wildlife – Page 57 – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

Dwarf Larkspur

The rains have come and gone and come again for days after days. But April showers bring May flowers. Don’t They? Well, sort of. These actually began blooming in April. And while they are sometimes mistaken for violets ( Specifically Bird’s Foot Violets) but these are not even in the violet family. This is Dwarf Larkspur.

Image Titled “Dwarf Larkspur 41120b showing the flower spike.

Before I actually started to blog about the wildlife in my mountains Larkspur was one of those plants that I knew the name but because I didn’t really use it for food or medicine I just kinda ignored it. As it turns out it has an interesting Native American lore linking to it. One that I’ve only learned a few minutes ago is that Native Americans told the story of a sky woman who wanted to visit the Earth below and made a spike from the evening sky to climb down. But at some point in the story the sky breaks and the pieces turn into Larkspur flowers.

Larkspur is the same family of flowers as Aconitum or what’s better know as Monk’s Hood or Wolfsbane. Ranunculaceae which is the buttercups. Knowing that makes me wonder how many pioneers tried to make charms to keep away vampires and werewolves from it like they would have used Monk’s Hood.

Larkspur is listed in older texts as a medical plant but it’s deadly toxic. It’s on par with foxglove and I have to wonder if Native Americans used it to poison arrows and darts the way my European ancestors would have used the “Wolfsbane”. However, since there hasn’t been a werewolf or vampire sighting here in the past 200 years I decided to leave the Larkspur where I found it and move on. I did however note the location just in case. 😉

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The Second Honeybee Of Spring 2020

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Honeybee And Azalea 42820” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The late afternoon sun beams down on my yard as I unload my gear from the truck. As cross the driveway the movement catches my eye and stepped over to investigate. As I got closer I could hear the tiny wings beating the air as the little honeybee lifts gracefully from one flower and floats effortlessly to the next. She works diligently to collect her load of pollen. She doesn’t really seem to mind the fact that I was watching so closely. At one point she hovered over and seemed to be checking me out. She started at my knee and slowly elevated until we were face to face. She hesitated a few seconds directly in front of the lens and I thought that she might land on it. If only I had been just a little quicker with the settings I’d have been able to show her face to you tonight! Once she was satisfied with whatever she thought that I was she went back to work. I have to wonder if it’s same honeybee I saw on the dandelion a few weeks ago. If not then I have more hope for a wild colony nearby. It’s also possible that she’s based about four miles away in a farmer’s hive. Either way it’s awesome to see her again.

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Forage Friday #55 Bloodroot

Color Photography, Forage Friday, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Bloodroot 41120” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

Disclaimer: Bloodroot is an herb that is dangerous even in the hands of an expert. All information in this article is only presented as trivia and should not be mistaken for an endorsement of treatment for any medical conditions.

I think that one of the most beautiful plants in North America has to be Bloodroot. It’s simple and elegant. The showy bloom is balanced by a twin lobed leaf that rises up behind the flower like a cloak. The plan does gave a cultivated variety that produces a double flower.

The part that was foraged by our ancestors is rhizome, the underground stem. The juice of the rhizome is blood red and seems to be the main source of the medicinal products created from the plant. It’s this red juice that also gives theplant it’s English and Algonquin names.

The various eastern woodland tribes called the plant “Puccoon” which means red and this name seems to be used for multiple plants and fungi that produce a red stain. I suppose that the most interesting use was as a love charm. According to Peterson’s Field Guide, young men of the Ponca tribe would stain the palm of their hand with the plant and then try to shake hands with the girl they had eyes for. If the stain transferred and the magic worked she would fall madly in love with him and be unable to resist a marriage proposal. I have to wonder how many Ponca fathers made gentleman callers greet them with a friendly wave before being allowed anywhere near a daughter?

When Bloodroot wasn’t being used to steal a daughter, Native Americans used it as an insecticide, to treat coughs, fevers,as a wash for wounds, and as an emetic. I have not nor do I plan to taste this planet myself however a Google search does say that tasting it often leads to vomiting and nausea. Bloodroot was also used to remove warts. Which brings us to modern day.

Bloodroot is a major ingredient in what’s known as Black Salve (Warning, the link contains graphic images of damage to the person’s face). (please remember to pay attention to the disclaimer above.) Black Salve is an herbal preparation that is a “Traditional Treatment” for skin cancer. The active ingredient in Bloodroot is sanguinarine and it actually causes tissue necrosis. Basically, it causes the tissue surrounding the tumor to rot away until the tumor can be teased out of the hole. My first thought was that a scalpel in the hands of a skilled surgeon is probably going to be less traumatic that burning away the skin with a caustic chemical even if it is derived from nature.

However, Bloodroot was used in modern dentistry. According to a Web MD article Viadent at one point was using Bloodroot for its antimicrobial qualities to treat severe gingivitis. And prior to the Black Salve controversy Bloodroot capsules were available over the counter in stores and pharmacies. Many years ago I was employed by our local Walmart and stocked the shelves with it myself.

Although it’s now banned in some countries I found a listing on Amazon of $79/lbs. Which means that if a person could find a wholesale buyer it might be worth using as a cash forage plant however I wouldn’t recommend direct sales at this point because of hazards of liability and because the low demand wouldn’t be worth the effort unless you had a glut of it in your back yard.

Typically, I try to cover plants that are fairly easy to find and not really risky but when I stumbled across the Bloodroot I decided to post it as “forage trivia” for entertainment purposes. It’s not really one that can recommend actually digging unless you wish to transplant it as an ornamental plant.

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The West Virginia White Butterfly

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “West Virginia White 42820a” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

Between the rainy days and the warming weather my yard has gotten to a point that would give a Home Owners Association a coronary. But that’s okay. The bees and butterflies are loving the extra bloom to feed on. I had been surveying the landscape for any sign of an increase in the honeybee population when one of the flowers suddenly sprung to life and lifted into the air. I have seen the little white butterflies before and although they’re pretty I presumed that I was seeing a cabbage looper. A hungry creature that destroys gardens. But, as often happens when we presume I was wrong. What I was seeing wasn’t even a moth much less one that is after our beloved veggies. This is the West Virginia White!( Pieris virginiensis.) While this ghostly little butterfly bares the name of my home state it’s found all over the Appalachian Mountains and up into Canada. And, it’s only interested in hosting on one plant. The toothwort is host of choice for the West Virginia White. However, I have learned that an invasive plant known as Garlic Mustard somehow confuses the little West Virginia White and that the larvae can’t survive on them.

Image Titled “West Virginia White 42820b”

I followed the adult for several minutes and she seem to prefer my ground ivy. She meticulously inspected each little tubular bloom and even seemed to groom them by fluttering her wings over a plant and then coming back to it after it had a chance to sweeten it’s nectar.

Image West Virginia White 42820c shows the little butterfly alternating between plants.

There wasn’t a whole lot information on Wikipedia that was specific to the West Virginia White. But they did say that the female wings absorb ultraviolet light while the male wings reflect ultraviolet light.

Image West Virginia White 42820d showing the wings spread out.

It’s kinda hard to tell if the wings have a blue tint in the photos because I use a lens filter that blocks UV but to my naked eye there wasn’t a blue tint visible except for on the body so I believe this one is a female.

Image West Virginia White 42820e showing the butterfly returning to the ground ivy.

A lot of the photos I took turned out with motion blur. That’s pretty common with a subject that’s deceptively quick and agile. She danced around in the air so easily that for a moment I wanted to believe that I’d encountered a fairy.

I was pretty intrigued and followed her all over the yard until she crossed my creek and sailed out of reach of my long lens. But, now that I know that they’re on the property maybe I’ll be able to get more shots of her another day.

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

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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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Common Grackle Encounter

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Common Grackle 41320” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

A few days ago I happened to be in Glen Ferris on the banks of the Kanawha River. Since the shutdown I’ve mostly stayed in the big blue truck when I’m out and used my long lens from the truck windows. I’d stopped here hoping to catch up with some ducks but after a few minutes of looking at the empty water I knew that that had missed them. I was about to pull back onto the road when a movement in the bushes caught my attention.

Image Titled “Common Grackle On The Kanawha River 41320” shows the Green Sheen of its feathers.

It was a glint of green feathers that I noticed. Thinking that it might have been a mallard I eased the truck forward to change my angle and get a better look. What I found was a bird that wasn’t really a water bird and not nearly as large as my fleeting glimpse had lead me to believe. If not for the bird’s diminutive size I might have thought it was crow with an oddly iridescent sheen. The head actually changed color depending on the angle of the sun. I have heard of the common grackle but I’d not really paid much attention to them until now. I knew that they were around but I didn’t bother to learn more about them.

So when I got home I started to read up on them. They’re pretty adaptive and it seems the human activity favors their spread. They will hunt insects, feed on vegetation and even pull minnows out of the shallow waters. They’re in the same class of birds as the mocking bird but their songs are shorter and their voice is harsh but they do mimic other birds and they can even learn human speech. My short amount of research shows that some people have them as pets and the YouTube videos show that the bond pretty well with humans. Their iridescent plumage and long tail feathers also make them quite attractive. I’ll have to do a little more research but for now they definitely have my attention.

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that graduation will be here before you know it. Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

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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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