Life in the Slow Lane

Honey Do List

Have you seen my new banner over at Sharon's Studio? Well, put it on your honey do list.  And if you find that you are having a problem getting things done around the house (or forest) then you aren't the only one.

Slow is the theme of the week over at www.illustrationfriday.com 

This piece was inspired by the Florida hammock bear that was all over the media awhile back.  Do you remember him?  He decided to sit in someone's hammock and the footage went viral. But this bear is all Minnesotan.  We're smarter in our neck of the woods.  We know when to lie down!

The bear essentials

The bear essentials of a forest:

1) Must have a den suitable for spending the whole Winter. No time shares.

2) Must have wild blackberry bushes covering at least 25% of the forest floor. 15% is only suitable for a late Summer snack.

3) Must have a minimum of 40 tall and climbable trees to escape dumbass hikers.

4) Groomed trails are a plus. They help to gain momentum when chasing said hikers.

5) Must have at least 10 squirrels to entertain cubs while Mom is foraging.

6)Trail cameras are an added bonus. Cubs refer to them as mobile mud bombs. Or finger/claw painting surfaces.

7) And the 4 year forest rental contract must include a delivery of honey on May 1st. In this economy it is necessary to sweeten the deal a little bit.

Check out my new trail cam photos.

It's always fun to see who (or what) the trail cam captured. And so far this Summer it has captured around 2,000 deer photos. And a few surprise guests. Here is a doe and two fawns.

A bear!

Do you see what fluttered by?

A coyote butt and

A deer butt.

Is that a Mohawk?

Antlers...

Ears...

and glowing eyes. So there you have it. A few highlights from our footage so far.

Trail Cam Top Ten!

Our new trail camera has been snapping away while we were sleeping. It has taken almost 2,000 photos since we placed it in the woods this Spring. It is hard to pick the best photos of 2,000 deer and more deer. But here goes...I love the top photo because of Mr. Deer's perfect pose and rather large rack. There were several photos of him staring at the camera and probably wondering, "When did that thing get here?"

BEARS!

I love this one because of the bear ears peaking out at the bottom of the photo. BEARS!

EAR!

Somebody smeared dirt all over the trail camera. And if the woods could talk it would probably say, "The bears did it"

This one is so cute. It caught the fawn jumping in mid air. There were dozens of photos of them running and having fun.

This is such a nice close-up of this doe. But unfortunately she has several ticks under her eye.

Play time.

All the ladies like these big guys.

This photo is fun because you can see the white tails up as they run away.

And I like this one simply because she has a leg up on the other deer. Ha! The photos continue as we speak...

God Blesses All Creatures

This illustration is featured in the October issue of http://www.mylightmagazine.com/ It depicts the poem, "God Blesses all Creatures" Every animal I painted was in the poem. Except for the cow and the worm. I couldn't believe the writer did not put a worm into the poem. I mean no farm is complete without worms, right? That may be true but I'm joking of course. In other news I did not make the finals in the Holiday card contest. But my last minute entry received 48 votes in less than 2 days. Thanks to my friends and fellow CBIG and SCBWI members. You can still see my card if you go to http://blog.psprint.com/humor/ Then go to view all humor entries. Thanks again to everyone who voted!

There's Bear in my Woods!

After almost 2,400 pictures of deer, it's exciting to get a couple bears. I'm sure there are lots of smaller creatures roaming the woods. If they would stand on their tippy toes, the camera might catch them. Here's how the trail cam works. The men in the family put some minerals like salt on the soil in front of the camera. Then when a deer wanders by for a lick, the movement triggers a picture. Maybe a tub of honey would attract more bears! We're disapointed that we didn't catch any coyotes. We sure hear them when we're camping. But I didn't hear them from the Holiday Inn Express!

A Bear Blob and a Turkey Wing...Trail cam week continues.

That's a very exciting blob or (blurry looking on bear) That's the best I could do with an acronym. He showed up on picture number 1,784. And after almost 1,780 deer, we were thrilled. He's walking away from the camera, darn it all. But it's a big bear behind. And I was also happy to see a turkey. Do you see a turkey? Look in the lower lefthand corner. Enlarging helps. It's a beautiful turkey wing. I hope you're not thinking that your favorite part is a drumstick! For more deer and "The Golden Heart Award" See below.