John Wayne Drops In, Really!

Not long ago while sleeping, I heard a voice saying "John Wayne, John Wayne". I looked at the clock and it was 12:38 am. At first, I thought dang I must be dreaming and I'm in the movie Rooster Cogburn. Then reality set in and I considered hearing voices means that I must be going crazy. So like any man I woke my wife and said "do you hear that" and she said "no, go back to sleep you are dreaming." All of a sudden there it was again "John Wayne, John Wayne." I said to my wife "if this is a dream, you're in it too but I don't normally dream about you in a John Wayne movie." 

We quickly realized the voice was coming from the outside near our bedroom. The wife believes in ghosts and was obviously thinking she may get to see her second aberration, scary. We both jumped from the bed. I grabbed Dirty Harry. Oh yeah, Dirty Harry is my 38. Being the Head of Security here at the ten acre woods, I was prepared. You won't believe what we found.

We discovered the lady from down the road, in our backyard, dressed in her pink moo moo, looking up at a tree, yelling "John Wayne, John Wayne." I thought What the.... But was happy to find out that I wasn't crazy but this women may be. Dang what a sight. 

Apparently, John Wayne is the name of her CAT. She found him in our tree about sixty feet up and was trying to get him down. I thought to myself, I bet Dirty Harry can get that cat down (JUST KIDDING, I WOULD NOT DO THAT. LOVE CATS, WE HAVE FOUR, JUST ADDED FOR HUMOR).

Anyway, after about 15 minutes, John Wayne manned up and took a leap of faith. I guess you could say John Wayne dropped in. Whack, Smack,Thump, John Wayne hit the ground, slowly got up, shook his head and trotted off in true John Wayne fashion. Believe it or not this was a true story!

One thing we have learned after living in the ten acre woods.... you never know who or what may drop by. 

Just wait when you hear about the story of Mr. Ed and his buddy's who dropped by for a patio party.

What's in your woods, river, lake or bay? My woods have John Wayne!

Gerty the green snake

Gertrude the green snake was getting ready to party. As she was primping in the mirror, Gertrude noticed she had the dreaded rat top from eating one too many meals at the Rat Hole.

See what happens to Gerty at BAITRAGEOUS.COM

No more BaitRageous Cartoons!

Yep, no more Baitrageous on the OFS site. Baitrageous has moved to its own site: www.Baitrageous.com. This will give Baitraegous more room and a dedicated site for even more bait humor. The OFS site will continue on with the same content and may have an occasional cartoon. So go over to www.Baitrageous.com and sign up. I have a flood of  new bait cartoons that I will be placing on the site in the near future. Here's the last bait cartoon on OFS for a while.

I hope you enjoyed, now get over to Baitrageous!

A walk around a Lake.

I am starting to think green. A few weeks ago I walked around a lake that I often fish and took a few photos. There's not much green in the winter. But...........
There are a few places that have Rhododendron over looking the lake.

And I found green lichen growing on an old tree. 

A little close-up.

Here's a little green grass around this old tree. Looks like a beaver had a major construction project going on at one time. No construction cones here. For some reason, the beaver just stopped. I wonder why?

I have seen sandy beaches, and rocky beaches, but never green moss beaches.   

This morning the temperature was 18 degrees here in Nashville Tn. I can't wait for a green spring! 

My Lakes

A few years ago, right in the middle of the Great Recession,  I wanted a decor map of a river that I grew up fishing on. After some research I found that nice decor maps of these waterways did not exist. There were navigation, road, and topography maps, but no really nice, vintage style decor maps of lakes & rivers. This led me to paint my first map of that beloved river and this was the beginning. I guess you could say something good came out of the Great Recession, Leo Lakes Treasured Maps. Maybe I should call them "The Great Recession Maps?" They make great gifts! Do we have your map? Go to my web site to find out www.LeoLakes.com

Great Sacandaga Lake Vintage Style Decor Map 

WWW.LeoLakes.com

Fact #1: I hide a few fish and even a mermaid in the waters of my lakes. They're hard to find, but if you look close you will see them. Folks just love'm especially the kids. You might even think they move around over time.

I experimented with different colors and styles to finally settle on a vintage style that gave the painting a golden look. I added a few symbols such as the ruby meridian, wildlife and vintage plane flying over the water, with each having a story. When completed, I found that others liked it so much they asked for copies and a hobby was born. Well, that was 200 lakes, rivers and bays ago. 

Gaston Lake Antique Style Decor Map 

WWW.LeoLakes.com

Fact #2: I call my maps Treasured Maps because every treasure has a Ruby and so do my maps, each has a Ruby Meridian. 

I paint each lake, river, or bay in the vintage style too hopefully bring back those wonderful memories. Included with each print is a Certificate of Authenticity that explains the meaning of each symbol. 

Lake Mead Vintage Style Decor Map 

WWW.LeoLakes.com

Fact #3: You will find no road names, county, or state lines on my maps. I have found that folks enjoy traveling the roads with their eyes, while trying to get their bearing. I call this the "Leo Lakes gaze."

Before I paint a lake, I do a lot of research. Great Sacandaga Lake in New York was an interesting lake. Did you know that the North American record for the Northern Pike was caught in this lake, 46lbs 2oz. in 1940. Actually, Great Sacandaga Lake is a Reservoir. What's the difference between a reservoir and a lake? A reservoir is man-made and a lake is naturally made, however, lakes and reservoirs are not always titled appropriately.

Beautiful Lake Tahoe Vintage Style Decor Map 

WWW.LeoLakes.com

Fact #4: I add a vintage plane flying over my maps to signify an adventure to your treasured lake, river, or bay.   

Sometimes, while doing research, I wonder how they come up with the names of features around lakes. Lake Winnipesaukee has many islands and one such island is named Rattlesnake Island, were there lots of Rattlesnakes on the island, maybe? 

Lake Winnipesaukee Vintage Style Decor Map

www.LeoLakes.com

Fact #5: You will find wildlife in all my maps. These signify the natural beauty of your treasured lake, river or bay. I use wildlife that is common to the subject lake, such as Canadian Geese, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagles and others. 

Now I feel like Forrest Gump who kept running and running and running in the movie, except I paint lake maps and paint lake maps and this is no movie. I have painted a lake, river, or bay in 35 states with hopes of covering all 50 states.    

Table Rock Lake Vintage Style Decor Map

www.LeoLakes.com

Fact #6: Did You Know that you can always tell that it's morning or evening on a Leo Lakes map? Just look at the shadows cast by the wildlife, is the shadow on the east or west? If it's on the east, then its morning. Oh yeah, I have had folks tell me that they change through the day, but don't believe them.

I can now print large 4ft x 8ft canvas maps for Marinas, Restaurants or large rooms. Also 16" x 32" canvas for home and office, which have become a popular choice and small 10"x20" fine paper prints. I just finished my largest map yet, a huge 4'x8' of Pickwick Lake for a customer who has a home over looking the lake. 

 Fact #7: Did You Know that Leo Lakes Treasured Maps are great for your home, office or lake house and make great gifts. Personalize your map by adding photos of that trophy fish, family outing or be creative. Great Gift for the lake lover or fisherman.

Do we have your lake? Find out below by clicking LEO Lakes below.

         

Life's short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream. If not, hang one on your wall !

Dang Beavers

Here in the south, the winter has been very mild this year as it has in most of the nation. On January 31st I actually took a photo of a buttercup in full bloom. Normally here, buttercups come out from mid to late February. I'm seeing bees flying around and moths at night. You won't believe what the Beavers have done!  

Look at what they built in the creek. I'm telling you that this has been a strange winter. I hate to see what the Raccoon's are up to.  

Dang Beavers!

Get away from the big screen and get on a big stream!

The Unusual Catch - BaitRageous

If you are a fisherman, you have likely caught all sorts of different things. BaitRageous takes a look at some of the most unusual catches with Ralph the fisherman. Enjoy! 

What's in your River, Lake, Or Bay? Get out and Find Out.

Foggy Morning Hawk?

Sunday I awoke to a beautiful foggy morning here in Tennessee. I looked out into the ten acres woods to see what I might see. Normally, we see turkeys wondering around looking for seeds or deer grazing. Today I spotted a hawk perched on a limb in the front yard. I wondered what the hawk may be after. We have a bird feeder that I keep filled in the winter time with sunflower seeds. It seemed that the hawk was watching the feeder. Could it be that he is after a bird? Once I saw a hawk attack a blue jay, so I grabbed my camera to be ready for any action.

As you can see from this photo, he appears to be a common Red-tail Hawk. 

This is a picture of our bird feeder. It doesn't seem that the birds are aware that a hawk is near or maybe they have no fear of a Red-tail. 

I found what he may be after, I spotted a fat squirrel near the feeder. For an hour and ten minutes, myself, my wife, and teenager watched the hawk and waited for some action. I was in perfect position to capture a wildlife moment, but the hawk wasn't in a hurry. Finally, I decided to sneak-out with my camera to see if I could get a better shot. As I moved closer, I thought what a great photo if I could get a shot of the hawk attacking a fat gray squirrel. I moved closer and closer. 

THEN, as I moved closer and the fog lifted a bit, I could see something wasn't right. This picture pretty much sums it up.

Dang, I feel like a dummy. We have been watching a red tail branch. I guess I can blame it on Animal Dyslectic Syndrome (ADS) which you can read about from an earlier post. 

What's in your Woods? Get out to find out.