Today, a walk in the Winter Woods!

After the two inches of snow that we received last night, I awoke this morning, took my camera and walked in the woods and fields around the 10 acre woods. It was a wonderful snow fall that collected on every branch, twig or crevice. A few animals were out as noted by the tracks in the snow and they appeared to be predators.  

    These Robins were grouped together perched on snowy limbs. They were so interested in the clumps of small seeds. 

  I'm not sure of the type of plant (Sumac?), but the Robins were munching hardily. I wonder why this food is still available at such a late time of year. It could be that food is so scarce; the Robins must eat the less desirable food. It seems nature provides, even in adverse conditions. I did a little research and found sumac seeds are an important source of food for Robins and others. They stay on the plant for a long time. This makes them an excellent emergency food for birds throughout the winter and beyond.

A snow covered cedar tree doing an impression of a beautiful Christmas tree.

The road to nowhere. This is an old logging road that just ends. If you're going to end, make it a pretty end.

Animal tracks, too small to be Coyote and too large to be Cat, maybe Fox? If the weather is clear tonight, I will place my motion detector camera here tonight and see what's in these woods. 

The beauty of nature, remember "What's in your woods!"

Government study: Deer in the headlights! What do they see?

The results are in for a Government study to determine what deer really see when they are "Deer in the head lights." A government spokesman stated that we know what we see when we see deer in the head lights, but what do the deer see? This has been a perplexing question every since the invention of the head light. The study was over a five year period and took place in many parts of the country. It took several universities, and a team of scientist, technicians and professional photographers to gather all the results. The most sophisticated cameras were used to film the actual events. The best way to explain the results is to just look at the official photos.

Exhibit 1- Deer in head lights

Exhibit 2- What the deer see.

The study finally pays off. This is what deer see. 

THE BEST VALENTINES PERFUME

I just bought a bottle of perfume and on the back of the bottle it says: "DANGER, Do not apply to your body or clothing, you may be attacked”. Boy I can't wait. This stuff is only suppose to attract the prettiest Foxes. I opened the bottle and took a whiff. “WOW, smells like a hot summer day, in the men’s restroom, at a tractor pull, that serves cheap beer, Pee-u”. Did I say Foxes!  You see, I plan to have a photo shoot to capture a picture of the prettiest Fox. The perfume came in a nice dark brown bottle and is 100% money-back guaranteed to attract foxes!  Anyway, I think Fox perfume (which is really Fox urine also known as pee) will help me capture that perfect Fox picture in the woods. I know one thing; this stuff is hard to get off. I spilled a little on me, in which Ajax and Bounty wouldn't even get off. Our cats Gray, Smokey, Creamy and Kibble smell this stuff out no matter where I put it. Why are they so interested? Dang, for all I know they put cat urine in this little brown bottle. I did spray a little on Creamy the cat and he went in to the woods. You know I haven’t seen Creamy in a day……I wonder what happened to him, just kidding.

I plan on using my motion detector camera with the Fox urine to attract Foxes and get a good photo. However, I’m not sure if it’s male or female Fox pee? I bet its female pee because I think this would attract more foxes because of the hike or squat thing. There’s usually more hiking than squatting, so squatting is done less often which would make it more interesting to the foxes, I think, or it could be as simple as male Foxes just like to be around female foxes for some reason. Anyhow, I think I have a 100% chance of getting a Fox picture by Valentines. Stay tuned and PEE-UUUUU……….

The Alien’s Are Back!

If you remember an earlier post called, “An alien encounter in the forest”, where I found large imprints in the woods after the snow storm. I think the mystery is solved.  

I set critter cam (My infrared, motion detector, camera) out a few days ago to photo what may be going on in this part of the woods. Finally, I have proof of the deer in the area where I discovered the large imprints in the snow. 

Four deer, two young and two older, are unknowingly captured roaming around near critter cam. These deer match the size and shape of the imprints in the snow pictured in the earlier post. It appears they just took a nap during the snow. Mystery Solved! Remember: “What’s In Your Woods”  

DO YOU HAVE ANIMAL DYSLEXIA? RESULTS ARE IN!

Do you rarely see animals in the woods? Then you just may be suffering from ADC (Animal Dyslexia Condition). What is ADC? Its the unfortunate inability to see animals in their natural habitat. You have probably heard of humans having dyslexia, which is the difficulty in seeing some letters while reading.  This is similar, but it's the difficulty in seeing animals in their natural habitat. As you probably know, most animals are camouflaged so to almost disappear into the woods, however most folks can still pick out the animal.  Have you ever looked directly at an animal and never seen it? If this is the case, then you too may have ADC. Take the test!

TEST INSTRUCTIONS: Look at photo below for about one minute to find the animal. You may write in the comment area what you see. Later this week I will publish the correct animal.

Remember: What's in your woods? You may never know if you have Animal Dyslexia!

ANIMAL DYSLEXIA RESULTS !

The results of the test for animal dyslexia are in. It seems that folks saw a cat, a squirrel, an owl, a monkey or a coyote. The real hidden animal is a coyote as shown in the photo below. If you didn’t see the coyote, then you may have ADC. There is no cure, however it can be improved. If you visit the zoo four times a year and view animals in their natural habitat it will improve over time. Remember there's nothing to be ashamed of and Good Luck!

A Tennessee Snow

Here's some snow pictures in the 10 acre woods at Greenbrier on Paradise Ridge! It's a very heavy, wet snow of about 3 inches. The birds are out early working hard to find a meal. All the other animals are hungered down. It's a beautiful Tennessee snow in the woods! 

Wait a minute, that's not a snow picture, that's my painting. Sorry! Remember to get out and play in the snow!

Painting of Old Hickory Lake, Old Style!

I just completed a decor map painting of Old Hickory Lake. I did two different styles, a standard map style and an artistic style. Click on map for better view 

Standard Style 

Artistic Style

The lake and roads are hand drawn/painted and I added the lettering with a graphics program.  Checkout the plane crossing over. Old Hickory Lake is located on the Cumberland River in Tennessee and is part of TVA. It was completed in 1954. I have enjoyed this lake many times boating, fishing and water skiing. To add a little more creativity to the idea, I named a few of the surroundings on the map. Of course, it's in the vintage style, such as my maps, and a feeling of the 1930s cola ads. Let me know what you think!

Check-out my vintage style maps for the lake house. They make the best gift for the lake lover, lake house owner, or fisherman. If you have a special Lake, River or Bay, then paddle over to my website at LeoLakes.com. 

Remember: " Get away from the big screen and get on a big stream, if not, then at least put on the wall." 

What's in your woods?

A few nights ago, Wiley Coyote is caught by Critter Cam at 4am in the morning in the 10 acre woods. He was making his rounds because Critter Cam only took one photo. I'm not sure what he is smelling of, but he moved on quickly. It looked like he was out to steal chickens. Lucky for us, we don’t have chickens. Wait a minute, that's not completely correct. We have some chicken strips in the freeze. Does that count?

 

It’s just another night in the 10 acre woods on Paradise Ridge. The goal for Critter Cam is to photo a Fox or a Bobcat in the future. Remember: “What’s in your woods?”