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 “Bee Camp 80421” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.
The evening sun creeps towards the ridges and shadows begin to sweep across the landscape. The moist air carries the scent of Hibiscus and rain as a family of bumblebees take shelter for the night. In my imaginations I can see that the bees are on a camping trip and just prior to cuddling up in their hibiscus tent they sat around a firefly telling stories. The clouds gather as the sun fades into the distance and the evening rain falls softly. The bees are cozy and warm inside their blossom as they’re lulled to sleep by the gentle patter of raindrops. They know that the rain will bring more flowers to forage and dawn will be here before you know it. There will be plenty of life to enjoy when the morning chorus wakes them. And I too must cozy up and seek the dream world.
Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days.
Announcement 2.0
For those who have been following me on Facebook and know of the struggle content providers have to get circulation from big tech I’ve been recommending for people to adopt MeWe as a social media platform. One of the problems I’ve run into on MeWe is that people don’t know how to navigate the platform. So to help with that I’ve created a permanent page on my website as a basic Basic Beginner’s Guide To MeWe I’ve tried to anticipate all basic questions there and You can bookmark the page to have as a reference and if you have any questions or suggestions don’t hesitate to contact me. I do still have a day job and I help admin several pages on both platforms so replies might be a little slow but I will answer you.
We also have the Lloyd’s Lens Photography Discussion Group on MeWe that is set up as a fully functional community. There you’ll not only be able to see and connect with me but you can also make your own posts and interact with each other.
Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!
To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.
If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.
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! Simplyuse 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.
Clicking on the photo takes you tohttps://www.zazzle.com/lloydslensphotos?rf=238248269630914251Lastly, 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 photographerThank you again for your support of my page!♥️
Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Heal-All 80321” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.
The stillness of the marsh is broken by the chatter of grasshopper. His perfect camouflage is broken when I step too close and he flutters into the air flashing yellow wings. He disappears into the tall grass that grows on the narrow margin between the road and the mucky shore. In my search for his hiding place I spotted the Heal-All plant. Normally when we think about the healing power of a plant we consider the vitamins and phytochemicals it provides. However, that’s just the clinical side of it. The time spent outside in the fresh air and sunshine away from the clatter of voices that come over the speakers and the mental clutter that comes with them gives us a chance to reset our minds. We “clear the mental buffer” so to speak. This modern world is a great blessing. We have the sum knowledge of mankind in our pockets. And yet it comes with a price. We receive so many different messages in such a short time that we can’t really process it. So ideas and inspiration get tucked away in some mental pocket in our heads. And like loading up our pants pockets we can get to a point where it weighs us down. We find that pocket full of so much clutter that if we do want to pull out something specific we have to dig through everything else to find it. Spending time in a tranquil place where there’s no agenda gives us time to pull everything out and cast off those mental burdens that we don’t really need or accepted out of some sense of being polite. We can just cast those things into the marsh and organize the thoughts that we want to keep and return home with a lighter spirit.
Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days.
Announcement 2.0
For those who have been following me on Facebook and know of the struggle content providers have to get circulation from big tech I’ve been recommending for people to adopt MeWe as a social media platform. One of the problems I’ve run into on MeWe is that people don’t know how to navigate the platform. So to help with that I’ve created a permanent page on my website as a basic Basic Beginner’s Guide To MeWe I’ve tried to anticipate all basic questions there and You can bookmark the page to have as a reference and if you have any questions or suggestions don’t hesitate to contact me. I do still have a day job and I help admin several pages on both platforms so replies might be a little slow but I will answer you.
We also have the Lloyd’s Lens Photography Discussion Group on MeWe that is set up as a fully functional community. There you’ll not only be able to see and connect with me but you can also make your own posts and interact with each other.
Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!
To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.
If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.
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! Simplyuse 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.
Clicking on the photo takes you tohttps://www.zazzle.com/lloydslensphotos?rf=238248269630914251Lastly, 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 photographerThank you again for your support of my page!♥️
Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Skipper Butterfly On Indian Hemp 80121” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.
Each day wonderful things happen even if we don’t notice. One person might look at tonight’s photo and see a weed. Another might see a butterfly that’s so common that it fails to inspire. And yet tonight I ask you to look for the life. I ask you to feel the warmth of the sun and smell a fragrance in the breeze. I want you to stretch out your imagination and listen to the unseen songbirds in the surrounding landscape. Never believe that what is common to us isn’t special to universe. We in our limited ways to reach out beyond the limits of our ancestors and have searched the universe for another world where Almighty God has placed his breath. And from Galileo to now not one has such world has been known. In the broader aspect of the universe a little brown butterfly is something wonderful and so are you.
Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days.
Announcement 2.0
For those who have been following me on Facebook and know of the struggle content providers have to get circulation from big tech I’ve been recommending for people to adopt MeWe as a social media platform. One of the problems I’ve run into on MeWe is that people don’t know how to navigate the platform. So to help with that I’ve created a permanent page on my website as a basic Basic Beginner’s Guide To MeWe I’ve tried to anticipate all basic questions there and You can bookmark the page to have as a reference and if you have any questions or suggestions don’t hesitate to contact me. I do still have a day job and I help admin several pages on both platforms so replies might be a little slow but I will answer you.
We also have the Lloyd’s Lens Photography Discussion Group on MeWe that is set up as a fully functional community. There you’ll not only be able to see and connect with me but you can also make your own posts and interact with each other.
Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!
To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.
If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.
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! Simplyuse 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.
Clicking on the photo takes you tohttps://www.zazzle.com/lloydslensphotos?rf=238248269630914251Lastly, 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 photographerThank you again for your support of my page!♥️
Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “A Taste Of Clover 73122” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.
Dust rises up from the road on Panther Mountain as the big blue truck finds a spot to halt the climb. Mottled sunlight filters down to illuminate small treasures tucked away here and there throughout the forest. Each sunbeam holds a tiny world of its own fully of fairyflies, ferns and the odd forest flowers. The road offers enough of a break in the canopy to allow the red clover to claim its stand at the foot of a knoll. There beneath the maples and oaks the pale ones dance and play in the warm breeze that flows up from the canyon below. In North America we call them Cabbage White Butterflies because when they find a garden they can be a pest but here on the edge of a mountain pass they take on the persona of a playful spirit following the track of the sun as it’s beams bath the clover in life giving radiance. All that they need is given to them by the hand of God and their peace is fulfilled.
Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days.
Announcement 2.0
For those who have been following me on Facebook and know of the struggle content providers have to get circulation from big tech I’ve been recommending for people to adopt MeWe as a social media platform. One of the problems I’ve run into on MeWe is that people don’t know how to navigate the platform. So to help with that I’ve created a permanent page on my website as a basic Basic Beginner’s Guide To MeWe I’ve tried to anticipate all basic questions there and You can bookmark the page to have as a reference and if you have any questions or suggestions don’t hesitate to contact me. I do still have a day job and I help admin several pages on both platforms so replies might be a little slow but I will answer you.
We also have the Lloyd’s Lens Photography Discussion Group on MeWe that is set up as a fully functional community. There you’ll not only be able to see and connect with me but you can also make your own posts and interact with each other.
Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!
To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.
If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.
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! Simplyuse 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.
Clicking on the photo takes you tohttps://www.zazzle.com/lloydslensphotos?rf=238248269630914251Lastly, 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 photographerThank you again for your support of my page!♥️
Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Avens 73021a” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.
Please remember that Forage Friday is presented as trivia and not to be mistaken for medical advice.
Also, a social media comment on an unrelated post concerning the ethics and legality of foraging has led me to remind the readers that I presume you are either foraging your own land, have permission of a landowner or are experiencing a food emergency in a survival situation. Furthermore, make sure you have the right ID on any plant that you intend to eat. While I strive to provide accurate information mistakes happen so never rely on a single source and always double check.
As a youth one the first guide books I ever consulted was a Reader’s Digest guide to North American Wildlife. The book was full of hand drawn or painted images of common flora and fauna of our wonderful landscape. One that stuck out to me was “Purple Avens” and the description made it sound like wild chocolate. It wasn’t until a few days ago that I actually encountered a form of Avens in person. But, I’d missed the flowers in bloom somehow even though I must have nearly stepped on them several times. They were growing on the edge of the highland delta at Muddlety Creek. What’s more, the first photo I took of them captured them by accident. And so began several sessions of internet Image searches confirm the identity and I’m still not settled on which type of Avens I have here.
Image Titled “Avens 73021b”. Google lens identified it as Yellow Avens.
I’d spent countless hours memorizing the small rendering of Purple Avens (AKA Water Avens) in that Reader’s Digest guide however that image shows only the mature plant in bloom. It doesn’t have an image of the spiked fruit and it doesn’t really mention that there are other varieties of Avens. The same goes for the Peterson’s Field Guides. It finally occurred to me that paper was the limiting factor in how much information could be stored in a shelf full of books. The publisher and editors had to make choices about what to leave out in order to keep everything in one volume. Fortunately for us the internet isn’t restricted that way.
My current understanding is that there’s really only minor differences between the types of Avens. All types seem to be edible. The young leaves are said to be useful as a potherb and not to be very strong flavored. The roots however are where the flavor is.
Multiple sources indicate that the Avens species do tend to hybridize and that this can effect the flavor. Purple Avens is supposed to have a flavor that’s like chocolate but not quite chocolate whereas the other Avens species are described as tasting like cloves or cinnamon. Peterson’s recommended that adding milk and sugar in a tea made from the fine roots was the best way to enjoy them. Obviously the roots could be dried, ground to a powder and sprinkled like a spice.
A few sources say that avens has even been used to flavor and preserve liquor.
The clove/cinnamon flavor of certain avens seems to come from a compound inside the roots that converts into eugenol. Which makes me think that it may be able to sooth a toothache in the same way cloves do. Traditionally some Avens have been used as an anti-inflammatory, to relieve sore throat, treating digestive problems and as a wash to treat skin infections as well as hemorrhoids. The variety most mentioned in traditional medicine is Herb Bennett.
Lastly, there is a somewhat dangerous lookalike in Thimbleweed ( Next Image) so it’s pretty important to be sure what you’re collecting should you choose to do so.
All parts of Tall Thimbleweed are considered toxic. Avens 73021c.. compare to thimbleweed above.
The biggest difference that jumped out for me was that Thimbleweed has a more oval shaped fruit where the Avens is more round. The Avens has a fuzzy stem but the stem of thimbleweed is smooth. Bare in mind that the 2 photos are taken in different stages of development for each plant and the presence of pedals could make the difference in how easy it to tell them apart. Avens can be harvested year round but it’s recommended as a winter harvest because that’s when all the life is stored in the root.
As always, my intention for Forage Friday is to provide you with something that’s interesting to read and inspire you to do further research while showing you my latest photos. And that’s going to wrap up Forage Friday #118. Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days.
Announcement 2.0
For those who have been following me on Facebook and know of the struggle content providers have to get circulation from big tech I’ve been recommending for people to adopt MeWe as a social media platform. One of the problems I’ve run into on MeWe is that people don’t know how to navigate the platform. So to help with that I’ve created a permanent page on my website as a basic Basic Beginner’s Guide To MeWe I’ve tried to anticipate all basic questions there and You can bookmark the page to have as a reference and if you have any questions or suggestions don’t hesitate to contact me. I do still have a day job and I help admin several pages on both platforms so replies might be a little slow but I will answer you.
We also have the Lloyd’s Lens Photography Discussion Group on MeWe that is set up as a fully functional community. There you’ll not only be able to see and connect with me but you can also make your own posts and interact with each other.
Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!
To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.
If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.
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! Simplyuse 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.
Clicking on the photo takes you tohttps://www.zazzle.com/lloydslensphotos?rf=238248269630914251Lastly, 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 photographerThank you again for your support of my page!♥️
LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC 