Early August had smoky, hot, and dry conditions in the southern Interior of BC.   Forest fire smoke blanketed large areas and I used smoke forecast services to go where the smoke was less hazardous.    Often the hikes were shorter, planned for times and areas of tolerable conditions.    The grasslands and forests were very dry and seemed susceptible to forest fire danger.     My hikes were on quiet trails and tracks.    Along the trails were a few wildflowers, but there were lost of other things to observe, a few of which are shared in a Google Photos album, embedded in this post.

Shared here are white prairie aster (Symphytotricum falcatum), curlycup gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa), a sage tree cricket (Oecanthus salvii), a Fritillary butterfly (Arynnis sp.), leafy aster (Symphyotrichum foliaceum), white clematis (Clematis lingusticifolia), a mammal skull, and an (owl?) feather.