A Tackle Box Time Capsule!

Every tackle box has a story, some can only be told by their owners and others can only be told by their contents. The year was 1986, Top Gun was the top movie, Ronald Reagan was President, gas was .89 cents/gal, and this tackle box was being used to catch fish. Since then it has been kept in the garage, on a shelf, behind the Christmas wreaths where it has been collecting dust for a number of years. It came into my possession many years ago after my father passed, at too early an age. It’s been a few years since I have opened the box and I don’t really remember what it holds.

I do remember fishing with this tackle box as a kid. Back then it was like opening a fresh box of the best chocolates with all the swirls and shapes tempting me and urging me to try every one. Will it be the same? As I unlatched the golden buckle on the aluminum box, I began to smell a musty odor apparently from being sealed for many years. I lifted the tri-fold, black bins out and peered at the contents. The multi-color lures, hooks, floats, and spit-shots, are beginning to show their age, less colorful, less shiny.

At this moment, I remember the lures that caught the big fish. I even remember some of the fish that we caught, the wonderful meals that we ate, the warmth from the camp fires we built, and that smell of water proofing from our tent. But most of all, I remember the feeling, the feeling of being with family and friends in the great outdoors. It’s true; every tackle box has a story. What’s in your tackle box?

I think I will move this tackle box back into the house. Hope you enjoyed! Oh yeah, if you would love a beautiful decor map of your favorite lake, river, or bay, then check-out my website leolakes.com. Makes a treasured gift for the lake lover!

The Caney Fork River.

The water’s of the Caney Fork River are wonderfully clear and cold. This river slices through the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, making scenic gorges.

My old style map art is of the river from below Center Hill Dam to the Cumberland River. This part of the river is home to Rainbow and Brook Trout. Some say that the Caney Fork is one of the best trout rivers in the state of Tennessee. I have been to the Caney Fork several times, fishing, floating and just viewing its fresh waters. Click map to enlarge or go to my treasured maps website, LeoMaps.com to see beautiful decor maps of your favorite lake river on bay. 

Hey, Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream! Need a great gift for the lake lover? I paint river, lake, and bay decor maps and hide things in the waters. 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, like the Caney Fork. 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 maps. If you would like to see more and read about my treasured maps go to LeoMaps.com.

Did you know Tennessee Has GATORS?

Did you say, GATORS? Yep, they've been here for years. These gators are more common than you think and I bet you've seen them too. This photo is not a Tennessee gator but a Florida gator. 

Tennessee Gators are a bit smaller and different than the Florida Gator. Most of the time, you see two or more in the same area and they are near highways or interstates. For some reason you see them more often in warm or hot weather and they lie in wait on the side of roads. You must be careful not to run over them because they can wreak a vehicle. In the picture below, you can see them on the right side of the road. 

They come in all sizes and tread. Did I say tread? Here's a close up photo of two gators along the road. Truck drivers call them ROAD GATORS. 

These road gators are the tire treads that come off 18 wheeler s. So now, every time you see those tire treads on the side of the road you will think Road Gators! You be careful out there and watch out for Road Gators in your state.

Not a Gator, but check-out my beautiful lake, river and bay decor maps. I hid a tiny mermaid in the waters of every map and might even put in a gator if you ask. They make great gifts for the lake lovers, lake house, or fisherman. Big and small maps are available. LeoLakes.com

"May you have fair winds and following seas"

  

Lake Art! Percy Priest Lake!

New art! I just finished painting this old style map of Percy Priest Lake. I have been to this lake many times. When I was a child, my father and I fished the Stones River before the lake was impounded. I remember taking our 14' aluminium, flat bottom, Sears boat up the river with our dog Lucy and camping on the bank. We had a 3.5 hp, Western Auto Wizard outboard that I now have. Along the shore there were very large mussels laying on the gravel bars and lots of fish to catch. These were some great outdoor memories! 

The blue waters of Percy Priest Lake is located on the Stones River near Nashville, Tennessee. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the dam in 1967. Click on the map to enlarge. Remember:"Get Up and Get Outdoors!"

Being in the right place at the right time!

Here's a great photo of a hawk bearing down on a quick meal. I was in the right place at the right time with a camera. You can see the hawk in the background. The birds are sitting contently not realizing what's about to happen. Will the hawk catch his prey or will the birds make a fast get away? Only I know.

HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED! Actually the birds just fly off without any problems, because I Photo Shopped the hawk into the photo. I'm bad, he he he, but it could have happened. 
"What's in your woods." Get out and find out!

What kind of animal is this?

Critter cam, my motion detection camera that I place in the woods to capture whatever walks by, photographed this picture at 10:41 pm at night in the Tennessee woods. 

It appears to have a long tail, white under belly and dark legs. It’s not a cat, but more K-9 looking. No doubt, it’s moving quickly and didn't stop for a sniff. 
The camera has been out for a while in this location, and the animals are always traveling the same way, down the hill. Why? I think I know. This is obviously a one way trail.  

Any way, I looked at approximately 100 pictures on the net to help me identify the critter, and I think I have a good idea. What wild animal do you think it is? Leave me a comment! Remember: "What's in your woods". Get out and find out.

A CAMERA, FOX PEE & A GOAL!

At 6:30 this morning, I awoke and took off to the woods to check Critter Cam, my motion detection camera. I have it placed on a tree near an animal trail, which I have sprayed Fox urine around with the goal of photographing a Red Fox. For EIGHT day’s I have checked critter cam. Each day nothing, except for a squirrel coming near. But today, I think, I believe, it appears, I have a photo of the critter. It does look like a fox? 

I call this goal accomplished. Now for a photo of a Bobcat, do they make Bobcat pee? Also, as in earlier posts about this subject, I have learned a bunch. One, I found Fox urine to be difficult to get off, I spilled a little on me, which Ajax and Bounty wouldn't even get off. Two, it attracts cats. Our cats Gray, Smokey, Creamy and Kibble smell this stuff out no matter where I put it and go after it. Here is Creamy out in the woods smelling fox pee and interfering in my Operation Fox Photo.

Mmmm, feels good to accomplish a goal! Do you know "What's in your woods".

Two Buzzards Celebrating?

What do you think these Black Buzzards are celebrating?

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