A murder in the front yard?

The other morning in the ten acre woods, it was so foggy. The leaves were damp and the woods were quiet. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures.

I could hear Larry, Darrell, and Darrell far in the distance. Who is Larry, Darrell and Darrell you may ask? It's three crows that come by and look for food. 

You see, I give a few "caws" when I toss out stale bread, peanuts, crackers etc...  within five minutes, Larry, Darrell and Darrell show up.

I have been doing this for the last five weeks and its become routine. If I don't toss out some food in the morning, they come near and start "cawing." I tell my wife "there's a murder in the front yard" when they show up. That's right, a flock of crows is called a murder. Anyway, remember: Find out what's in your woods, river , lake or bay.

Nottely Lake Decor Map

Just painted this map of Lake Nottely located in North Georgia. I've been near this lake, to a town called Blue Ridge, but never been to Lake Nottely. This area is beautiful, very hilly and mountainous. Oh yeah, I hide things in the waters, too. 

The lake is about two hours from Atlanta, so it doesn't get the fishing pressure as a lot of lakes. If you look closely, you will see a red star, which I often place near the customers lake house or important place. Most folks like a name to be added, such as "Our Haven" etc...  I have over 200 lakes in stock and love to paint custom or personalized lakes, river and bays. They make a very special gift for the lake lover. 

I don't hide snapping turtles, but I do hide a tiny mermaid/fish in the waters of all my lake map paintings that folks love to search for. I call my maps treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure. These maps make great gifts for the lake house owner, lake lover, or fisherman. I have over two hundred on my website that can be purchased right from the site, or I can do custom and personalizes lake, river or bay maps, too. If you would like to see more and read about my treasured maps go to LeoMaps.com. 
 

As you can see, my maps make a great gift. To see more of my work click LeoLakes.com 

On a big stream!

About two weeks ago, I went fishing with Buttermilk my fishing partner on Old Hickory Lake. As you can see from this picture, Buttermilk has a new boat.

Not really, this is a boat just passing by. We were fishing from our kayak's.

The water was very calm and the temperature was in the upper seventies.

We started out plugging the bank, but nothing big was biting. Okay, Buttermilk caught a bream and check out that grin. You would think that he caught a 10 lbs bass.

As normal, fishing gets slow and I start taking pictures of the wildlife. This is a turtle line dance.

Anyway, we switched to a trout magnet in order the catch a few more bream. These bream are fun to catch, but small.

If you look closely this turtle is doing his dog act. Lifting his rear leg. I think he's really enjoying the sun but you never know.

Another bream by Buttermilk.

The last photo of the trip. A picture of Old Hickory Dam and Lock. "Hey, GET AWAY FROM THE BIG SCREEN AND GET ON A BIG STREAM."

 

Unusual visitor to the salt block!

I place a salt block behind our house ever spring in order to photograph whatever wanders by. Interestingly, a bunny rabbit came by and munched on the salt block. I have never seen a rabbit eat at a salt block. I'm not sure, but maybe its common? The rabbit is hidden behind the grass. It appears he is licking the salt block.

 

I have found very small claw marks on the block. I wonder if very small animals eat the salt at night, mouse, moles, etc... 

The other morning a deer wandered by and I was lucky to get a few photo's. He is a beauty.

I am actually in our house while taking this photo. We live in a western cedar house and I think the wildlife believe it's a big tree.

 

Here's a great picture that you can actually see the fuzz on his rack. I bet he's going to have a massive rack come fall. Normally, this deer will be back a few more times and I am excited to get more photos as his rack matures.

 

Hope you enjoyed. Remember life is short, find out what's in your woods, river, lake, or bay!

Ok Honey!

Some may know that I occassionally draw cartoons. Here's one that I recently created. I hesitated on posting this cartoon, but I think it's so funny that I couldn't resist. Some may say that I got in the gutter, but I think, I got in the toliet.

Hope you enjoyed!

 

Santa Rosa Island Art

I just finished this painting of beautiful Santa Rosa Island and Santa Rosa Sound. I remember the family vacation to this area when I was just a kid. We actually camped at Fort Pickens State Park. While there I exploded the island, which was very exciting to me because it was my first time to the sea. One time, I came upon a very large ant hill and saw many ant going in and out. I sensed that I should not disturb them. Lucky for me, I now believe they were fire ants.

Any way, I have fond memories of Santa Rosa Island, so I painted this decor map of the area. If you look closely, you may see a mermaid near Gulf Breeze. I like to hide things in the water of my paintings. Checkout my website at www.leolakes.com for more beautiful river, lake and bay art. Great for the beach house or gifts. Many sizes to choose from and comes on canvas.

When fish aren't biting!

Ever wonder where fish go when they're not biting? Well, here's Buttermilk fishing hard and the fish are right under his nose!

Harley Rider ?

Here's the ugliest Harley Rider you will ever see! 

Not really, I came upon a fuzzy headed owl sitting low in some green clover. He appears to be a young Barred Owl (Fuzzy Head) probably just a week out of the nest. I could see that Fuzzy Head wasn't munching on clover; he was just exploring his new world. If you look closely below, you will see one of the parents near, sitting on a fence post in the background. Fuzzy Head's parents keep a close eye on him and continue to feed him.

In fact, young Barred Owls may remain near their parents for up to 6 months. When Fuzzy Head grows up.

Fuzzy Head was probably born in the nearby tree with up to three brothers or sisters. A few days ago, I did notice that two Owls were in the clover near the tree but didn't have my camera so I moved on. Now I wonder what may have happened to the other young Owl. Their only predator, other than man, is the Great Horned Owl and I have seen several in the area.

After a while, Fuzzy Head must have gotten nervous with me being near. He leaped to his feet and flew back to safety.

It was obvious that Fuzzy Head hasn't been flying very long because he looks awkward in flight.

When he landed he quickly swiveled that Fuzzy Head around to peer back at me with those coal black eyes.

Life is short, find out what's in your Lakes, River, Bay, or Woods