lloydslensphotographyllc

The Landscape Dreams

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

Ice and snow continue to fall in my Appalachian Mountains. The deer are bedded down in some sheltered thicket well away from the windy plane of the mountain delta. The fish that are normally feeding near the water’s surface have dove deeply into the murky pools to escape the ice. No birds sing and no ducks swim. The marsh sleeps deeply in winter. If the landscape dreams then dreams of days when the sun falls warmly on fresh green leaves and dragon flies play in the sky above. On those days the reeds are full of bird’s songs bees swarm over sweetly scented blooms. This landscape dreams of the new light. And it’s true that the shadows will struggle to keep their place in the corners and valleys for a while and that Old Man Winter will resist being dethroned but the New Light always prevails. It’s subtle at first and you have to look for it to see it but in less than 24 hours the New Light will arrive to drive out tge shadows.

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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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! Simplymessage me on Facebookoruse 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=238248269630914251

Lastly, 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 photographer

Thank you again for your support of my page!❤

Snow Days

Color Photography, Landscapes

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

My big blue truck slowly idles down the country lane on Peter’s Creek as I watch the edges for the wildlife. The wintery scene that stretches out before me takes me back at least 40 years to the country lane where I grew up. Every time a single flake of snow landed on the ground we prayed for a snow day. In those days it wasn’t uncommon for the school bus to get stuck in the ditch long before it reached my house. It wasn’t really that winter was any harsher. But the roads were smaller and less maintained increasing the chances that they would call school off. On those glorious winter days snowball fights and sledding were almost obligatory. Having access to large open fields meant hosting the sled races. Everyone had their secret to winning the race. For some it was the position that they sat in. By shifting all your weight to the front it was believed to provide more momentum. Other secrets included turtle wax, candle wax and even bar soap on the runners. Different types of sleds came into play too. The steel runner sleds vs the homemade wooden runner sleds. Believe it or not the homemade sleds normally proved to be faster. Disk sleds were fast too but they were harder to control and there were often kids flying downhill screaming at the top of their lungs as they spun the whole way down. But the ultimate sleds were the old car hoods. They had the weight, the stability and the sickness even if they harder to stop at the end of the course. The snow day if properly conducted ends with hot coco and cartoons in front of a fireplace or wood stove. And perhaps a little debating on who actually won the race. But no matter what it was a way for kids to be kids and unencumbered by the demands of the outside world.

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 #87 Maples

Color Photography, Forage Friday

October's Flame 102020 — Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “October’s Flame 102220” 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.

I’m completely convinced that there’s no finer breakfast aroma in cold weather than that of warm maple syrup, Buckwheat pancakes and a side of bacon. In fact, it’s my firm belief that the only way to improve bacon is when that syrup runs off the pancakes and gets on the bacon. Of course it was a staple of our ancestors who needed that calorie count to get through the morning chores and today it’s common for the syrup to come from a farm. But in the old days true maple syrup involved quite a bit of work. It takes a whopping 40 gallons of sap to make a single gallon of syrup! Today we see tubes running through a cultivated forest with filters and valves to control the flow into collection vats. The sap isn’t cooked but it is evaporated and condensed into the gooey sweetness we enjoy today. The system has to be inspected constantly for air bubbles and impurities. Even with all the modern technology and techniques it’s a huge amount of work. But in the old days everything was done with a tap and a bucket. A family that just wanted a little something to sweeten with or to make special candies for the holidays had to invest a tremendous amount energy for a relatively small reward. However, if one wanted to put in the effort maple syrup can be foraged.

First, we need the right kind of maple for best results. Syrup can actually be made from any maple tree however the concentration of sugar means that for the red maples you have more water and therefore more energy has to go into collecting larger amounts of sap that will be heated for a longer period of time. We’d also need to consider how we heat the sap. Heating as much as 60 gallons of sap for a red maple based syrup means that much more fuel, gas or electric and still would only produce one gallon of syrup. So sugar maples are preferred. When the leaves are on there is a trick that I was taught in a dendrology course. Sugar is spelled with a U and sugar maple leaves have a U shape in the creases of the leaves.

Sugar maple in yellow 102220a — Sugar maples are not always yellow in fall but normally do have a U in crease of the leaves. Both the yellow leaves and the orange leaves in tonight’s Feature Image are sugar maples.

Sugar maples also tend to have brown or tan twigs where the red maples tend to be red. Red maples have a V shape in the creases.

Red Maple 110520a — Red Maple leaves showing the characteristic V shaped creases and red twigs. Notice also that the leaves on this tree are both red an yellow.

I’ve never made maple syrup but I imagine that the process is pretty close to molasses. A large pan is filled with sap and low heat is used to evaporate the water out of the liquid while impurities are skimmed off. For a better look at that process check out the article on Making Molasses from fall 2019. It’s a time consuming process and hot working conditions to do it right but it’s far superior to the “Table Syrup” or “Pancake Syrup” sold in massive quantities at big box stores. Which often nothing more than maple flavored corn syrup with caramel food coloring. If the label lists any ingredients other than maple syrup then it’s not maple syrup. Fortunately for those of us who don’t have the time to invest in foraging our own maple syrup an entire cottage industry has sprung up based on small scale producers who are insistent on only selling the real thing.

Maple seeds are often something asked about when it comes foraging. They are available in massive quantities in the Appalachian Forest so it makes sense that someone would be interested in taking advantage of them. Here’s where we need to examine the definition of “edible plant”. Are maple seeds toxic? No. But according to Tom Brown Jr they’re only edible if you’re willing to grind them up and slow cook them for hours because they are so hard.

There are some medicinal qualities listed on the internet for sugar maple. The information is centered around the inner bark and as expected it’s said to aid in treating diarrhea ( probably due to tannins found in most trees. ) and in a cough syrup. The inner bark was used to treat sore eyes as well.

Before closing tonight I do want to give everyone a heads-up that there will be no Forage Friday post on Friday December 25th and most likely no post on Christmas eve as I’ll be focused on spending time with family over the holidays.

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 Bright Spot

Color Photography, encouragement

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Life In December 121220a” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

Soft winter mists float through the Appalachian Forest as the big blue truck makes it’s way towards the lake. It’s been little more than a month since I’ve seen any signs of life other than a few scattered birds. The cold damp chill of the late Fall and early Winter gives little comfort to the melancholy soul that cries out for time outside of the box. The gray world has enveloped my mountain fully. And yet there’s a flash of color beyond the glass barrier that holds me inside. Small, freshly opened and still seeking their full glory these tiny yellow flowers are here just in time. Every December they appear to break up the mundane plane of empty fields and bare branches. They are the proverbial breath of fresh air to the swimmer. They don’t last long but they give me just enough to make it a little longer until the next awakening of nature.

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?

Standing On The River’s Edge And Wondering About The Past

Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Kanawha Falls 112420b” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

Looking out access the mighty Kanawha River as it spills over the stones has become a favored activity for me. Even in the gray condition of late Fall and Early Winter I like to mentally lose myself standing beneath the willows and allowing the sound of the falls to wash away the mental clutter that builds up throughout the day. The stones look like an ancient stairway from a forgotten civilization that passed into the river long ago. In an age when the river was young and much smaller. I can almost hear the echoes of people on the stairs as they go about their daily lives of trading fish and freshwater oysters from the river for herbs and seeds that were brought down from the mountains. A young boy carries a bundle of sticks that have been grown and prepared for making a friction fire. His sister is trading a stack of hand woven baskets made from the ancestors of the very willows that now shelter me. There is laughter as old friends recount stories of their youth and lessons learned the hard way. In some ways life in those days was hard but they had time and space for each other. And that was what made it so worth the living.

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/