I must have been a lighthouse keeper in a past life... sort of !

I ate at a Red Lobster the other day with my wife and teenager. After we finished our meal, I started looking at the decor. If you have ever been to Red Lobster, the decor is all about the sea, lobster and seascapes.

One particular photo stuck out in my mind, it was like deja vu. I felt myself drawn to this photo of a lighthouse for some reason. I thought, maybe in a past life, I was the lighthouse keeper of this lighthouse. Then I remembered.....

Oh dang, I've been to that lighthouse and it wasn't long ago while on a trip to Maine. It's the Portland Head Lighthouse in Portland, Maine. Here's the proof, a photo that I took. Oh well, I don't guess that in a past life I was a lighthouse keeper, but I almost worked at a Red Lobster when I was in high school!

Check-out my custom and personalized river, lake and bay maps. 

Portland Maine Road Trip

Road Trip! I went on a long road trip last week to see a few places that I've never visited and some that I have. One of those places is known for great lobster...yes it's Maine and it's "wicked good" as they say here! We stayed overnight in Portland and were able to see a few sights and eat some delicious lobster.

One of the big attractions is the Portland Head Lighthouse. It's located at the entrance of the main shipping lane to Portland's Harbor. The lighthouse was finished in 1791 making it Maine's oldest.

I added a map to give a prospective of the area. Think if you were the Captain of a ship, navigating the waters before 1791 at night. What do you think your chances of getting the ship to safe passage would have been.

Portland Head Lighthouse is a picturesque lighthouse. Off to the right, you can see the beginning of Ram Island. I'm wondering why they called it Ram Island, could it be that many ships rammed the island?

Fact is, ships did hit the ledge many times, so many  the government finally erected the Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse in 1905. It's pretty much abandoned now, but is on the National Register of Historical places.  

How would you like to be the lighthouse keeper at Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse in 1905? They say that during big storms, waves crash into the lighthouse reaching over half its height.

The coast is rocky and interesting to look at. There are small beach areas tucked in between the rocks, very little sand and mostly hand size stones.

The gulls must have a good life here, you often see them lounging around on the rocks. 

Here I am with the wifey. As you can see, she is looking down at something, probably a lobster headed in the direction of her toes. Anyway, after Maine we spent 2 days in Montreal, 2 days in Toronto, and 1 day in Columbus, Ohio.  

One last thought from Maine.

Can living in the ten acre woods be productive?

We live on ten acres that we call, "The Ten Acre Woods". There's no Eeyore or Piglet here, but you will find many adventures near the creeks, woods, and fields. This story provides a little different prospective on living in the woods by asking the question: "Can living in the ten acre woods be productive?" Yes it can Piglet, yes it can! 

Here's a product of our ten acre woods, our daughter, Callie. She has lived in our ten acre woods all her life. When she was young, she searched for roly-poly bugs under rocks around our house. On the back of our ten acre woods, she has waded in the little stream of Sulfur Creek, looking for crayfish and catching fish. While waking in the morning, she has heard the rat-a-tap of a red breasted woodpecker on the side of our western cedar house. 

What did the ten acre woods produce? Well, she just received a Bachelor Degree from Sewanee in Biology with a minor in Environmental Studies, Summa Cum Laude, Honors, Phi Beta Kappa, Ranked 4th in the class. You see, living in the woods can be productive, because now she will be studying the streams, woods, and fields. 

Here's the whole crew, I'm the tall one!

Remember: Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream.

Awesome Father's Day gift for the lake lover!!!

Here's the best Father's Day gift for the lake lover, a personalized vintage style map of their favorite lake, river, or bay. What a unique gift for the sportsman, lake lover, boat or lake house owner. Add those cherished photo's of that big trophy fish, fun family outing, lake house, favorite sail boat, lucky lure, or water skiing trip directly to their favorite vintage style lake map.

Folks are discovering that these personalized decor maps are wonderfully unique gifts that become family heirlooms. Oh yeah, I hid things in the lakes waters, which make the maps even more interesting. I  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. 


As you can see, my maps make a great gift. To see more of my work click 
Orders are picking up during the holiday's, so order soon. Click here www.LeoLakes.com for more information.

Summer is near!

Summer is near! My daughter Sarah, just finished her freshmen year at Sewanee, The University of the South. For the summer, Sarah will be working with me at Old Field Studio (LeoLakes). Boy do I have work for her to do, lots of things that I have been putting off. Oh yeah, I've been working on a lake map for the Arkansas Tourism Department, but more about that later. Anyway, Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream!

Check-out my website at LeoLakes.com. I have many vintage style decor maps of your favorite lake that look great hanging in a lake house, home or office. 

"As I look over this lake, The most amazing scenes appears in its wake, The sun arises just above the shore, Giving grace and beauty to this place that I adore." LKO

Big Bear Lake

Here's another nice email from one of my customers. Big Bear Lake is a beautiful lake located in California. 

"Hello Larry! We received the print yesterday as promised!!  It is fantastic!!  Quality is beautiful and my daughters had a blast trying to find the mermaid!  They wanted more things to find so you left them wanting more!  :)  Can't wait to give it to my parents this weekend, I know they will love it as much as I do!!  You've been an incredible, helpful, responsive seller and I've enjoyed doing business with you!  Such a pleasure to have a totally positive buying experience on line.  Take care and have a great weekend! "

The Big Bear Lake map is painted in vintage style. I add waterfowl common to the lake flying over to give the map interest. As mentioned above, I add a tiny little mermaid for folks to search for.

This close up section gives you an idea of the detail that I include. I have many folks who purchase my maps for birthday, fathers day, Christmas, lake house warming, and wedding gifts.

All maps 16x32 size and above, come with a Certificate of Authenticity, a poem, and a sheet covering interesting facts about your LeoLakes Decor Map. 

To see if we have your lake, river, or bay, check-out my website LeoLakes.com. Enjoy

Neighbors in the woods!

We live in the "ten acre woods" and have lots of neighbors. I thought I would let you meet some of the finest neighbors in the world. They sometimes come by and visit, but like good neighbors, they don't stay too long.

Here's Racky the Raccoon, peeping in the backdoor. My wife thinks Racky is a bit of a peeping Tom. Speaking of Tom, Tom the Turkey stopped by for a snack.

Tom really strut's his stuff on most days, but this was Thanksgiving and Tom wanted to be alone for some reason?

Oh yeah, we have a house guest named Ring Neck the snake. Old Ring Neck only stayed a little while because he made the wife and teenagers nervous. I had to show Ring Neck the door after brooms were drawn. Too bad Ring Neck!

Some guests visit at night like Polly the possum. Polly was born in Tennessee and for some reason is attracted to orange. Go figure. Hmmmm... really why is this Possum on an orange blanket? Because he kicked Freckles the Feral cat, that my wife feeds, from his sleeping quarters in order to get to the food. Some guest are just like pigs. 

Ah, here's Fred the Fox. He's a little sneaky neighbor that likes to come by for a free meal. 

Last but not least, Dolly the Deer looking beautiful near the salt block.

.......and that's the end of the finest neighbors in the ten acre woods! 

If you ever need a beautiful map, then check out my website, LeoLakes.com

Vintage style Lakes Maps for the Lake House!

I often receive nice emails back from folks who have purchased one of my maps. It certainly makes one feel good when you get a comment like this one from a customer who purchased a Center Hill Lake Decor Map. 

"We received it yesterday and it is absolutely beautiful and perfect. What an artist! And I found the mermaids, finally! Thank You for an amazing work of art."

The Center Hill Lake Map has a nice vintage style look. I add waterfowl common to the lake flying over to give the map interest. I also include A few small fish and a tiny little mermaid.

I've added a close up section to give you an idea of the detail that I include. I have many folks who purchase my maps for birthday, fathers day, Christmas, lake house warming, and wedding gifts.

All maps 16x32 size and above, come with a Certificate of Authenticity, a poem, and a sheet covering interesting facts about your LeoLakes Decor Map. Here's the wonderful lake poem that my wife wrote about lakes, rivers, and bays.

"As I look over this beloved waterscape, The most amazing scenes appear in its wake, The sun arises above the shore, Giving grace and beauty to this place that I adore."  

To see if we have your lake, river, or bay, check-out my website LeoLakes.com. Enjoy