A drive through the countryside in southeast Washington;
December, 2013. by this time of the year the apples and pear orchards have been harvested (September, October), but their leaves still lingers for the morning sun.
Grape vineyard, in Sunnyside, lays bare waiting for the next season.
An unexpected encounter of a bird hovering over a ravine made me stop to take this and the following shots. He was hovering in one place just like a hummingbird.
It turns out he was hunting, and the next minute he swoops down and caught a mouse (below), flew around and landed on a wire. After which he proceeded to eat the mouse.
WARNING; THE FOLLOWING PICTURES ARE NOT FOR MOUSE LOVERS;
AGAIN, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
This is a kestrel, a bird of the falcon genus. The hovering and swooping down technique that I witnessed is actually common for these birds. AKA Windhover, for obvious reason.
after capturing it he proceeded to rip off the fur first, then... the rest is history.
Kestrels can be recognized by their stripes on their face.
This is male American Kestrel. The female plumage is less dramatic, as in most species of animals, in contrast to humans.
On the outskirts of Sunnyside, Washington, I found some four-legged domesticated animals:
This one was giving me a stare-down.
This is a llama, (or is it an alpaca?). What's the difference?
Llamas are bigger, heads are longer, and curved ears.
BTW, llamas mate lying down, and for 20-45 minutes! just FYI.
This lamb was mesmerized by my craziness, taking pictures in 20F temperature.
This is how long-horns pick their nose.
"Mooooo!"
Sculpture of T-Rex in Granger, Washington. There are several
figures of different dinosaurs in this small town. There must have been dinosaurs bone found here, or it is just a tourist attraction. Well it worked on me.
Grape vineyards after the harvest.
Harvested vineyards under the Washington sun.
