folklore – 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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Unafraid

Color Photography

Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Winter Rain In The Forest 22520″and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The rain falls lightly on the dead leaves as I ease the big blue truck up Panther Mountain. This time of year good photo ops are bit of s challenge and so I have to drive a little farther and look a little harder to bring fresh images. The cold rain is almost like a mist and it floats as much as it falls. On the edge of the trail a rabbit disappears silently into the brambles.

Maybe it’s the news and all the scary stories or maybe it was seeing a rabbit on panther mountain but it brought to mind the Pipe Smoking Rabbit story.

I first encountered the legend in the movie “The Edge” as Anthony Hopkins explains why a paddle has a panther painted on one side and a rabbit smoking a pipe on the other. Rather than try to type out the whole story, here’s a link to the scene.

The rabbit character in the Native American stories i s a trickster much like Jack from a myriad of European stories who survives in his wits. The moral of the story is that the secret to overcoming fear and panic is logical thought. The pipe being a symbol of taking time to think and problem solve before acting. I have noticed that in my own life I only made mistakes that got me deeper into trouble when I reacted out of fear and worry verses problem solving before acting.

I looked deep into the brambles to see if I could get a clean image of the rabbit in his little thorny fortress and just as I saw him I could have sworn that he winked into the camera before he vanished behind the canes.

The Rabbit Has No Fear — The Rabbit Has No fear

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that graduation will be here before you know it. 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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https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

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Love Locked

black and white photography

When I said that I love you, I meant that you’re everything to me.

When I said forever, I meant beyond the end of time.

When I said together, I meant nobody else but you.

When I said “I do”, I meant that I’m already committed.

When I said that I remember, I meant that you never left my heart.

Our lives are one, locked in by love.

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Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Love Locked” and is available for purchase by contacting me on Facebook or by using the Contact Form on my website. (Note, I do not share or sale contact information. EVER.)

4X6 is $5.00

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Men, Machines And The Changes To Come

Color Photography, Prints Available From Lloyd's Lens Photography, Thoughts and Musing, West Virginia

Today we have machinery that does most of the work. But there was a time when each spike was driven by hands of a worker. Each beam was placed on a platform that was also laid down by human hands. The heavy iron rails had to be moved into place and precisely positioned. The land wasn’t joined by steel as much as it was the blood, sweat and tears of men who placed it there. Today, I was reminded of one such person who’s very name brings to mind myth and legend. The real John Henry. I understand that some of my international friends may not be familiar with the story of John Henry, so here are the basics. John Henry was a railroad worker and possibly a former slave who was working on the Big Bend Tunnel in West Virginia. At the time when the industrial revolution was bringing about new technologies. Namely, the steam hammer. A machine that drives steel without rest. A machine that threatened the livelihood of every worker building the rail system. In an effort to save the jobs of himself and his coworkers John Henry challenged the steam hammer to a race and he won! The power and strength of a man who could out work a machine must have been an awesome sight. However, the story ends in tragedy. John Henry dies of exhaustion that very night. The steam hammer gets the contract to complete the railroad. Why would I write about such a sad story on my normally upbeat blog? Because, it’s happening again. Our world is changing. More and more I see and hear about automation. Robot cars are replacing Uber drivers, self checkout is replacing cashiers and software applications are set to take over other jobs. This not a race people can win by brute force. This is a thinking game. ( using the word game metaphorically). At the time of the steam hammer a man of John Henry’s strength and power could have done very well by shoveling coal that powered the machine instead of trying to out work it. He could have adapted to work with the technology and become an invaluable part of that team. As we move into the future of automaton I want to encourage you to think differently about how to adapt to the new work environments. The robot car can never be as romantic as a horse and buggy ride in the country. There will be those older folks who would rather pay someone to do their shopping for them rather than face the self check out. Jobs won’t go away completely. Instead, new niches will form and with them will be new opportunities.

I see the railway in the feature image and I see a man, a machine and the new opportunities that lay unseen just beyond the next bend in the tracks.