Natural Life – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

Forage Friday #6 Wild Mustard.

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When most people in the United States think about mustard the image of a spicy yellow or brown condiment comes to mind. Especially in the urban areas. However, in the rural areas wild mustard is either a salad or a cooked green.

A little research shows that there’s almost as many mustards as there are opinions in the world. For the purpose of Forage Friday we’re going to lump them all together under the umbrella of “wild mustard”. Even Peterson’s Field Guide uses the generic “Brassica Spp”.

The seeds can be used to make a spice just like the domestic varieties but as with any wild edible plant the flavor might not be what we’re used to.

The young seed pods can be pickled or tossed fresh into a salad.

The leaves can be a little bitter but can be eaten raw and that is my current experience since I have mostly focused on salad greens. I recently learned that the flower heads can be eaten like broccoli. That shouldn’t have surprised me because they are the family of plants. ( Which also includes cabbage BTW.)

The bright yellow flowers are always a welcomed sight in the spring when I spot them standing proudly near the roads. You might think that the mustard that you buy for your hot dogs is yellow because the mustard seed itself is yellow but it’s not so. Yellow mustard is yellow because it contains turmeric powder. Natural mustard seeds are grayish. It’s complicated process and it’s unlikely that you find them in a high enough quantity to make it worth the effort but a rich edible oil can be processed from the mustard seed. The process is said to leave behind a high protein powder which is also edible.

With all of the good things that comes from this humble little plant it makes me wonder why it’s classified as a weed? The only negative thing I can find online is that when dairy cows eat it the flavor of the milk is somewhat off making the milk unprofitable.

As I try write my closing line tonight I can’t help think about all the efforts that go into feeding the hungry people of the world. We pour money into government programs and charitable organizations that are intended to be resource for families who are struggling. And yet every day chemicals are sprayed to prevent the growth of food producing plants that thrive worldwide, like the mustard plant. It’s even been found growing near the earth’s magnetic pole. Could it be that the reason why people go hungry is because we’ve taken the wrong approach with food production? Perhaps instead of suppressing vigorous plants like mustard we should find ways to support them and turn our world back into a garden.

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Red Maple & Forester’s Trick

Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Mountain Fire In Spring”and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

All along the Kanawha River we are beginning to see the mountains change color. There are light green spots full of tiny new leaves, the pinkish-purple of the redbud bloom and the blood red of the red maple. Tonight’s feature image is actually several years old but it was taken on April 15th. When I was studying forestry in college my instructor taught us that a good timber man could estimate the diversity of a stand of timber by the colors seen in fall and spring without ever climbing the mountain. Brown twigs are sugar maple and red twigs are red maple. He had a color scale in his mind that covered a multitude of hues and variations. He would use this technique to determine which stands of timber were worth a closer look and that way he could avoid wasting time on lower value timber.

I never made it into the timber industry but I have observed that by closely watching the colors of the mountains during the seasonal changes I can not only estimate the mix of trees in the forest but I can judge the progression of the changes. Like all things in life nothing is ever 100 percent but this technique allows me to get relatively accurate guess what nature is about to do. It’s all about the observation of natural time. So as you go about your day take note of the small changes in color and texture of the world around you. It’s God’s creation and you are a part of it.

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Daydreaming In Color

Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “The Dancing Depths” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the page.

When I was a kid my favorite color was aquamarine. I’m not really sure why but it wad probably because I wanted to be unique. As I got older my tastes shifted more towards the green tones. As I gaze into the greens and blues and the in between tones of the river I become lost in the depths of water. The variations in the light as it transitions reminds me of a gemstone. Is it any wonder why ancient people imagined that there was another world full of mythic civilizations just beyond that translucent vale? Even in modern times it wouldn’t hard to imagine the merfolk swimming by and looking up with the same wonderment of our world. Would their eyes get lost in marbled blue sky? As I watch the light shimmer on the surface and dance beneath the ripples I lose track of the schedule that demands so much of our life’s energy. For a little while I’m a child again looking for the signs of an underwater castle deep behind the blues and greens of the river.

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Every Frog Has His Day

Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Gray Monday” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the page.

Rainy days and Mondays are not to be desired or so it’s been said. Admittedly, I would have rather spent the day sitting in the sunshine and enjoying the birds singing while watching the ferry diddles play in the trees. But even the rainy day has it’s own joy if you look hard enough. Just beyond the trees and down the hill a piece is a ditch where the water pools. This is the frogs gather and sing for a mate in wet weather. It occurs to me that for a frog rainy days are one of life’s true joys. If it’s a warm sunny day a frog has to stay close to water and in the shadows to keep from drying out. But if it’s a warm rain a frog gets to come out and play. He spends his whole day making up songs that express his appreciation of the clouds. I can picture the scene in my mind. Mr Frog jumps out of the water and gazes skyward. A frog’s smile might be hard to detect but promise you that it’s there. He wiggles his webbed toes in the fresh mud. Then he takes a breath so deep that he blows up like a green balloon. Then he lets out a song like no song has ever been sung before. For a frog it’s the best Monday ever! One for the books! As the rain continues to fall gently the birds gather in the thick evergreen trees and the ferry diddles go to their dens. Everyone sits quietly waiting for rain to stop as they listen to frogs make beautiful music. Eventually I move from the window to the awning on the back of building and listen myself. Suddenly the gray sky doesn’t seem so bad. Monday isn’t so tough when your world is full of music.

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Casting Off

black and white photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Anchor Point 1” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the page.

The river never stops. Even when it’s cold enough to freeze the ice slides forward on a thin layer of liquid water beneath. There are times when it rages and sweeps away everything in its path and times when it laps gently at the shore delivering life to the landscape. But it never stops.

Time flows like a river. Our perception can give us the impression of time flying as when visiting with an old friend or we can slow time to a crawl as when that cup of coffee is knocked off of the table and seems to hover in mid air for a moment. But it never really stops. Time erodes the world. It carries away the opportunities of the moment and changes our personal landscape. One way that this happens is by living in the past. It’s good to have a sense of nostalgia especially if it gives us a sense of peace but if it blinds us to the present it can be a problem. I’m guilty of this. I think it’s human nature to hold onto things that bring us happiness. But if we miss today’s opportunity we’re going to miss tomorrow’s happiness as we watch yesterday’s joy fade away into the past. I chose tonight’s feature image to represent holding onto yesterday because it is an anchor point. It’s purpose is to hold the boat in one place while the river flows by. It’s that stability that gives us the ability to board the boat and navigate through the river but at some point have to cast off. Casting off requires letting go of the anchor point that is weathered and worn. Here then is the paradox, letting go of the anchor exposes us to the hazards of the current but without letting go we may as well not be in the boat in the first place. What will we do in the river of time? Will we go boldly into current and build the future or will we hold onto the anchor point until the river swells and sweeps it away? Certainly there’s a place for nostalgia in our lives. But it should be more of an aid to navigation than a anchor the prevents travel beyond the starting point. It’s place in our lives should be where we can visit and resupply for the next journey but never the place where we are stuck.

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