• These are some the the animals that live harmoniously on the prairies near Lake Placid
• Wild hogs feed on a variety of roots and tubers, grasses, berries and small animals
• The Southern white-tailed deer are smaller than the northern deer, weighing 75 to 100 lbs.

This pastoral setting caught the attention of Spanish explorers who traveled these wetlands and the rolling hills centuries ago.  Our broad prairies flatten away from the Lake Wales Ridge and house a wide variety of life, sharing an ecosystem unsurpassed.

Guy LaBree captures this mood in his sunset on the prairie.  Under a live oak tree a flock of wild turkeys stands against the deepening tones of the sky.  A regal white-tailed deer seems to be the star of the evening's show; and wild hogs root for food.

LaBree's work includes an endearing and endangered creature - the gopher tortoise.  These mild-mannered animals go ponderously about their business bothering few people.  They like to eat aquatic plants, but they live on dry land---a true tortoise.

And then, there is the burrowing owl that really does burrow.

LaBree knew capturing all the wildlife here would overflow a natural scene.  But the rest of them are on that prairie---Florida panther, fox squirrels, rattlers and indigos.

Alligators, too.

Even though they are an immense part of our heritage, there are simply too many animals to list or paint.