lloydslensphotographyllc

Things Are Just Ducky #18 A day out with the kids

Color Photography, Fiction Story, short stories, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Mama Duck 53021” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

Tilly was very pleased with her home on the lake. She and George had such a great life with so much love that they had to start a family. And as soon as the kids were able she took them to her favorite cove on McKee’s Creek. She couldn’t wait to share the cool emerald water with her babies. Being children and full of curiosity the kids often drifted out of formation but she lovingly called to them with soft whistles and gentle nudges until they pretty much complied. She trained them on how to fan out and flush out the minnows for food and how to swim in a tight pack to fool predators into thinking it was only one very large duck on the surface. Among the more important skills for a lake duck was how to look cute for visitors and get a free meal. This one was easy for the kids to master. They learned how avoid the big snapping turtles that lay on the muddy bottom and that sometimes you can hitch a ride on the back of a tortoise if you’re not in a hurry. They learned that the big geese were usually friendly but to keep back when they seem cross. Shallow dives are fun and it’s important to shake your feathers dry when you come back up. One of the baby ducks wandered off to explore what he thought was a clump of reeds on the edge. They were standing so still in the breeze that it made him curious. But suddenly the reeds blinked which sent him hurrying back to Tilly. They all had a good laugh when it turned out to be an American Bitteren waiting for a crayfish to make the same mistake. The Bitteren squawked a disapproval at having his hunt disturbed before moving to a less crowded part of the shore. Tilly decided that this was enough learning for the day and gathered everyone into the grass to nap in the sun. She cuddled her children close and was very thankful for her life on the big lake.

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.

I want you to join my group on MeWe: https://mewe.com/join/lloydslensphotographydiscussiongroup

Click the link below to jump to the Basic Beginner’s Guide To MeWe.https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/guide-to-mewe/embed/#?secret=GJGnIQEVHc

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.

WELCOME TO LLOYD’S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY

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Lloyds Lens Photography web link — Click here to visithttps://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

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 use 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!♥️

The Superhero On The Farm

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Tree Swallow 52221a” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

One of the more impressive birds of the Appalachian Mountains is the tree swallow. Now there’s all kinds of dry scientific facts about these birds. Most of it is focused on their breeding habits and how their immune system declines with age. But I’ve always associated them with superheroes. The seem to have a sleek costume and they even have a mask that keeps their true identity secret. And they are fast and agile! They can fly at around 22 MPH and turn on a dime. While they nest in existing holes in trees or take up residence in houses that were intended for the purple Martin ( which they are often confused with. ) they love to hunt insects over the water. They will come zooming along with their forked tail and turn to catch their prey so quickly that you can blink and miss it. I’ve tried for years to try and catch one in flight over the water and they are gone before the auto focus can find them. If anything in nature moves like a superhero it’s the swallows. Typically they are loners. Just the male and female along with their brood but they also form loose colonies and will even come together to fend off a predator by diving on it in succession. Any raccoon found sneaking up on a nest would soon find himself in stream of living bullets. Teamwork is the true attribute of superheroes! My little friend here gracefully lifted off after a few minutes of posing on the barbed wire and in true superhero fashion he disappeared in a blink with waiting for any thanks. Perhaps his superpowers warned him of a nest in trouble 🤔.

Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days.

Announcement 2.0

I want you to join my group on MeWe: https://mewe.com/join/lloydslensphotographydiscussiongroup

Click the link below to jump to the Basic Beginner’s Guide To MeWe.https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/guide-to-mewe/embed/#?secret=GJGnIQEVHc

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.

WELCOME TO LLOYD’S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY

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Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

Forage Friday #110 Daisy Fleabane

Color Photography, Forage Friday, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Daisy Fleabane 51821” 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.

Among the native wildflowers that grace my mountain the daisy fleabane has always been one of the most welcomed. It typically shows up as a small rosette of wooly leaves just before the grass really starts to turn green. The hair on the young leaves is velvety and soft to the touch. The stem is also quite fuzzy and soon shoots up to around two feet tall give or take a few inches. It’s one of the first plants to flower in spring and the blooms seem to last until the climate finds its summer heat. The flower is a greenish yellow disk and what we commonly call the petals is white tinged with pinks and purples. Being a member of the compositae family the daisy fleabane flower is actually a cluster of little tiny flowers. Each little bump in the disk and every one of those petals is it’s own individual flower.

It’s most likely that fuzzy coat that prevents us from considering daisy fleabane as part of our vegetable garden. But it is considered an edible plant. I’ve not worked up the nerve to try it myself but those who have tell me that it has a peppery flavor. The edible part is the leaves which are boiled like spinach. It’s also said that it should be mixed with other ingredients such as basswood leaves or buds to help conceal the fuzzy texture.

But why would we want to add those fuzzy leaves to a meal in the first place if we have more palatable options to bulk up the pot? Well, Hippocrates advised to let food be our medicine and medicine to be our food. And the main things that fleabane seems to bring to the table is it’s medicinal values.

Some of my own hesitancy in trying fleabane comes from it’s name. I’d always assumed that because of it’s name that it contains some toxic components that are so offsetting that not even a bug would touch it. And it’s true that the plant was once dried and placed in bags and used as a sachet in a belief that it repelled fleas. However, the plant is neither toxic to fleas or humans. The whole thing was simply marketing. But I have an idea of where someone got the idea that fleabane would repell fleas.

In all of online sources that I reviewed fleabane is listed as an anti-inflammatory. As such it’s reasonable to presume that it was commonly used to relieve itchy bug bites such as one might receive from a flea. An association was made between the use of the plant and the source of the itch and the sachet was invented in hopes of preventing the bites.

The secret of fleabane’s anti-inflammatory power lies not in the power to repel anything but in it concentration of Caffeic Acid . As you might suspect Caffeic Acid is found in coffee but it’s not caffeine and coffee only has modest levels of Caffeic Acid. And Caffeic Acid is actually found in a wide variety of foods including thyme, sage, spearmint, apple sauce and even barley.

According to various articles Caffeic Acid may help improve athletic performance and weight loss, help with viral infections like HIV and Herpes and even help prevent different types of cancer.

Herbalism commonly uses fleabane in the form of a tea. The teas are said to help with tumors, bronchitis, kidney stones, bleeding from the bowels and digestive tract, nosebleeds and diabetes. Peterson’s Field Guides also warn that some people could suffer contact dermatitis from handling fleabane. I have never suffered any ill effects from just touching fleabane though.

I also see quite a few comments from folks that are active on Facebook and MeWe wild food groups and plant ID groups that praise fleabane as an edible. So if you are one of those people I’d love to hear about your experience with fleabane as an edible or wild medical plant. You can comment on the social media post or at the bottom of each blog post.

Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days!

Announcement 2.0

I want you to join my group on MeWe: https://mewe.com/join/lloydslensphotographydiscussiongroup

Click the link below to jump to the Basic Beginner’s Guide To MeWe.https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/guide-to-mewe/embed/#?secret=GJGnIQEVHc

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.

WELCOME TO LLOYD’S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY

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Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

The Summer Is Coming

Back and White Photography, Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Bright Spot 52921” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

The wind softly plays with the plants in the big field. Daisies sway back and forth and turn their faces to the sun as it baths them in its warm glory. The daisy’s smile is a marker on natural calendar that tells me that Spring is nearly over and the days of fire are on their way to my mountains. The heat of the end of June through the last half of August compels us to wake up early and finish the chores before the afternoon heat arrives. Then spend the rest of the day basking on the lake or wading the creeks and rivers. In the evening the lake is as warm as bathwater and a small raft is all you need to float gently while looking up at the stars. The smell of the many campfires and backyard barbecues drift through the air as the frogs begin to sing. This is what summer was designed for.

As I consider the small flowers with their sunny center I recall the days when we would pluck the pedals one by to see if she loves me. It’s not necessary to do that today. I know that she loves me and always will.

Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days.

Announcement 2.0

I want you to join my group on MeWe: https://mewe.com/join/lloydslensphotographydiscussiongroup

Click the link below to jump to the Basic Beginner’s Guide To MeWe.https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/guide-to-mewe/embed/#?secret=GJGnIQEVHc

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.

WELCOME TO LLOYD’S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/embed/#?secret=ZBipPVJdZw

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

A Few Thoughts About Light And Shadow.

black and white photography, Thoughts and Musing

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Cairn 42821” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

Overcast days are really the best days to work with natural light. The clouds add a soft diffused light that’s pleasing to the eye. Ultimately I try to work with what’s at hand and seek opportunities on all days. In some ways light flows like water. It either ebbs gently onto the subject like a mild tide or floods in like a raging river but it’s always an active component of every photo. The light is a living thing. It has moods and goals in my eyes. It bursts forth, warms, penetrates, subdues and fills. Science tells us that light comes in both seen and unseen forms. It energizes and drives. Light communicates. The very device you’re reading this post on uses radio waves which are a form of light. The servers communicate with satellites and beam data into a system which carries it to either a cell tower or a WiFi connection that sends invisible light through walls and into your device. In essence it’s all light. Light falls onto the plants and drives the chlorophyll that makes food and even if a person is a 100% carnivore they depend on herbivores that consume plants that contain the energy of light. In essence we feed on light.

But what of shadows? Do shadows not creep and grow? Do they not cover and stretch into the deep places? Or is it that shadows are the absence of light with only the illusion of living? Shadows both lay and lie. As a child I once became very frightened by shadows that seemed to move in my bedroom. But it was only an illusion caused by my own eyes trying to adapt to the darkness. ( A few experiments in my college life found that I can see slightly deeper into the infrared range than average. But I digress. ) Shadows drain energy and starve what they fall upon. And yet without them we don’t notice the light working in our lives. We couldn’t appreciate the texture of a stone or a reflection in the water. Sharp edges would be imperceptible and curves unknown.

Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days.

Announcement 2.0

I want you to join my group on MeWe: https://mewe.com/join/lloydslensphotographydiscussiongroup

Click the link below to jump to the Basic Beginner’s Guide To MeWe.https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/guide-to-mewe/embed/#?secret=GJGnIQEVHc

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.

WELCOME TO LLOYD’S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/embed/#?secret=ZBipPVJdZw