Grassland sentinels

When I discovered that a family of burrowing owls had taken up residence on a plot of grass nearby, I hurried over to take pictures, but—thankfully, for the owls' protection—the nesting area had been sequestered with a fence. This meant I would not be able to get close. When going through the photos at home, however, I found an elusive charm in the eyes peering through the grass, with two ghostly silhouettes in the background. Standing guard by their burrow, to me these owls exuded a sentinel-like demeanor that was an even more powerful prompt to keep my distance than a caution tape fence.