Thistle & Ant

This was taken behind our cabin in the Los Padres National Forest, the day after a close encounter with a Black Bear.  I had been trying for weeks to get good photos on this bear when one day I saw him at a great distance walking into the nearby woods.   As I approached the opposite side of the woods hoping to catch a glimpse of him he walked out of the thickets some 50 feet away heading straight toward me. I stepped out from behind a bush so he knew I was there, figuring I could stop him for a moment and take a few photos before he ran off. But he took off at a dead run so fast that I only got the top of his head and ears in one of the four shots I took. The next day I decided to dial it back a bit and photographed this ant who wasn't about to run away or attack me.