I am a West Virginia native who has always loved photography. I have studied it for many years. I recently turned my hobby into a business. I do event photography, senior and family portraits. I also have several home décor prints and items available for purchase. Some of my photos have been used for book covers. I hope to soon have an on line store at this site.
Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Old Barn 111819” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.
Crows cry out overhead as they ride the cold northern winds over the old barn on Muddelty Creek. The rusted tin roof rattles slightly more than it did last year. A few more warped beams show through the bare spots in the siding. The earth grows more fallow as vines claim more of the remaining structure. Documenting the fall of the old barn gives me an appreciation for the passage of time. Changes are very subtle at first but one day you look back and see just how much has changed. The old barn has taught me to observant of the value of the now. Now is the time to appreciate what we have. Our friends, our family and our freedoms are temporary. Subtle changes in life accumulate and before you know it opportunities slip into the past. I’ve said this because as the holidays arrive and everyone gathers for celebrations we should remember that moments are fleeting and those subtle changes will eventually catch up with us and opportunities are lost.
Hello Friends and thank you for your support of my page. If you have enjoyed the photos or the writings please let me know by commenting and sharing my work on your social media. I also want to invite you to Follow Lloyds Lens Photography on Facebook
If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is
Did you know that I also do portraits by appointment? If you’re interested in a portrait session either message me on Facebook or Use the Contact form. The YouTube link below takes you one of my slideshows.
I’m now using Zazzle to fulfil orders. What this means for you is a secure way to place an order, discount codes & a broader product selection! Simplymessage me on Facebookoruse the contact form on my websiteand tell me which image you want and I’ll reply with a direct link to where you can place the order.
Lastly, all of the photos and writings are my original work unless otherwise specified and are not to be copied or reproduced without expressed written permission from the photographer.
Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “November Bouquet” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.
The cold northern winds have swept away the glory of the maple and oak. But don’t think that all beauty has been lost. Though the pedals have faded and fallen away long ago the rose has its second glory in late fall and holds it throughout the winter. The delta marsh on Muddelty Creek is full of the bright red berries that give the appearance of candy sprinkles to the brown and beige landscape. The blue sky is mirrored in the lazy flow of the water as twists it’s way through the land. The reeds whistle a lulaby in tune with wind as nature closes her heavy eyes. Standing on the edge of the road I look into the pool and watch as the fish come near the surface to admire the crimson joy of the fruit of the rose and lazily return to the depths of their realm. Soon the ice will come and seal their door of the outside world and I will wait for the new light.
Hello Friends and thank you for your support of my page. If you have enjoyed the photos or the writings please let me know by commenting and sharing my work on your social media. I also want to invite you to Follow Lloyds Lens Photography on Facebook
If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is
Did you know that I also do portraits by appointment? If you’re interested in a portrait session either message me on Facebook or Use the Contact form. The YouTube link below takes you one of my slideshows.
I’m now using Zazzle to fulfil orders. What this means for you is a secure way to place an order, discount codes & a broader product selection! Simplymessage me on Facebookoruse the contact form on my websiteand tell me which image you want and I’ll reply with a direct link to where you can place the order.
Lastly, all of the photos and writings are my original work unless otherwise specified and are not to be copied or reproduced without expressed written permission from the photographer.
Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Morning Whispers” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.
The smell of the coffee in my tumbler fills the cab of my big blue truck as I drift along the tiny one lane road on Peter’s Creek. Most of the colorful leaves have fallen to the ground leaving behind the pale branches and boles of the sleeping forest. The vibrant songs of the mockingbirds and warblers have given way to the cries of jays and crows. The seasonal progression brings with it an icy chill making the hot coffee all the more appreciable. As I scan the edges of the road hoping for a jay or a Cardnial to pause long enough for a portrait the gently swaying keys of a box elder catches my eye. The winged seeds persist well past the dropping of the final leaf and some of them stay on the tree well into the winter. I know that the calendar says that winter doesn’t really start until the solstice but that’s mankind’s artificial time. For me winter starts with dropping of the last leaf or when those that remain have turned to dull rusty brown. The forest slumbers until the songbirds sing and wake the first blossom of spring.
Hello Friends and thank you for your support of my page. If you have enjoyed the photos or the writings please let me know by commenting and sharing my work on your social media. I also want to invite you to Follow Lloyds Lens Photography on Facebook
If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is
Did you know that I also do portraits by appointment? If you’re interested in a portrait session either message me on Facebook or Use the Contact form. The YouTube link below takes you one of my slideshows.
I’m now using Zazzle to fulfil orders. What this means for you is a secure way to place an order, discount codes & a broader product selection! Simplymessage me on Facebookoruse the contact form on my websiteand tell me which image you want and I’ll reply with a direct link to where you can place the order.
Lastly, all of the photos and writings are my original work unless otherwise specified and are not to be copied or reproduced without expressed written permission from the photographer.
Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Red Oak And Blue Sky” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.
Salmon Run Road is all but abandoned this time of year. There was one person out walking for his health and a few boaters were much farther down the road but that’s far less than summer. I went to see the empty lake bottom and some of the abandoned foundations of the flooded civilization that used to be there. The barren landscape would be a great analog to Mars in some places. ( Photos to be posted at a later time)
On the way back out I spotted the Red Oak clinging tightly to its last few clumps of leaves. The red in contrast with the blue sky was a very soothing sight after the dry lake bed. I rolled down the window and soaked in the cool breeze and fresh air. Small buntings hop about through the denser twigs. Only the rattle of dry leaves gives away their presence as they hunt. A sudden gust of wind sweeps through the leaves on the ground get up and dance before coming to rest in the duff of the forest floor. For a few minutes I forgot that I was stopped in the middle of a public road until another truck was coming in sight from the other direction and it was time to move on.
Hello Friends and thank you for your support of my page. If you have enjoyed the photos or the writings please let me know by commenting and sharing my work on your social media. I also want to invite you to Follow Lloyds Lens Photography on Facebook
If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is
Did you know that I also do portraits by appointment? If you’re interested in a portrait session either message me on Facebook or Use the Contact form. The YouTube link below takes you one of my slideshows.
I’m now using Zazzle to fulfil orders. What this means for you is a secure way to place an order, discount codes & a broader product selection! Simplymessage me on Facebookoruse the contact form on my websiteand tell me which image you want and I’ll reply with a direct link to where you can place the order.
Lastly, all of the photos and writings are my original work unless otherwise specified and are not to be copied or reproduced without expressed written permission from the photographer.
Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image was taken specifically for Forage Friday. All of the photos are my original work and are available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.
One of the treats for a young person growing up in the Appalachian Mountains is reaching out to pluck a birch twig during a hike. Not just any birch but one of the sweet birches. The property I grew up on had plenty of black birch and it is the strongest flavored in my recollection but the property I have now has yellow birch on it. Both are wintergreen flavored and the inner bark can be made into a tea. The wintergreen flavor comes from methyl salicylate which functions like aspirin and therefore can be used for pain relief.
One of the surprises that I learned several years ago was the existence of birch beer. It’s called beer but it’s technically a wine. The birch tree is tapped like a maple and the sap is then boiled down into syrup just like maple and to make the birch beer it’s allowed to ferment into wine. I can’t really speak to the flavor of birch syrup or beer/wine but it’s mentioned in several of my guide books.
The curly bark of a yellow birch in my property.
The bark of a yellow birch has a distinctive look. The long curls of lose bark are kinda hard to miss. Birch bark here in the USA is thought of as the construction material for Native American canoes but I think that they used the tighter bark of the white birch with is more of a northern species. The bark was used for making cooking vessels as well. A square tray made from birch bark can be coated with the birch resin and made waterproof enough to cook soup by placing it directly in the fire. Even though birch bark is extremely flammable the water inside keeps it from burning and thus you can cook in it.
Speaking of birch resin, a very useful substance that’s commonly called “Birch oil” is a resin extracted from the bark. The method used is to coil the Bark in a can with a hole in the bottom. This can us placed over a second can or glass jar that’s in a hole in the ground and the whole thing is covered with hot coals from a fire and baked slowly. The oil collects in the bottom jar. In the 17th and 18th centuries people living in Russia used it to waterproof leather and I’ve heard it referenced that during World War 2 Jews who escaped into Russia was able to extend the life of their footwear with the aid of birch oil. A 5000 year old artifact found in Finland turned out to be chewing gum made from birch tar. Which shouldn’t be surprising because the Neanderthals used it to fletch their arrows.
What gardener doesn’t hate snails and slugs? They’re nothing more that living stomachs that destroy our gardens but the birch resin can come to the rescue here too. Mix up a little birch resin with petroleum jelly and paint a barrier around your food plot to keep the slimy critters out. (It’s said to last for months but it’s not a trick that I’ve tried yet. )
Birch resin is also used in making some perfumes but I haven’t researched into that yet.
Lastly, in the more northern climates birch is host to the true tinder fungus. Also known as Chaga. When we get into medical uses for anything I mot only feel the need to urge you to do your own research nut to be extra cautious about the advice you get. Chaga is one of those useful plants that has been hailed as a cure-all. There’s a lot of treatments cited and while I’m sure that there’s a lot of things that it helps I find a claims to be a little overblown and just way too enthusiastic about results. However, this parasite of birch trees was found in the kit of Otzi the ice man. Not only could it be used as incense to keep insects away but it actually helps build fires as tinder ( hence the name true tinder fungus) and he was apparently using it as food and medicine himself. I have included it in this post because of its close association with the birches. Those who study it say that it’s medicinal qualities come from it’s ability to concentrate Betulinic acid that’s produced by the birch tree. Studies are being done that say Betulinic acid may help some cancers but again, this is outside of my understanding enough that I have to ask the reader to seek out a professional for any advice about the validity of that claim.
One last image that I have to share is one of the more interesting trees on my mountain. It’s what’s called a false graft. Normally a graft can only occur within the same species but on the edge of my yard I have a yellow birch and a magnolia that are mechanically joined. Just how this happened I don’t really know for sure. It’s common for trees that are close to each other to grow around one another but here the magnolia is actually growing a horizontal trunk into the birch.
The odd mechanical graft on my property.
I hope that you have enjoyed tonight’s Forage Friday post. When I started Forage Friday I stated that I would continue to post them as long as I could find wild edible plants to feature and I do plan to continue #ForageFriday indefinitely. However, as the winter months are upon us I might have to post an alternative here and there to keep from having to post duplicate photos. I have held back some photos so I can try to stretch the content for as long as possible but we’ll have to see if it was enough. Good night and be blessed!
Hello Friends and thank you for your support of my page. If you have enjoyed the photos or the writings please let me know by commenting and sharing my work on your social media. I also want to invite you to Follow Lloyds Lens Photography on Facebook
If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is
Did you know that I also do portraits by appointment? If you’re interested in a portrait session either message me on Facebook or Use the Contact form. The YouTube link below takes you one of my slideshows.
I’m now using Zazzle to fulfil orders. What this means for you is a secure way to place an order, discount codes & a broader product selection! Simplymessage me on Facebookoruse the contact form on my websiteand tell me which image you want and I’ll reply with a direct link to where you can place the order.
Lastly, all of the photos and writings are my original work unless otherwise specified and are not to be copied or reproduced without expressed written permission from the photographer.
LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC 