lloydslensphotographyllc

The Joyful Singer & Another Update On The Songbirds

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

Few things are more pleasant than the Appalachian Spring. I love being surrounded by the rugged beauty of my mountain and especially when it’s full of life. As I was walking out to my forest sanctuary the young robin perched himself right at the threshold in the snag of a dead birch tree. This tree is actually a hazard to one of my sheds but I just haven’t gotten around to bringing it down. Especially after it became the favored stage for one of my best singers. The little guy’s heart was so full of joy that his song rivaled that of a mockingbird. He had one of the most complex songs of any robin that I’ve ever heard. I actually didn’t realize it was a robin until I zoomed in with my long lens. Typically I pay close attention to the bird calls. It’s almost like forest sonar. If you can focus in on a particular area then the birds will tell you what’s going on in their individual zones. When they fall silent you know that a predator is near. Other birds like the Magnolia Warblers will make a specific sound when they spot a brown headed cowbird. The cowbird is a brood parasite like the cuckoo and a few others. They will remove the eggs from a songbird’s nest and lay their own in its spot. Cowbirds will even punish a songbird for rejecting it’s egg by destroying all the eggs in the nest. I’d seen a pair of cowbirds at my feeders a few weeks ago and became concerned but the organized response from the locals were actually quite impressive. The Warblers made their warning calls and all the birds returned to their nests except the blue jays. They actually came in and flew directly over the cowbirds while crying like hawks. One even dove at the male cowbird and chased it out of the yard. It’s interesting to know a common foe brought together various species that normally compete at my feeders. Robins also make a distinctive call when they see anything that’s out of place so to have this one sit in the branches above me and make such a wonderfully peaceful sound let me know that the pest birds have moved on. It’s also I sign that the local birds no longer see me as a threat and that my efforts to desensitize them to the point where I can get some nice shots of them is working.

Image Titled “Joyful Singer 42821b” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

Not only did the robin sit on his perch and relax enough to continue his song but he kept it up the whole time I was there. So now I’ve got him and a few of the chickadees as well as the female cardnial comfortable with me. Oh, and one of the Carolina Wrens is still coming to peek into my window occasionally. The Towhee is still coming around but hides in the thickets while I’m out. I’m sure he’ll get more comfortable eventually.

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

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

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!♥️

Forage Friday #105 Cuckoo Flower

Color Photography, Forage Friday

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image was taken specifically for Forage Friday. All photos found on my website are my original work unless otherwise specified and are 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.

The rain settles out in my Appalachian Mountains and with the emergence of the sun I’m drawn out of the house for a bit of fresh air. I’ve given a strip of space around my yard back to nature and with the expectation of trimming back some trees that would endangere my house I let what wants to grow there be there. Occasionally something new to me pops up and get to learn all about it and observe it throughout its life cycle. That’s how I was introduced to the cuckoo flower. Cuckoo flower gets its common name because it appears at about the same time that the Cuckoo bird begins to make it’s distinctive call. Which struck me as odd because because the Cuckoo is a native of North America and the Cuckoo flower is native to Europe and Asia. But Cuckoo flower is also known as milk maids so perhaps it didn’t get to be called Cuckoo flower until it arrived here.

Cuckoo flower is a type of mustard and that puts it in the Brassicaceae family just like broccoli and cauliflower. It’s been here in North America long enough to have been naturalized and a common “weed” in yards and gardens. Like many so called weeds cuckoo flower actually comes with some benefits.

For the naturalist and wildlife lovers cuckoo flower attracts the orange tip butterflies which at this point I believe to be a European species but I could be wrong. I have noticed that they seem to attract insects of many types. There are actually three different insects on the flowers in the Featured Image. One looks like a flea beetle and I’m guessing that it’s the wings of a tacinid fly sticking out from behind one of the blooms. The third I haven’t identified. But they all seem to like the cuckoo flower. And with good reason. In spite of the bitter flavor cuckoo flower is rich in vitamin C and can be eaten raw or cooked. The young plants are said to have the mildest flavor and are compared to watercress. But because the flavor is pungent small portions added to other ingredients is recommended.

Cuckoo flower isn’t often mentioned in my herbal manuals but it has been used as a digestive aid. Something that I seldom point out is the timing of gathering medicinal herbs. For cuckoo flower the medicinal values are highest when the plant have flowers. There are mentions that the plants are used internally for chronic skin problems and asthma.

There’s not really much more on cuckoo flower. I’m presuming the short season and strong flavor keeps it from being popular and is therefore left for the butterflies. But if times were tough and we needed nutrients it is a resource that’s available early when regular garden plants are just getting started.

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?

First Bumblebee Encounter 2021

Color Photography

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

The big blue truck delivers me to my home in the Appalachian Mountains. I’m greeted by my little songbirds who are little more tolerant of my presence this Spring. Most of them still take to the trees when I come out but they don’t retreat as far as they used to. As I remove my gear from the cab of the truck I give them the same “Hi-lo” whistle I use anytime I see them. I think it helps them to recognize me. They always seem to call back in their own songs. I notice that my white azaleas are blooming now. The pure white flowers are slightly bruised by the rain but still smell just as sweet. The local bumblebees would seem to agree. As I approach the bush to inspect them a huge bumblebee comes out to see who’s intruding on her daily chores. She’s not aggressive. She doesn’t charge me or attempt to get too close in any way. She seems to simply be inquisitive. Her curiosity doesn’t destract her from her duties however. After a few seconds she’s back on the job collecting pollen to carry back to her nest. Because of the amount of fur and colors I think she’s a leafcutter bee. They sometimes form colonies but unlike a hive each bee tends it’s own young and lives separate from the others. She’s busy but she doesn’t seem to be stressed about it. She takes her time and truly seems to enjoy her task. As an individual she’ll pollinate far more plants than an individual honeybee. Lao Tzu was correct when he said that “Nature doesn’t hurry and yet everything is accomplished.” Perhaps one day mankind will remember that as well.

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?

And Then She Quietly Whispered Goodbye part 2

Back and White Photography, Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Yesterday’s Dreams 32321cp” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

This is part two of a series of the old barn on Muddlety Creek. For part 1 please visit the link below.
https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/2021/04/28/and-then-she-quietly-whispered-goodbye-part-1/

Looking over the rubble of the old barn brings to mind how temporary this world is. I’ve had this line of thought concerning this barn for years. When I was younger the wood was still straight, the seams were unbroken and there was still a little natural color in the grain. By the time I took up the lens I could tell that one day I’d be looking at it on the ground. As humans we build some things that seem to defy the flow of time but most of what we make will slowly fade away. Wherever we make something we impart our lives into it. Whenever I do portraits I like to include a shot of just the hands. Our ideas and thoughts may direct our actions but it’s our hands that do the work that changes the world. It was hands that sustained the hunter/gatherer in early history. It was hands that tilled the soil. The grand megalithic structures were all built by hands. And it was hands that built the old barn.

Untitled Image of the old barn on Muddlety Creek first published on October 20th, 2020.
https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/2018/09/02/forging-yesterday/

Because our lives are finite and tied to the moment we live in the only thing that we own is that very moment. When someone makes something for you or chooses to spend time with you they are truly sharing their most valuable resource of time. Some people look at an object like that old barn and see only rusted tin, rotten wood and the abandoned residue of civilization. But there’s so much more. The hands that yielded up the time invested life into the experience. I was blessed to encounter an older gentleman who actually had worked in that barn for the owners. He didn’t really talk about the misery of hot humid July and August days when the hay would get into your shirt and make you itch. Or the indignantly of mucking out a stall. What he remembered was the relationship he had with the owners. He was a hired hand and he mentioned that they paid well. He also spoke of what good and kind employers they were. But what really stuck with him was the feeling of value they placed on him and the community around them. His exact description didn’t really stick with me but the look of love on his face was unforgettable.

Untitled Image of the old barn first published on November 22nd 2018.
https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/2018/11/22/where-past-meets-future/

Perhaps it’s this investment of lifetime that explains why we cling to the a past that we can never hold. Old buildings and such provide a temporary store for the intrinsic value of time and energy that brings forth something tangible. The tangible object is anchor point in the flow of time and in some ways provides a way for us to navigate through all the possible outcomes in order to reach the next goal.

Untitled Image of the old barn in winter first published on December 7th 2018.
https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/2018/12/07/winter-refuge/

The family barn is more than just a place where we store supplies and do work. The one room schoolhouse that my family used as a barn was equipped with a basketball hoop. Although learning how to dribble a ball on the warped floor added a whole new dimension to any game played. If the winter day was mild enough a game of “barnball” could be played. Aside from the almost random direction a ball might bounce when attempting to dribble there was the double bank shot. That’s when you bank the ball from the ceiling and the wall to make a basket. There’s also a corner pass where the ball is passed to one’s self by bouncing it from the corner before doing a lay-up.

Image Titled “Echoes Of A Lifetime” first published on November 27th 2019.
https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/2019/10/13/echoes-of-a-lifetime/

At this point I think I’ll conclude the recap of the old barn. I’ll miss visiting it but as long as I have the photos I’ll hear the echo of her quiet farewell for the rest of my life. And while the proximity of this site to the marsh makes me doubt that anyone would build a new barn in this same spot I do think that the days of the family farm will return and just maybe I’ll find a new barn to catch my fancy.

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?

And Then She Quietly Whispered Goodbye part 1

black and white photography, Color Photography, Landscapes

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Yesterday’s Dreams 32321a” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

The North Wind blows a little colder across the marsh as rusted tin flutters slightly. Almost immediately after my last post of the old barn at Muddlety Creek the once majestic structure finally succumbed to the effects of decades of neglect leaving behind only the echoes of yesterday’s dreams.

Image Titled “Cultivate Life” first published January 7th 2018.
https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/2018/01/07/cultivate-life/

The old barn has been a local landmark my entire life. It was also among the first photos I published when I decided to go professional with my photography. Since then it’s been my muse on many occasions. To me that old barn represented an entire culture. I can easily imagine an old sixties or seventies model truck backed up to opening of the barn while young men moved bales of hay and sacks of feed in or out of the barn. A family farm is also a family business. In my area that meant that you either trade in cattle, feed or both. The slaughterhouse was always local in those days and so was the butcher. The meat was raised, processed and sold locally. The barn was the very backbone of the economy. Even those who worked in the mining industry was dependent on the local farmers and ranchers. And there was often some overlap. A miner would work the mines while his family raised a few head of cattle. Some for himself and a few for the market. Mine closings and layoffs have always been a part of life in Appalachia. A small farm on the side is a way to hedge your bets in the down times.

Image Titled “Yesterday’s Echoes” and was first published on February 6th 2018.
https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/2018/02/06/old-barn-on-muddlety-creek/

Although I never personally worked in this barn every time I stopped by it the memories of my grandfather’s barn would come flooding back. When I was young I couldn’t tolerate the hay due to severe allergies. But as I grew out of that I spent quite a bit of time in barns. Even just passing an old barn on the highway allows me to relive the smell of grain and hay in the humid August sun. I can still see the rusted ox shoes and a single tree yoke in the corner behind a wooden barrel of grain. A metallic syringe type tool that was designed to help a cow swallow a pill. The barn was also an animal hospital. Today I work with computers and high technology. It’s frustrating when you have a major update trying to load and your whole system refuses to cooperate. But compared to trying to give an 800 pound animal a pill when it’s determined that you’re not going to get its mouth open it’s a breeze. My computer has never broken a single bone in my body. ( Neither did the cows but there was a few narrow escapes. )

Untitled Image of the old barn on Muddlety Creek first published November 10th 2018.
https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/2018/08/01/very-old-things-and-the-secrets-they-hold/

Places where voices gather in love and friendship seem to hold those voices for a long time in my imagination. When I go to a place that feels familiar I can almost hear the indistinct conversations of people as they work. It’s more so with manual labor than office work. When you’re working with your hands a certain amount of banter is almost obligatory. It also involves a fair amount of teasing in most cases. Occupation of the mind distracts you from how tired you are or the new blisters you earn. In a good team the conversation can even carry a rhythm that helps the work flow. I’m using the term conversation loosely. It’s not really unusual for it to simply be an imitation of a quarterback yelling “hike” as a fifty pound bag of grain is hurled across the room.

Image of the inside of the old barn was taken with a long lens from outside of the structure. At this point it was far too dangerous to actually step inside

That’s it for tonight friends. We’ll have a part 2 tomorrow night. In the meantime, Good night 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