Tag: holly tree

Christmas Thoughts 2020

Christmas, Color Photography
Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Holly 102020a” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

Soft purple light filters through the blinds as the alarm signals me that I can hit the snooze button just one more time. A quick glance out of the window reveals a blanket of fresh snow. My dog senses my movements and cuddles closer to encourage me to stay in bed just a little while longer. It’s my last day of vacation and so I obliged him. As I lay in bed listening to the birds greet the morning I began to think about the excitement of Christmas morning and how my thoughts have changed. As I child the excitement of Christmas was centered on the potential for new toys. Later in life when my wife and I were setting up housekeeping and getting established Christmas was the opportunity to obtain things that we needed to build a life together. But as I’ve matured I have very little the basics and very little desire for “toys”. But what I do desire is time with loved ones. Beyond the hugs and the face to face conversations that many people have put aside this year is the feeling of belonging. It’s the knowledge that you occupied a place in someone’s heart even if you couldn’t be in their home. Now I have to be honest. My families did gather as we normally do. Though some of us chose to abstain for reasons of safety they were no less in our hearts. Some joined in via phone calls while others were simply there in spirit but the important part was that love was shared. Regardless of how we gathered or who was there we kept in mind that the reason we came together was in celebration of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has given us his word that where two or more gather in his name he would be there also. He affirms that the most important part of life is to occupy a place in someone’s heart. And that’s the true gift of Christmas. For we too receive that same gift in return. We occupy a special place in God’s heart. Everything else is just a token.

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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Cold Days & Favorite Meals

Color Photography, winter
Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Holly In The Park 120120a” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

Cold wind curls over the mountains and spills into my life. Old man winter can rage on but he cannot reach me. A warm thermos of coffee serves as an elixir of health as I sit in my chair and watch the firelight from across the room. As the snow swirls outside my frost covered window the winter mood overtakes me and there’s only one thing I can do. Put on a pot of homemade soup. The pantry is well stocked with the usual ingredients and before long the house is full of the aroma of childhood memories. I allow the crock pot to simmer most of the day as I worked my day job. Patience has it’s own reward at the end of day when the flavors of the vegetables and beef are blended perfectly and served with a grilled cheese sandwich. It’s my profound belief that God gave us cold snowy days so we can better enjoy comfort foods like a good homemade stew.

Before I close let me ask what your favorite winter meal is?

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/

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!❤

All About The Christmas Holly

Christmas, Color Photography

Well by gosh by golly, tonight’s post is all about holly!

One of the more familiar icons of the Christmas season in North America holly is a direct analogy to Jesus Christ.

Obviously the red berries are said to represent the blood that was shed for the remittance of sin. Only innocent blood could break the curse of Adam.

The prickles on the leaves are in relationship to the crown of thorns. In Roman Times the highest honor a leader could receive was a crown made from the grass of the battlefield where he had just gained victory. Because the thorn is a symbol for the curse of Adam a crown of thorns could be seen as a symbol for Christ’s victory, awarded to him by the sinners who He was born to save.

Holly is evergreen representing eternal life bestowed upon us by Jesus.

The wood produced by holly is white and symbolizes purity.

On a side note, if you want to have pretty red berries on your holly tree you need two trees. Holly comes in male and female trees. Holly grows wild in my area and before I understood why I would be disappointed to see one without berries.

In addition to that, one of my Forestry instructors would tell us that “holy wood will guide you right”. The wood is very fine grained and somewhat oily. Because of this it was once used to make guide pins for saw mills.

Even though Christmas holly is evergreen there is a type of holly tree that is deciduous. It has bright red berries like it’s festive Christmas cousin but the leaves turn bright yellow in the fall and drop in winter.

The berries of all hollies are poison but beautiful to look at making them great landscaping for the drab backdrop of winter.

That’s pretty much it for holly as it relates to the Christmas season. I hope that you have enjoyed this post.

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Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Christmas Holly 2018” and is available for purchase by usingthe Contact Form on my website. ( just click the picture of the bell below)

The second picture is titled “Deciduous Holly 2018” and is also available for purchase by using the Contact Form on my website.

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4X6 is $5.00

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Some cropping may be necessary for certain sizes.

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My Last Christmas Wish of 2017

Christmas, Color Photography, digital art

I have one last Christmas image to share this year.  This is a photo of the holly tree in my parent’s yard.  I used an out of the box filter to make it look like a painting.  Evergreen trees are a symbol of immortality.  Over the years I have come to learn that the secret of the evergreen trees is constant renewal.  As we exit the Christmas holiday and head into the New Year my last Christmas wish is that we are renewed in body,  mind and spirit.