OUR WALK THIS MORNING TURNED INTO A KESTREL ESSAY!

Aileen gets the credit for spotting the Kestrel this morning.  I was trying to decide if I could capture the moon when she asked me if that was a leaf or a bird on a small bush.  I couldn't tell until I pointed my 800mm lens at it.  American Kestrels are small falcons that are only about nine inches tall.  They hunt by perching or hovering in mid air then diving down on their prey.

Hovering.

Hovering.

Hovering.

Hovering.

Starting his dive down on an unsuspecting mouse.

He took the mouse to a fence post to eat it.

It didn't take long to have his lunch.

SOME RECENT PHOTOS AND THE LAST OF THE HOAR FROST IMAGES.

Female Western Bluebird.

Male Western Bluebird.

Male Western Bluebird with a wizened grape.

Near the Vaseux Lake boat ramp.

Near the Vaseux Lake boat ramp.

This image is already enlarged as I took it at 160 mm.  I had seen that white spot in the tree and wondered if it was a wasp nest.

I was surprised to see it turn into a pair of Red-tailed Hawks resting way up there.

This was on a log lying on the ground.

Ponderosa Pine.

Ponderosa Pine.

Ponderosa Pine.

Ponderosa Pine.

Ponderosa Pine.

The top of the ridge south of Okanagan Falls on the west side of the highway.

PART TWO OF THREE - HOAR FROST UP THE CAMP MCKINNEY ROAD IN THE FOG.

Yep, foggy!

Branch stub on a fir tree.

Branch stub on a fir tree.

Branch on a downed tree.

Branch on a downed tree.

HOAR FROST MONDAY JANUARY 19, 2026 UP THE CAMP MCKINNEY ROAD. PART 1 OF 3

Last Saturday I played with hoar frost on the west side of the valley which was my last posting.  Yesterday I went up the east side which is predominately Ponderosa Pine and lots of recent forest fires while the west was more Douglas Fir zone. 

I wasn't far out of Oliver when I came upon some indigenous horses.  This one was pretty scruffy.

Then a few miles up the road another band was blocking the road.

Ponderosa Pine.

Ponderosa Pine.

The Balancing Rock is a local attraction.

The Balancing Rock is a local attraction.

The Balancing Rock is a local attraction.

That's a Fireweed under all the ice.

Wildfire starkness.

Wildfire starkness.

Wildfire starkness.

Wildfire starkness.