T3DHT Coco at Sunrise

Coco is the only buckskin living on Assateague Island National Seashore. The wild ponies that freely roam the island, a majority of which travel back and forth between the developed area of the park and the backcountry, regularly walk along the roads. This behavior, along with their elevated activity level in the early hours of the morning, ensures that visitors can view the band stallions and mares that often disappear into the marshlands during the off-season. I stood from a distance as Coco emerged from the forest onto the sun-lit asphalt. She barely took her eyes off me as she walked along the double yellow line for a few feet before exiting into the trees to graze in the marsh. We acknowledged each other, in a way, and enjoyed a moment of peace before the coolness of the morning was lost to rising temperatures and relentless swarms of biting flies.