Deep Creek Lake

A beautiful Little Lake! I Just finished this custom vintage style map of Deep Creek Lake in Maryland. Deep Creek Lake is the largest lake in Maryland at approximately 3,900 acres. The lake is named after the creek that feeds into it and the maximum depth is about 75 feet.  This lake has an abundance of wildlife, fish and birds and is a great lake for fishing, swimming, tubing, and canoeing.

Interesting, I always hide a tiny mermaid to the waters of all my lake map paintings that folks love to search for. I have been painting river, lake, and bay maps for the last five years. I call them treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure. 

Here's the actual customer's comment: 

Good Morning Larry, Please know that we received our new Map yesterday and love everything about it!!  Thank you so very much as this will be an amazing addition to our home.  Many blessing to you" 

These maps make great gifts for the lake house owner, lake lover, or fisherman. I have over two hundred on my website that be purchased from the site, or I can do custom and personalizes lake maps, too. If you would like to see more and read about my treasured maps go to LeoLakes.com. Makes a great gift!

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

Gone Fishing!

A friend of mind sent me this picture with the story behind it. This man loved the outdoors so much, his family decided to pay respect for his love by loading his casket into a small motor boat and trailer, and pulling it to the cemetery by a pickup.

The family indicated that he spent so much time on the water in his many boats, that they came up with this idea of using one for his final journey. I guess you could say that this man was truly an outdoors man. 

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

Ever wish you had a beautiful decor map of your favorite river, lake and bay maps? Now you can. Check-out my vintage maps at LeoLakes.com. We have over 200 ready to purchase, or we do custom and personalized maps, too. They make a unique gift for the lake lover, lake house owner, or fisherman and fathers day is coming soon.    

You know it's time to give up fishing when......

Fishermen can be some funny folks. In order to have the God's smile on them while fishing, they can have certain rituals that they preform before, during and after the fishing trip to bring them good luck. However, some fishermen folks can become obsessed with the rituals of fishing and carry them way too far. Here's when you should know it's time to give up fishing and get professional help. If you know a fisherman, then you may want to show him or her these cartoons and ask a few questions to ensure that they haven't become obsessed.  

Bob looks a little devilish with those fish hook eyebrows. No doubt, if you have fish hook eyebrows, then it's time to give up fishing.
  

This is not a mustache, it's a fish tail and it's time to see a doctor! 

I think "going way too far" is an understatement.

If you need a unique gift for the lake lover, lake house owner, or fisherman, then checkout my lakes, river and bay decor maps. They come in many sizes and can be customized. I hope you enjoyed the cartoons and remember: Life is short, Get away from the big screen and get on a big stream.

Long Lake Treasured Map

Click to Enlarge

Do you know what lake is the Walleye Capital of Wisconsin? That lake would be Long Lake. Long Lake is located in Washburn County and is 3,300 acres in size. It's name is true to its length, being 19 miles long. The lake was carved out by glaciers millions of years ago. It's a beautiful clear lake with miles of undeveloped shoreline, pristine bays and nice gravel beaches. 

Not only are walleyes common, but large and small mouth bass, crappie, blue gill, and northern pike are too. You will find much wildlife/waterfowl around the lake such as eagles, osprey, cranes, otter, beaver and my favorite, loons. In fact, I added a couple of loons on the map along with fish, canadian Geese, and an osprey. Interesting, I always hide a tiny mermaid to the waters of all my lake map paintings that folks love to search for. 

I have been painting river, lake, and bay maps for the last five years. I call them 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 maps, too. If you would like to see more and read about my treasured maps go to LeoLakes.com. Remember: Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream.

  

Polarized Fishing Glasses, Fish that Pee, Fish Beds!

Okay, I've been at it again with a few more fishing cartoons. This time I focused on the fish with human qualities. I named them Polarized fishing glasses, fish that pee, and fish beds. Enjoy!

Polarized fishing glasses

Fish Pee

Fish Beds

Hey, if you want the perfect gift for the lake lover, lake house owner or fisherman, then check-out my lake maps at LeoLakes.com. The maps can be customized and personalized with pictures etc... and I even hide a mermaid and a few fish in the lake!

Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream!

Caution Alligators!

Here's an interesting sign combination. When fishing in Florida, you often come across signs like this one below, but I have never seen one with a "Pet Walking Area" sign attached. What is the message here?

Anyway, I will say that you must be careful when fishing in Florida because that may not be a log that you are fishing near.

Check-out my vintage style Lake, River, and Bay maps! Make a great gift!!!!

Massive Catfish

Check-out this giant flathead catfish that was caught on Chickamauga lake. It weighted in at 83 lbs, only 2 lbs under the state record. Interestingly, the massive catfish was released and hopefully it will be caught in the future as the state record.  

Hey, check-out these beautiful decor maps of your favorite fishing lake or river. You will always remember that record fish, including the location, picture, and description with this vintage style map. Makes a great gift for the fisherman, for more information click here, LeoLakes.com. 

Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream, or at least put one on your wall!

Battle of the chipmunk and wasp!

About two years ago, I was lucky enough to see a Chipmunk from our front window. I always have my Nikon D80 camera handy for photographing wildlife because we live on ten acres in the woods where many animals come near. I grabbed the camera and quietly headed out of the front door in hopes of getting a few photos of Mr. Chipmunk doing Chipmunk stuff. Little did I know that I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to experience an unusual event and likely one that only a very few have photographed. To begin with, here is Mr. Chipmunk thinking he is sneaking across the walk to enter our planter where there’s moist mulch and flowers and seeds, but I was there with my camera.

Lucky for me, Mr. Chipmunk was oblivious to my presence and I was able to photograph his every move. He seemed to be on a mission and I wasn't clear on what he was up to.

Anyway, I noticed that Mr. Chipmunk kept looking up the brick wall and I wasn't quite sure why, but I did noticed a wasp nest in the corner above the garden hose. It was about 8 ft above the ground and it appeared that was the target of the chipmunks attention as you can see below.

If you look closely, on the right of the nest, you can see a wasp guarding the nest.

Believe it or not this little Chipmunk may have saved me from a trip to the hospital. You see, I am allergic to bee stings. Actually I’m 1 in 1000; that’s how many people are allergic to bee stings. If I’m stung, 2 Benadryl pills and a trip to the hospital parking lot to sit. I wait until the symptoms disappear; if not, a trip inside for an adrenalin shot. Almost always, Benadryl does the trick for me. If anyone around you gets stung, watch them for any sign of hives, swelling and difficulty breathing. Get immediate medical attention if you suspect someone is having a reaction.  You can become allergic at any time. I wasn't allergic until I was in my early twenties, just be aware. Now back to my story.

In a flash, Mr. Chipmunk quickly climbed straight up the brick wall and to the nest. The Chipmunk plowed right into the nest, head first and the wasp didn’t have time to react. In fact, so fast I wasn’t able to capture a picture until the Chipmunk started back down. As you can see, Mr. Chipmunk has a wasp in his mouth. It became a quick snack as he headed down and afterwards there was a lot of chatter which either suggests it was delicious or ouch that hurt. Click on the picture for a close up.

It was pretty amazing, I learned that Chipmunks are experienced wasp tracker and realized that I would have made a terrible Chipmunk because that would have killed me (bee sting). I did a little research on chipmunks after this happened and found that chipmunks love wasp and will attack the nest. I felt lucky to have seen this unique event in nature.  

Hey, want to hang something on the wall that's unique, see my art www.LeoLakes.com