lloydslensphotographyllc

Casting Off

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Anchor Point 1” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the page.

The river never stops. Even when it’s cold enough to freeze the ice slides forward on a thin layer of liquid water beneath. There are times when it rages and sweeps away everything in its path and times when it laps gently at the shore delivering life to the landscape. But it never stops.

Time flows like a river. Our perception can give us the impression of time flying as when visiting with an old friend or we can slow time to a crawl as when that cup of coffee is knocked off of the table and seems to hover in mid air for a moment. But it never really stops. Time erodes the world. It carries away the opportunities of the moment and changes our personal landscape. One way that this happens is by living in the past. It’s good to have a sense of nostalgia especially if it gives us a sense of peace but if it blinds us to the present it can be a problem. I’m guilty of this. I think it’s human nature to hold onto things that bring us happiness. But if we miss today’s opportunity we’re going to miss tomorrow’s happiness as we watch yesterday’s joy fade away into the past. I chose tonight’s feature image to represent holding onto yesterday because it is an anchor point. It’s purpose is to hold the boat in one place while the river flows by. It’s that stability that gives us the ability to board the boat and navigate through the river but at some point have to cast off. Casting off requires letting go of the anchor point that is weathered and worn. Here then is the paradox, letting go of the anchor exposes us to the hazards of the current but without letting go we may as well not be in the boat in the first place. What will we do in the river of time? Will we go boldly into current and build the future or will we hold onto the anchor point until the river swells and sweeps it away? Certainly there’s a place for nostalgia in our lives. But it should be more of an aid to navigation than a anchor the prevents travel beyond the starting point. It’s place in our lives should be where we can visit and resupply for the next journey but never the place where we are stuck.

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The McKees Creek Artifact

Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Archways” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the page.

The days are becoming more gentle and I have the urge to pack up my gear and head into the landscape. I want to smell the moss and listen to the birds singing. The path in tonight’s feature image is the trail at McKees Creek in the Salmon Run area of Summersville Lake. The trail winds through some of the old homestead properties where you can see some of the old cut stone foundations. In the mid 90s my friend Paul lead me to huge moss covered stone that was well off of the trail. I could tell that the stone was cut into a rectangle by the sharpness of the edges. He asked what I thought it was. I don’t really remember what my exact reply was but I remember thinking that it was probably just piece that was being sectioned out when the work stopped. That is until he rolled the moss back like a rug and revealed the details underneath. The work was indeed unfinished but what I saw was the beginning of what would have been a beautifully detailed fireplace mantel. Long graceful arches would have given the impression of brackets. There was even a French curve carved into the face. It had not been polished. Just roughed out. It must have weighed a couple of tons. It would have taken a team of draft horses just to pull it out of the landscape. Positioning into place in the wall that it was intended to occupy would have required several men with crib blocks and levers. I have done similar work on construction sites where the ground wasn’t stable enough for heavy equipment. It can be nerve-wracking to have a large heavy object resting on a tower of unfastened wooden blocks. In the case of the stone mantle the most dangerous part would have been sliding it from the cribbing into place. It’s possible that a block and tackle would have been used with the horses. If that was the plan then the scaffolding would have been enormous.

Perhaps the reason it was never completed was that the builder realized what an effort it would be to utilize the piece and opted to cut his losses. Whatever happened it resulted in another interesting artifact that was left behind in the Appalachian woodlands. I have never been able to find that spot a second time either. I’ve made several trips down the pathway and through the high arches formed by the trees. There’s several cut stones here and there but the stone mantle has eluded me.

I do have a question for my readers concerning upcoming posts. I have a deep interest in wild edible plants that are found in the Appalachian Mountains. Some are native to my area and some cultivated plants that have escaped. Others are plants that we might have as part of our landscape but never really considered to be edibles. Is that something that you would enjoy reading about? Please let me know by commenting either here on my blog or on Facebook. ( link to my Facebook is below.) For now I hope that you find a chance to get out and find some time to declutter the mind in nature. Be blessed and have a great day!

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The Magnolia Awakens

Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Star Of Spring” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the page.

After long months of slumbering in the darkness nature has awoken. The faithful little Star Magnolia stretches in the winds of early March then opens up an smiles at world. Her joyful awakening fills the air with a sweet fragrance as warblers welcome her with a happy song. Daffodils dot the highway and the willow trees unfurl tiny leaflets of bright green. I thank God for the sunshine even if the wind still carries a bitting chill on some days. I have an inclination that the bees will soon be heard buzzing in the hedges as they work tirelessly to replenish their stores but for now the Magnolia’s smile was enough to warm up a winter weary soul.

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St. Patrick’s Day 2019

Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “May The Road Rise” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the page.

Tonight’s blog post is out a bit late and by the time most of you read it it will be St. Patrick’s Day already. So, I’m simply going to repeat the Irish Blessing.

May the road rise to meet you.

May the wind be always at tour back.

May rain fall softly on your fields.

And until we meet again, May God hold you safely in the palm of his hand.

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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! Simply message me on Facebook or use the contact form on my website and tell me which image you want and I’ll reply with a direct link to where you can place the order.

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Artifacts

Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Logging Dog”. If you’reinterested in a copy please use the contact instructions at the bottom of the page.

Somewhere in the distant past the forest echoes with the voice of the foreman mingled with either the whine of chainsaw motor or the thump of axes being driven into the boles. The crackle of limbs breaking and thunderous crash echoes through the mountains as a giant falls to the earth. The tree lands with the precision of a master archer’s winning bullseye. The lumber will go to mill where it will become part of School, home, church or any number of beloved objects made from wood. Worn out by the heavy labor the lumberjacks begin to gather their tools leaving the undergrowth to mature for the next fifty years or so. When done properly the harvest will actually improve the overall health and diversity of the forests and for now the last mature tree has been taken. And beneath the broken limbs and scattered leaves there are artifacts left behind.

Fast forward a few decades and you’ll see my father improving a trail that cuts through the back of property. He spots something in spoil cast aside by blade of his tractor. The short section of heavy chain has a spike on one end that’s designed to be driven into a log like an anchor. The artifact is called a logging dog and it’s used to drag logs to landing where they are loaded into the truck. It was a valuable tool for whoever left it behind but now it’s a treasured conversation piece in my Dad’s collection. It makes me wonder why we are drawn to things like warped and weathered wood or rusty chunks of metal. Sometimes it’s a lost item like the logging dog or the axe head that I found in the same area several years before he found the chain. Other times it’s a discarded item like an antique soda bottle that a camper no longer needed. Such things as old canning jars and antique medicine bottles have a value on the open market. There was a time when a young man person could excavate a makeshift dump and carry out a little spending money in the form of unbroken glass and rusted iron. Recently I rediscovered a rusted item that I pulled out of the creek. The photos I posted on a Facebook Forum are below.

While not as artistic as I like to post the “mystery object” has conjured up guesses of everything from lost confederate treasures to counter weighs for a barn door. ( I believe that counter weight theory is in lead)

Whatever it is it has the same appeal as the logging dog. It’s a connection to the past. It was a part of someone’s everyday life and witness to history.

I enjoy keeping my eyes open when I’m nearby old job sites and forgotten places. Nice finds like antique blue mason jars are going to be a pretty rare find these days and most of stuff I spot aren’t really worth picking up except to dispose of it properly but occasionally I find something unique enough to at least try to figure out what it was when it was new.

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Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

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! Simply message me on Facebook or use the contact form on my website and tell me which image you want and I’ll reply with a direct link to where you can place the order.

Thank you again for your support of my page! 😊