thank you my friend დ
Ugh, private interests always trump the rights of animals. I wonder how they sleep at night? Without a soul, I guess it is easy.
It’s like they see something beautiful and need to destroy it. I will never understand. Hope you are well Eliza & thank you for stopping by დ
Beautiful Sierra photos. I am so sorry about the horses. And of course, cattle win out. they never get on the roads or destroy habitat.
Exactly. Pathetic excuses. დ
That makes me so sad. I had no idea they were going to do that to the beautiful and free horses.
I am with you Michele. I feel so sorry for the horses. They are in family herds with colts. It will be traumatic and horses will die დ
Just more hateful behavior by human men to serve their own purposes. I hope people will picket and demonstrate to stop that horrible evil.
I love your outrage Gigi. I feel just the same. Senseless. Cruel. Selfish. I hope the courts stop them but I am not holdling my breath. The US has done an excellent job of slaughtering our wild horse and burro populations. Stay safe and well my friend დ
Such a beautiful post Cindy…loved the way you have spoken about the stillness of the Sierra and the frozen water….breathtaking photos
So thoughtful of you Nimi and so appreciated too. Thanks much my friend & take good care დ
Thanks for following!
I always thought I was.
Wonderful to look at Cindy…but don’t want to be caught in a storm! Thanks for the ‘safe’ photos.
So true and thank you Darnell. This part of The Sierras can be quite dangerous დ
Such stunning captures .. I could sense the peace and stillness that accompanies a significant snow. Hope all is well for you!
Everything is quiet when The Snow Queen weaves her winter spell. Cheers to you & thank you very much დ
Stellar photography, Cindy. This is a winter for the records! Have a great week! oxox
Grazie mille Mary Ann & thanks very much my friend დ
My pleasure, Cindy. oxox
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That’s a ton of snow, Cindy! Your photos are gorgeous. That’s sad about the wild horses!
Hi Jane. Love to hear from you & thanks much. Hope all is well with you დ
Wow look at travel postal, amazing landscape Cindy!
Ahh…. So thoughtful and so appreciated. Thanks much & cheers to you დ
Welcome back to your corner of the web. I’m disheartened to read of the horses relocation. Why can’t nature be the winner for a change. 😢
Exactly my thoughts and thank you Alys. Destructions winning over protection yet again დ
What stunningly beautiful photos and what heart-breakingly awful news about the mustangs. Does sound like some powerful cattle-grazing folks are prevailing in a perilous political tussle…
Hi there Will. Great to hear from you. Cattle owners and BLM in kahoots? Not exactly surprising is it, but still sad for the mustangs. Thanks so much for your thoughtful words & cheers დ
It is not the mustangs that are interfering with our lives, but we, humans, are invading their habitat.
This year the snow is everywhere in huge amount. It is beautiful to watch through the window, but to much cleaning 🙂
Welcome back, Cindy. Probably, snow made your way back to WP too long. Lol…
Smiling. Hi Alexander! Wonderful to hear from you & yes, I was snowed in!!! 😉 😉
So beautiful, Cindy, as always!! ♥
Ahhh…. So appreciated Niki. Thank you very much დ
My pleasure! =) ♥
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Beautiful snow.
Sounds silly to move the horses.
Where will they be moved to? (Wild horses captured would stress a lot. Poor things)
Many will probably die. They will be sold or given away to whomever takes them. Purposely slaughtering wild horses is illegal in the US, so they may enter the “slaughter pipeline” which ships wild horses to Mexico or Canada (Alberta) for slaughter and sale to Japan. Several regions in Japan consider horse meat a delicacy. As usual, follow the money and one will find the explanations. These wild horse families will experience this very soon unless the lawsuits to stop this are successful. I hope you are well my friend and sorry to be a bummer დ
It’s all right, one can’t ignore reality. This is unbelievable… (Horse meat is also still consumed a bit in France…) How can such a massive slaughter be permissible on the flimsy excuse that they cause accidents with cars?
There must be other parts of the US with wild roaming horses?
Greed… 😡
The US has approx. 83K wild horses. Australia, which is a role model for wild horse protection and management has 400K. The US, helo-rounded up or trapped, (with injuries, and sometines death), almost 12K wild horses in 2024 alone, as just one example. We are even worse with wild burros. The BLM created an ‘adoption’ incentive program for the rounded up mustangs in 2019 in which ‘adopters’ can pay as little as $25 to purchase a wild mustang, who then typically sell them for 1K. Hundreds of these adopted mustangs end up in “kill pens,” ready for transfer to the ‘slaugher pipeline,” to be shipped out of country and killed. In 2022, as one example, 1,020 federally protected wild horses and burros were sold at known slaughter auctions over a 22-month period. A bit confusing, ‘sold for adoption’, but sold to slaughter houses. It is sad and ironic that these magnificent wild mustangs are icons of the American West, and Native Americans in particular. I think what bugs me most is the deception, calling slaugher adoption.
This is horrible.The deception is almost worse than the greed…
Yes. We are in full accord.
PS. How can this be legal, just blows me away…
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon.
Can’t imagine the snow…we had one brief flurry this year. Sad about the mustangs having to leave that beautiful landscape.
Yes. The mid-California Sierras often gets the most annual snow fall in the lower 48. It’s serious in the winter and I agree with you. Very, very sad for the mustangs დ
WoW … Absolutely Beautiful and Breath-Taking…
Thank you Willie. Much appreciated & cheers to you დ
The mountains are breathtaking, but the story of the wild mustangs breaks my heart.
That is because you have such a good heart Sheila. It breaks mine too. Thank you my friend & be safe and well დ
What stunning beauty! I wish the Mustangs could stay in their home. So sad that they have no voice in that cruel decision.
I agree with you Patty. Thank you for caring about the wild ones and take good care დ
The images are beautiful. As for the poor horses… It is the people who have had one or two issues that have complained – the squeaky wheels that are getting the ‘grease’. Someone or group must have money to spare to get such a project – another uneeded project underway that everyone else will have to pay for.
As with other populations of animals – maybe culling the herd or preventing growth might have been a better and less expensive option? That is done with the “Assateague Island’s wild horses in Maryland are a free-roaming, feral population, likely descended from 17th-century settlers’ livestock. Located at Assateague Island National Seashore, they are managed by the National Park Service. These hardy animals live in, marshes, and beaches, feeding on salt-marsh grass.” You can read more about how that group of horses is handled by the National Park Service.
It is too bad for the mustangs – I’m sure they aren’t doing the damage that has been asigned to them. But someones knickers were in a twist… And people do tend to over react to protect their own interests.
Hi Jules! Great to hear from you. Thank you for caring about the mustangs. I do know about the wild horses on Assateague. They are a humanely managed herd in comparison to Cumberland Island wild horses for example that are unamanaged and face a harder/grimmer life and abbreviated life expectancy. The Montgomery Pass Wild horses are the only (or were the only) wild horse herd in America managed entirely by natural apex predator (mountain lion) predation. They are (or were) considered a unique and “ecologically effective” herd and are “self stablizing.” Now the mountain lions will be in trouble too. They will likely get shot or trapped if they start to eat the cattle. I don’t want to imagine the BLM/Forest Service decision making process around this issue but I know the cattle come first დ
Every photo portrays so much beauty, so amazingly crisp and clean, Cindy, … ‘Tis wonderful to appreciate the natural state of being, … If you breathe out, one can imagine the moistness freezing instantly, … Sad to hear about the Mustangs, …it breaks your heart every time you hear of such decisions, … it seems some voices are ‘louder’ than others…. Take care and thank you for the uplifting vistas, …💙
Thank you sincerely for such a thoughtful and beautiful comment. You make me happy that I posted. And, yes, “some voices are louder than others,” unfortunately. Your kindness is most appreciated Penny. Take good care & happy you stopped by დ
Your posts are so uplifting, Cindy…nature shown as it is, …beautifully natural, and so wonderful to see, …💙🤗
Ahhhh. So very appreciated. Thank you Penny for your thoughtful kindness დ
I can feel the quiet and stillness of awe that your pictures depicted of nature’s beauty!
So sad for the wild mustangs.
What a lovely comment my friend. Thank you so much. And thank you for caring about the mustangs. Love to you and your family დ
You’re welcome! Thank you for bringing it to our attention about the wild mustangs.
Thank you for the love! Ditto.
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WOW! What a view! These pictures look cold, but warmed our hearts. We feel sorry for the mustangs, it looks like ‘they’ wants to have control over effurrything😾 Glad you’re back, Cindy, we missed you😻Double Pawkisses for a warm and Happy Sunday🐾😙💞
Beautiful. This enriches my world view, although there sadness and more that these magnificent animals are to moved from their wild home.
My teeth are cracking from the grinding of (justifying) more eradication of wild horses. It makes my heart hurt. I love seeing the snow in the sierra’s because the snow pack is vital. You just hate to see so much so fast. It’s stunning though.
Wonderful to hear from you Marlene! And thank you for caring about the stunning mustangs my friend. Stay safe & well დ
Beautiful photos,good quality 👌 I dont if it’s the camera or the photographer, hahahah, whichever way….
Smiling. Thanks much & cheers to you დ
amazing! makes me happy on a hot day in Australia! 💙
Lucky you in gorgeous OZ! დ
May the wild horses never cease to be
Amen. Hope all is well with you Dawn დ
Beautiful photos of the Sierras, Cindy, and the frozen waterfalls are delightful.
Happy you enjoyed and noticed the waterfalls. I was just admiring your wonderful Central America photography. Thanks much & take good care დ
Hi Cindy, thank you for another wonderful post!
Thank you more for your very kind appreciation დ
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Ahhhh…… You are so appreciated Charles. Thank you my friend & stay safe and well დ
Beautiful… it is a joy to come here….. so hot here in Brazil that your pictures look like heaven. LOL
Have a great week
Blessings
Miriam
Blessings flying back to you Mirian & gratitude for your thoughtfulness too! დ
The beauty of the white, serene stillness is wonderful.
The tale of the mustangs is just mind numbing. Do not understand why we can’t things right with animals.
😤😭
Peach
I hear you and I agree with you. We as a species too often choose the path of destruction. Thank you for caring & take good care დ
Such exquisite photos of nature in its pristine self, Cindy and then the snow!!!….. Feel so sad that the mustangs are going to be removed from their natural habitat. So much blatant tinkering with nature for narrow selfish gains!!
Thank you for caring about these magnificent horses and yes, the selfishness makes me angry. Your thoughtfulness is most appreciated my friend დ