Lately we have had lots of nice snow days, interspersed with bluebird skies and cold temperatures. Perfect winter weather. Today I took the girls out for their own private photo shoot in a snowstorm on a frozen lake. I think they thought it was not such a good idea and we did not stay out too long. It was pretty. I like the unfocused snowflakes and the unfocused dogs.
This winter birders are observing many Varied Thrushes in North Central Washington. These birds are closely related to American Robins – same general size and shape but with some very distinct markings. We counted quite a few on the Christmas Bird Count around Twisp. More than usual although it is an expected species in the winter.
Saturday in Twisp, I noticed lots of them in the crabapple trees in the park. They would fly if I walked but if I stayed in the car I could photograph them for as long as I wanted. The bird with the gray band across its chest is a female and the one with the black band is a male.
American Kestrels are the smallest falcons in North America. This tiny raptor has a wingspan of 22 inches and weighs 4.1 ounces. It eats small mammals, insects and today it ate a finch from our feeder. This bird is a male because of the blue on its wings. It was minus four this morning before the sun came out. Normally this bird has a sleek appearance but it fluffed its feathers in order to keep warm.
Through a series of planned and unplanned events, we got to spend the weekend with Rozie. And her people. But I didn’t get any pictures of her people. Just Rozie playing in the snow. Sky really likes Rozie.
Total lunar eclipse. Red moon. Wolf moon. Full moon. Lots of descriptors for last night’s moon. It was stunning to watch. Constantly changing. We were lucky to see it. The skies had been overcast all day and even when the moon came up, there was still a thick hazy cloud cover.
As if that wasn’t enough, the moon set this morning was also stunning. Sinking in the deep blue sky that gradually turned to purple and pink alpenglow.
My Everyday Photos 