Two Buzzards Celebrating?

What do you think these Black Buzzards are celebrating?

100 years of God's amazing grace, of course. 

Operation Fox Photo- Update

Early this morning, I walked eagerly into the woods in hopes of finding that a fox had come across critter cam, my motion detection camera. Hmmmm, looks like something has been walking around near the camera, but it’s too hard to tell what. I quickly took the digital card out of the camera and headed to the house. At home, I loaded the card into the computer and there it was. Can you see it? If you can’t, then you may have Animal Dyslexia (Go to post called "Do You Have Animal Dyslexia? to find out). Look closely!  

It’s a dang Squirrel, a Squirrel. No Red Fox! The $5.99 Fox pee I sprayed around isn’t working. Can you believe I paid money for pee. Who does that. Anyway, I will leave it out a few more days because I want to get my money's worth for this pee. (The Squirrel is in the left, lower part of the photo near the big tree for those who have Animal Dyslexia.)

What do you call a small Turkey chasing a Big Turkey?

"Chubby Chaser" That's what I call it. A few weeks ago I got a great photo of these two Turkeys and couldn't resist putting it on the blog.  I wasn’t sure what to title this picture, but I think I nailed it. Wow, what a Butter Ball. This Turkey could feed a village.

Can you tell which Turkey is the chubby chaser? If you look closely enough you can see Tom's beard, which is a clump of hair sticking out of its chest. This indicates male, which chubby does not have, indicating female. Hope you laughed and Remember: "What's in your woods"

Critter Cam Up-date: Operation Fox Photo

Critter Cam (for those who don't know, is a digital camera with a motion detector and night night vision that I put out to capture animal pictures) has been out for a few days, and no fox, no animal, no squirrel, nothing has come around critter cam, not even a bird. So, the Fox pee is not working. Maybe it is the weather or the fox pee scares away everything, not sure. I will keep it out a few more days and maybe I will have better luck on Valentine’s Day.

Thinking Like a Fox

Yesterday, I took my bottle of Fox urine and Critter Cam to the woods with the goal of photographing a Red Fox. I found an ideal spot with tracks in the snow about 20ft from a tree that would be a great place to attach Critter Cam. I placed Critter Cam on the tree, pointing to the trail. 

Thinking like a Fox, I found a small shrub that's a perfect spot for a Red Fox to hike or squat. My thinking is that Mr. fox will be sniffing out the fake trespasser and will zero in to the shrub while Critter Cam takes the perfect photo. I very carefully took out my bottle of Fox urine also known as Fox valentine perfume, which has a handy dandy spray nozzle on top. I sprayed the small shrub like you would if you had a can of bathroom deodorizer and just finished letting off a stink bomb in your first dates, bathroom.  

Unfortunately for me, I had gloves on and some of the spray ran down the bottle. I guess you could say I Fox Peed on myself, Dang it! Well anyway, all is set, so I hiked back home. Arriving home, I open the door and was attacked by Cremey, Gray, Stormy, and Kibble the cats. Dang Fox urine! In the next few days I will check back to see if I met my goal, Red Fox photo. Cross your fingers! 


About Critter Cam: Critter cam is a 6.0 mega pixel, digital camera with a motion detector and infrared flash for night pictures. It can take either still or motion pictures without the animal even knowing it's there. 

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?”

Elvis Presley’s blue suede shoes?

Oh well, they aren't really his shoes but they look like the shoes in his song “Don’t step on my blue suede shoes." The Blue Birds song is amazing  too, check it.

HERE'S WHAT THE BLUE BIRD SONG SOUNDS LIKE:

Well, it's one for the money, 

Two for the show, 

Three to get ready, 

Now go, cat, go.

But don't you step on my blue suede shoes.

You can do anything but lay off of my Blue suede shoes. 

Their real song is a musical chur chur-lee chur-lee. 

They are such beautiful birds. About 10 were in the group, both males and females. Sometimes it’s difficult to get a good photo of them because they are a little shy, but I was lucky. The Eastern Blue Birds were becoming rare because non-native birds would take nesting sites. As a result of specially designed nesting boxes, the Blue Bird is making a comeback. I hope you enjoyed the photo’s and remember don’t step on blue suede shoes, because they may be blue birds. Explore the Outdoors!

An Alien Encounter in the Forest

In the middle of the woods, I discovered bald areas. There are four impressions, divided into pairs with a large and a smaller impression. The snow indicates that they were here before the storm hit. I know that crop circles are made by aliens, but these are made in the woods. Hmmm, I wonder what or who made these?

They look like landing pad impressions. Could they be Wood Aliens.? They obviously landed just before the snow storm and dropped off their kind. I questioned what they might be up to? I looked around to determine what else I might see and was astonished to find deer prints. You know, I think they are stealing my deer.

And then it hit me, these were not made by Wood Aliens. This is where the deer bedded down during the snow storm, two mommy deer and two baby deer. It appears that they were here for several hours resting and waiting the storm out. Man, I thought I was going to be another southerner on television trying to explain my alien encounter. Just remember the next time you are in the woods and see bald areas in the snow, it’s just deer making snow angels.   , 

Duck River Painting Finished!

Here is the completed old style river painting. It is a test painting on cheap poster board. I painted it quickly to check colors/lettering etc...., it will need some improvement, but I like the color and that it looks old.. In the future I might paint a real river painting with more detail. As you can see, it is of the Duck River between hwy 31 and hwy 41.

Woods of Greenbrier Adventure!

Once upon a time there was a queen named Mrs. Shop-a-lot who wanted to go to the Ball at Green Hills. Unfortunately, a big snow had covered the Kingdom of Greenbrier, making travel difficult. Did this stop, the Queen, on her shopping adventure? Noooooooooooo. After many attempts trying to travel up the snow covered lane in her shopping carriage, the queen finely was struck near a tree. Mrs. Shop-a-lot and her companion Princess Shop-a-bunch were all alone in the deep Woods of Greenbrier with no way to go. So sad, so, so, so, sad! 

Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a very, very, very handsome prince came to the rescue. His name was Larry of Greenbrier. He unstuck and backed the shopping carriage down the lane to the royal carriage house. Mrs. Shop-a-lot and her companion Miss Shop-a-bunch were happy to get out of their predicament, but very sad that they couldn't go to the ball at Green Hills. Larry of Greenbrier, realizing he preferred to keep a happy kingdom, loaned the queen and princess his personal royal carriage with 4 wheel drive for their travels. The queen and princess were overcome with joy and thanked the prince before setting off to the Ball at Green Hills. The prince returned to his castle in the Kingdom of Greenbrier knowing it would be happy ever after (well maybe not forever but a day or two). 

Larry of Greenbriar

A new painting in the works!

It's actually the beginning of a map that I have painted of a river in middle Tennessee. I will add additional detail in the up coming days. Can you determine the name of this river?

This is a test to see what a river map painting might look like. It is 10x20 and painted with water colors and ink. Remember, you always need to try something new to keep learning and this is my new.  I will be up-dating this post every few days. Also, remember to get up, and get out into the great outdoors.  

Last night we had a very important visitor for dinner!

Last night we had a very important visitor that some might call a celebrity. He represents the state proudly on many publications and can often be seen in the media. His title:  The official animal of the Great State of Tennessee. 

Can you name him? Well if not, it’s a Raccoon. He came by for dinner and stayed for about two hours.   

We named him Davy Crockett or Davy for short, but I don’t believe he liked it. I think he is still upset about that coon skin cap incident in the 1800s.

Oh well, Davy enjoyed the food and we took pictures of him playing in the snow.

Snow plowing turkeys!

Seen in this photo, three turkeys remove snow from man's front yard. These turkeys have been trained to march in line and scrape the ground, removing what's near. The turkeys can remove snow from sidewalks, streets and other public places. In addition, they can rake leaves in the fall. Just think, no more laborious work cleaning away snow or leaves and they do a better job than a snow/leaf blower. The turkeys are easy to train. All you need to do is spread cracked corn in the area that is in need of clearing and the turkeys go to work. What's really great is that turkeys will work in all types of weather. Who knows, but you may see turkeys as members of the Public Works Department in the future.

                     Seen here turkeys at work.

A Red-tail Hawk

A nice picture of  Red-tail Hawk I took yesterday.

What your cat might be thinking!

Ten things Creamy the smart cat might be thinking!

1. Me likes butterflies. They taste like chicken.

Or

2. Me likes me new accessory.

Or

3. Wow, wait til the girls see this.

Or

4. Me always been told me nose is attractive.

Or

5. Y’all see this!

Or

6. Oh boy, good luck. Me wish me's could plays the lottery.

Or

7. Me’s sleepy.

Or

8. Grandma is that you?

Or

9. Oooooooooh, a little to the right.

Or

10. Ahhhhh, a cat eating butterfly!