Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “A Creek To Play In 42821” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.
Bare feet carefully tread through ankle deep water on a hot day. The feeling of slime on your toes isn’t exactly pleasing but does bring up slight giggle in flash of memory and reliving that past incident of witnessing as friend fell in slow motion and was soaked to the bone. The indignation of slipping and rising again covered in green goo was the very thing that made slapstick fun so long as pride bore the only injuries. Often the excuse for wading in was the collection of bait for a fishing expedition. Flipping over rocks and watching for crawldads to dart away. Your reflexes have to be lightning quick to catch one and do so without receiving a pinch. The crawldads are masters of defiance and sometimes catching one ends with wishing for the ability to let go. The caddisfly larvae cling to the underside of the rocks in a cocoon of silk and stone. In places where the painted sandstone is found the cocoon can be quite colorful and resemble jewelry. Some artists will even raise the insects in captivity and give them little bits of gold, silver and semiprecious gems to spin into their silken armor and mount the cocoon in a set once it’s discarded.
In the deeper eddies it’s not uncommon to find a green newt hovering just below the surface. They know that the fish won’t get them because they are poison but that doesn’t stop the children from catching them and making them into a temporary pet. In the young imagination they are really dragons and dinosaurs. Just very small ones. Spotted salamanders wriggle in shallow drainages that feed the creek and they too go into a bait can if caught.
At the end of the day it’s too late to do much fishing. Let’s just let them all go and they’ll be there for us next time. It really wasn’t about the fish anyway.
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!
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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 “Purification Of Molasses”. Typically this is where I state that the image us available for purchase however tonight’s post is a little different. The photos in this post are not for sale.
The alarm on my phone insistently assaults my ears as I rub the sleep from my eyes. I haven’t had to get out of bed this early on a Saturday for a long time. Even my little buddy Scout raises his head slowly and opens one eye as if to say, “Dude, it’s still dark outside.” But I’m excited to get out of house even if it is a rough start. Today I get to do something that I have not been a part of for over thirty years. Today my cousins are making molasses.
My big blue truck rolls down the long gravel driveway. I neglected to ask what part of the farm they’ll be set up on but it wasn’t long until I heard the familiar rumble of the tractor’s diesel engine. Daniel and his son Matthew have been already been working for quite a while.
Daniel and Matthew working the cane mill.
Daniel’s father Wesley was a master farmer in my opinion. As I questioned Matthew about his renewed interest in making molasses I learned that my great uncle Wesley used to make 300 gallons of molasses per year and one year he produced 500 hundred gallons of the sweet treat. To put that in perspective, it takes about 10 gallons of Sorghum juice to make a gallon of molasses. Which means that he had to process about 3K gallons of raw product.
In real life Daniel makes it look easy. That’s what I lifetime of experience does for you.
Matthew says that his interest in molasses was rekindled by stories of his grandmother’s molasses cookies. I remember those cookies. Every year at family reunion and again at Christmas. As I read Matthew’s answers to my questions I can smell and taste those sweet spices from my own childhood memories. Nothing from a factory could ever compare to food made with ingredients that was raised and processed on your own land.
A tractor load of Sorghum going through the mill.
Matthew became intrigued the process because his dad (Daniel) started raising sorghum to help suppliment the crop of another farm in the area. If the sorghum wasn’t needed then it could be fodder for the animals they raise. Even when they strip the leaves from the cane they’re fed to animals. Nothing goes to waste. Matthew and I both have concerns about how well most people in the world would survive if they had to go back to living off the land. It’s one thing to raise a few veggies in the garden but it’s another thing entirely to provide proper nutrition for your whole family plus the animals.
Daniel works steady feeding the mill and it wasn’t long before the wagon was empty. But we’re far from done.
Our ancestors were able to provide everything for themselves but they didn’t do it all by themselves. The comunity was extended family and no one branch could provide it all. One branch might specialize in sorghum, another might raise corn and still others would be good making clothes or welding equipment. The cane mill was built in a factory with cast iron parts but gear system that allows the tractor to power it was custom made.
A closeup shot of the linkage between the tractor and the mill. The running gears are mesmerizing to watch.
While they were working they told me that one molasses maker uses a similar mill but it’s powered by a horse walking in circles.
I asked Matthew if making the molasses made him feel closer to our Appalachian heritage. He says yes that it somewhat does.
The mill has only been set up for a couple of weeks but the father and son team has been working together for 40 plus years. They barely need to speak in order to coordinate the efforts. They’ve got most factories that worked in far outpaced in efficiency.
Sorghum juice flowing from the mill.
As the cane is crushed the juice drips from the 4 drums inside and runs down the spout into a large tub.
The first stage of filtering
The juice is first filtered through a burlap cloth. This takes out large pieces of crushed cane and catches most of the foam.
The fine pulp must also be removed.
The next filter is a fine mesh bag that takes out small pieces of pulp and more foam.
The evaporation pan has to be scrubbed before you can start cooking
The evaporation pan is an outside piece of equipment and has to kept with a coat of vegetable oil to prevent rust. The oil is scrubbed off before the cooking process can start.
Daniel lights the first fire to heat the water for scrubbing.
The water is heated up for scrubbing process.
Adding juice to the evaporation pan
Most people think that the raw juice is clear for some reason. The finished product is brown but the raw juice is green. There are still impurities in the mix that has to be removed.
A second fire is lit to evaporate the juice.
The second fire is lit. Fire is called a purifying element. The juice will be slowly simmered over the next several hours. This not only drives off the water but it also causes impurities to come out of suspension.
A handmade skimmer
The impurities form a film on the surface and handmade skimmers are used to remove it.
“If you don’t get all the green out it will taste green.”
“If you don’t get all the green out it will taste green.”
The skimming is labor intensive but it’s a necessary part of the process. Daniel never takes his eyes off of the evaporation pan as the juice simmers. His face is a portrait of concentration and discipline as he works. I made a comment about how important it is to keep the skimmer moving. He said that if you don’t get all the green out it will taste green. Earlier, another camera man was filming for local access T.V. and dipped a finger into some of residual juice that didn’t drain out of the first catch basin. He said that the unprocessed juice tasted like peas only sweet.
I wasn’t able to stay for the final product this time but I’ve eaten molasses that Daniel and his father made when I was a kid. It’s probably the best quality food around and certainly better than the corporate version found in the big box stores.
What’s more is knowing that Matthew is preserving a taste of my childhood and an important part of our Appalachian heritage.
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Did you know that I also do portraits by appointment? If you’re interested in a portrait session either message me on Facebook or Use the Contact form. The YouTube link below takes you one of my slideshows.
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.
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
LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC 