Montgomery Woods

 I was able to stop by Montgomery Woods on the way home from work on the coast this afternoon. What a great way to spend the late afternoon, early evening. I had my first owl encounter while walking through the redwoods. I was wondering if this was the fabled spotted owl, but after a little research, found out that it's actually the barred owl. The owl and I just sat and watched each other for about five minutes. I don't know why he kept looking at me, almost seemed as if he was expecting me to give it some food or something. Finally, I had to say goodbye and thank him for the encounter.

 Barred owls are actually hurting the cause of the spotted owl I was sad to find out. They are more aggressive and sounds like they may be competing and winning as far as claiming habitat. The are actually an eastern species and have been slowly making their way west.

 Today I had to pause and appreciate the fact that this tiny grove holds some of the oldest living things on the planet. Sometimes it's just mind blowing.

I also never noticed this tree before. Whoever used to own this property before donating it as a park, did log a few of the old giants. Their stumps can be seen in the middle of the grove. It's hard to know why they chose the ones they did, because they seem pretty random, and are in random spots. The tree above looks like it took an ax or chainsaw to its body before it was stopped for unknown reasons. New tree material has filled the gap. If only the trees could tell their stories...