These canyon sunflowers were along the trail in a pretty oak woodland area of upper Las Virgenes Canyon.

I had been kneeling when I took the photo, and as I stood up, turned off the camera and started to take a couple of strides up the trail, was startled to see the large white face of a barn owl headed toward me. The bird wheeled and turned in a patch of sunlight, showing its broad wings and exquisite apricot-orange coloration. Silently, it flew to a nearby tree.

I was a little surprised it had not flown farther away and looked to see if I could get a photo. Nope — the owl had had enough, and flew to a more distant tree. At that instant a small squirrel came scrambling down the oak branch from where I had first seen the owl fly.

I apologized to the owl, told the squirrel he owed me one, and continued up the trail.

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