lloydslensphotographyllc

Frozen Solitude Actively Finding Peace

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Frozen Solitude 120220a” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

There’s not many scenes more peaceful than that of a winter forest. I look into the snow covered trees and think about what it would be like to live in a world where only the basics are needed. A companion, food and water and a warm fire. I’ve done my share of winter camping and there’s something almost magical about being comfortable near the fire but yet fully immersed in the season. The occasional flicker of movement in the bush signals that the songbirds are out foraging the rich harvest of wild seeds. Every so often they stop to sing. Their movement is quick and agile. In spite of being very small the cold never seems to bother them. Perhaps they find their comfort in their flock and the fire in their souls. Or, maybe it’s just the natural state of life to be happy at every opportunity. A few days ago it occurred to me that “Nothing can be given unless it is also received.” It been on my mind ever since. What if things like joy and contentment were ever present but when we don’t experience them it’s because we’re not actively receiving them? Receiving is an activity. I could lay at your feet the fortune of a kingdom but unless you accept it you can never have it. Love and acceptance might surround us constantly but if we reject it then it’s never felt. The same is true for peace. Winter is a harsh season but that is merely circumstances. The ability to be comfortable under those circumstances is within our grasp if we simply make fire. But it’s our activity that changes our circumstances. We can’t always avoid conflict but we can have peace of mind in conflict and that gives us clarity of thought and clarity of thought helps us resolve the conflict. We are an active part in our own peace.

Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days.

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.

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A Return To Sunshine

Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Drink Deeply 80520” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

I have a secret to share with you. To put it bluntly, I am a time traveler. If I close my eyes and build in details the memory of any day in my life time as we know it becomes irrelevant. And I don’t know about you but I am in the mood for a sunny day.

I wake up to sound of the mockingbird in the elm just outside my window. His long series of borrowed chirps an whistles at daybreak invite me to come out and feel the dew in the grass. A good heavy dew on a morning like this promises no rain. At least not today. Golden rays of sunshine wash through the canopy of mixed hardwoods and highlight what I’ve come to call my hibiscus forest. The sweet scent of the flowers being warmed by the sun draws my neighbors from their hiding places and soon the bees and butterflies are all around me skillfully avoiding mid air collisions with each other and dodging crash landings on my head. A particular Pipevine Swallowtail claims the flower next to me as her very own and after a few minutes of grooming the bloom with fluttering wings she dives headfirst to bottom only emerging to groom the flower once more. Finally after being convinced that she had gotten every last drop she pops into the air and playfully works her way to the next bush. And being refreshed myself I too must leave the hibiscus forest and return to current times.

Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days.

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 would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

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.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

The Old Main Building 2021

Architecture, Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Upon The Hilltop 10521a” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

I was asked several days ago if I had pictures of the Old Main Building in Summersville West Virginia. I do but I wanted to provide some new ones.

For a lot of us this was the junior high school. Up until this point we were used to spending most of the day with one teacher but junior high was a multiple building campus. Some of the busses stopped at the top of the but the majority lined up at the bottom. Which meant a climb up that ice covered road if your homeroom was in the Old Main like mine was. There was a science building and a vocational building ( now gone ) as well as the new building, a large gym and at the bottom of the hill the Red Brick Building. ( Also now gone. But the Old Main was special and it still is.

The Old Main Cornerstone 10521 — The Cornerstone of the Old Main Building.

The Cornerstone was laid July 4th, 1913. The beautiful Renaissance architecture was the work of H. Rus Warne who seemed share my affinity for cut stone in place of bricks. By the early 80s the building seemed to have a few problems. It was damp and cold just like a proper castle. In fact, when I was there certain parts of the building was blocked off. The 3rd floor was a no go zone but that was because the board of education had some offices up there. The steam heating system seemed to always freeze up on the coldest days but high energy kids did pretty well with our padded coats.

Image Titled “Old Main Building 10521b” showing the front entrance.

The majestic old stone building had plenty of places to enjoy your lunch if you were a “brown bag” enthusiast. On warm days there were a few benches along this walk where I could sit quietly and watch my beloved nature. The one time I got in trouble though was when it was cold and a hibernating bat had slipped from its roost and lay in the snow unable to move. Always the prankster I collected said bat in my empty brown bag and carried it into class. That would have been bad enough but I was the first person back from lunch and my teacher’s desk was unguarded. How funny would it be if she opened her drawer to find the sleeping bat? Only by the time she opened the drawer the bat was warm enough to wake up and fly! It almost flew up her nose and began circling her head. I got away with that one until now.

Image Titled “Old Main Building 10521c”.

The back of the building was oriented towards most of the campus and this is angle I most associate with. The kids in my clique all hung out on the steps to right between classes and with most of us being farm kids discussed important matters like fishing and hunting.

Image Titled “Old Main Building 10521d”.

Today it’s a historic landmark which is awesome. As I understand it the Old Main now hosts senior services and an art center which I should probably look into. But the great thing is that it’s being maintained so that we’ll have it around for a long time.

Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days.

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 would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

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.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

A Few Minutes Of Solitude

black and white photography, Landscapes

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Solitude 100820bw” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

I stand on the little bridge that crosses Peter’s Creek looking in the direction of the falls downstream. The warm autumn sun bathed landscape as the gentle breeze flowed over the mountains connecting all things. Each sound from the surrounding forest told it’s own story. A redtailed hawk cries out as it finds its strength in the wind. Small fish leap from the water and land with a tiny plop on the surface. The catbird just beyond the trees rings out its ever changing melody as the first of leaves to fall provide a rhythm for his tune. Gazing into the surface of the water I read the ripples eminate from the stones that peirce the surface. Their gentle influences mellow out into a uniform pattern that holds my attention. The breeze shifts again and delivers the scent of hay drying in a nearby field. It lasts only for a moment. The voices of nature are the whispers of God speaking peace to the troubled soul. A few moments of solitude are all it takes if you choose to receive his words.

Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days.

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 would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

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.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

Forage Friday #89 Beard Lichen

Color Photography, Forage Friday

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Beard Lichen 10521” 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.

The young hunter held his atlatl dart in the ready position just as his father taught him. The dense forest was broken only by a huge oak tree that had recently fallen leaving a perfect spot for the boar to wander through. It was open and should give him clear view of his quarry. A few bits of rotting fruit that had been placed out for bait lay on the giant fallen tree. His plan was to launch his dart while the pig was trying to figure out how to reach the bait. His muscles tensed when he heard the grunts coming down the narrow path. The plan was working perfectly! He started to shake a little. This was his first solo hunt and he he was eager to prove his value to the rest of his clan. With one sweeping motion he sent the dart with it’s heavy stone tip towards the pig’s heart. But something was wrong! The whistle noise made by his atlatl had alerted his game and with surprising dexterity the boar ducked the dart and turned on him. He watched with horror as the beast came crashing through the underbrush thrashing its long tusks and tearing small plants from their roots. He came to himself in time to leap onto a nearby tree and began to climb but the boar caught his left leg with a slashing motion and gave him a deep gash. Ignoring the pain and in fear of his life he manged to climb out of reach but when he looked down the pig was bloody and dead. His father stepped from a nearby bush holding a stone tipped lance and even though the pig seemed to be slain he swiftly pierced it’s heart and lungs with a thrust. The father carefully retrieved his son from the lower branch. He was disappointed that his son’s first hunt didn’t go well but he didn’t let on. He spoke softly and lovingly to the 10 year old boy and as soon as he could get him on the ground he began to treat the wound. He reached up into the same tree that had provided the boy sanctuary and pulled off both moss and lichens. He stripped the bark from a nearby fir tree and used the inner bark to bind on the moss before carrying him home…

The lichens in tonight’s Feature Image goes by a few common names. We always called it old man’s beard but it’s also known as Methuselah’s beard and some refer to it as Spanish moss. Spanish moss is a separate species but the 2 are related. It’s actually found worldwide and was once a common sight in damp woods. But now it’s listed as a rare plant. Being a lichen it’s a symbiotic organism that’s part fungus and part algae.

It’s got a huge range of medicinal uses. Online sources say that an alcoholic tincture is best for bioavailability. Herbalists prescribed it for digestive problems and it seemed to be particularly useful for Tuberculosis. It’s antimicrobial effect is said to be good for all staphylococcus infections. It’s used against fungal infections too and seems to given for asthma and allergies as well.

I envisioned tonight’s story as taking place in Neolithic Europe. Primitive people at that time had a surprising amount of herbal medicine. They may not have been able to place a plant in a laboratory and break down the chemical components but they would have noticed it’s antimicrobial powers and used it to prevent infections.

Lastly, Old Man’s Beard is an indicator of air quality. It grows best in environments with no chemical pollution. So the more of it we see, the easier we can breathe.

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 would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

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.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/