Summer Stories. A Short Rest

On the Country Roads. Shadowed Gaze

 

On the Country Roads. In the Breeze

 

Generally, life is good.

On the Country Roads. Two Wanderers

In the soft hush of the field, a horse and its small companion moved unhurried, unbothered, and perfectly at ease with each other.

***

Horses are undeniably beautiful, yet photographing them always feels like an unfinished conversation. You want to understand them, but those brief moments when you encounter them are not enough for this.

*** 

Whenever I meet horses, I stop and wait for one of them to come closer, hoping that the camera will catch something deeper than mere their appearance.

Generally, life is good.

On the Country Roads. Freedom

 

Generally, life is good.

On the Country Roads

There is not much snow in the valley, but in the mountains winter is in full swing. I feel like I entered true winter today, harsh and cold, but I am glad I did.

Generally, life is good.

Time Pauses Its Flight

 

Silence fills the air

Snow crowns mountain peaks

The moment held by the breeze

Time pauses its flight.

haiku #2

Generally, life is good.

Red Barn and Horses

 

I remember it as if it were yesterday.  The first frosty and misty morning, I am not dressed properly for cold weather and shivering from it. 

High in the mountains a red barn and horses. I try to figure out what are these low hanging clouds.  Does anyone burn dry fallen leaves or it's fog that spreads low on the ground. 

But it really doesn't matter The main thing is the charming red barn, the horses and the silence.

Generally, life is good.

On the Country Roads. In the Valley

 

It is unusual to see white barns in the Northern Utah. Usually most of them are a modest brown or loud red color.

Generally, life is good.

On The Country Roads. Horses

 

Horses are beautiful and strong animals and every opportunity to be near them, talk to them is a real gift.

Generally, life is good.

Notes to Self. In the Desert

The desert with its clean air, wildlife and its silence always transports you to another world and tells stories you will never forget.  

Generally, life is good.

November Sketches - IV. Horses on the Fielding Garr Ranch

The last time I photographed horses was a few years ago.  My passion for birds somehow slowly pushed horses into background.

Yesterday at the ranch I spent almost two and a half hours with horses.  They were lovely, well-groomed and beautiful!

Waiting patiently in line for water.

I was struck how patiently the brown horse was waiting for its turn to drink. 

This sleeping beauty was sleeping in the snow for a long time and only on occasion was raising her head to check what was happening around.

The ranch was deserted yesterday apart from horses and rare birds.  Such solitude took me away from loneliness.  It was like a cure for a short time.  I could forget my grieving self  becoming instead porous and boundless like fog.  But when I hit the road I was again my old self and began to cry.

Life goes on.

November Sketches - III. Fielding Garr Ranch

This morning was frosty and the Antelope Island was covered with fresh snow. By the time I got to the Fielding Garr Ranch it was getting a little warmer.  Wondering around snowy ranch was such a pleasure.  There was such a piercing silence all around that I wanted to listen to it.

I photographed horses, wandered around the old buildings and looked in the windows.

Most of the time I had spent with horses, watching them and sometimes taking their photos.

Life goes on.

The Southeastern Area of Antelope Island

 

Yesterday I spent the late afternoon walking on the road from the Fielding Garr Ranch. This road is wide, peaceful and welcoming.

The snow melted and the desert came to life and it felt that spring was so close,  but when the sun started to set behind the mountains the air suddenly felt cold and wintery.

I was surprised meeting this family on the road.  Apparently, the locals are riding on the horses often there.

The Garr ranch is hiding behind the trees. 

The ranch became a home for two Great Horn Owls, the male and the female.  The male usually spends his days in the trees, the female most of the time lives in the barn.

The little beautiful rider.

 

The Fielding Garr Ranch is a part of Antelope Island.  The first building of the ranch was built in 1848 by pioneers of European descent and it still stands on the ranch as the oldest building in Utah. 

Generally, life is good!

The Salty Desert in October

 

When I first time saw the Antelope Island I couldn't decide do I like it or not but time went on and I was getting used to its uniqueness spending more and more time there. 

I don't know how to photograph the desert.  I see its colors, lines, feel its vastness but its bareness sometimes so harsh that I have to stop, take a deep breath and remind myself that the desert is beautiful you only have to see and feel it.

Almost all bisons are right now in the coral where they will be checked for health but a few somehow escaped.  This is one of them.

The male Mule Deer. His horns are so impressive!

Sometimes I see one or two cowboys in the desert and wonder how does it feel to ride a horse?   

Generally, life is good!