Tag: panther mountain

A Few Ponderings On Panther Mountain

Color Photography, wildlife
Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Spring Blessings 50121” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

The only sound is the dry grinding of gravel under the wheels of my big blue truck as I slowly coast down Panther Mountain. Among the various woodland violets and other mountain flora are the small creatures that are now fully awake and roaming the forest floor. A little movement through the ferns tells me that a chipmunk is scurrying for a hole to hide in. The Spring day is cool and dry for the moment. The county has come through and trimmed back the brush and graded the twisted mountain pass making for a more pleasant drive. I ponder exploring the road all the way to the end sometimes but the truth is I don’t know if the road is wide enough for my truck. There are a few places where only a couple of feet separate the wheels from the canyon below. The majority of traffic I encounter here are ATVs and off road vehicles with a much more narrow wheel base. Still, I’m drawn to the point where I know that I’ll have enough room to park and enjoy the views before turning around. The valley holds the pristine Gauley River and if it wasn’t for the occasional kayak you could easily imagine yourself gazing on a landscape that was untouched by the winds of time. After a few moments of watching the Gauley River making it’s way to the Kanawha River I decided move on. That’s when the crabapple caught my attention. It’s absolutely loaded with bloom this year. The presence of such a large fruit tree that seems to be the only one of its kind in the area is a sign that many years ago this was a homestead. And there are a few Victorian Age homes hidden on private property not far from this spot. For whatever reason they were abandoned and falling in now. One day all that will be left is the odd piece of broken glass and cut stones to make people wonder about the world that was. I do know of at least 2 graves of the veterans of the revolution that kept by their descendants not too far away as well. The crabapple is too young to have been a part of their lives but I imagine it too had ancestors here. I suppose that time has not forgotten the landscape after all. It’s amazing how fast nature can reclaim her mountains.

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.

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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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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! Simply use 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=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!♥️

Incident On Panther Mountain. Part 2

Color Photography, Fiction Story

Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “A Foggy Morning On Panther Mountain 101919b” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

If you haven’t read Part 1 of Incident On Panther Mountain click here.

The mist continued to thicken as I stood on the edge of the road looking down into the foggy valley below. A few of the trees are already bare but there’s more than enough foliage to hide anything smaller than a house. I could hear a steady thumping that seemed to come from everywhere. The thick fog made me a little claustrophobic until I realized that if it was thick enough to hide whatever was out there then it was hiding me too. I briefly considered dropping over the edge and allowing the edge of the road to be my cover but all it would take is one mistake and I would slip into the valley and fall for hundreds of feet. I fumbled with a fob on my key ring. If I clicked on the unlock button the door would unlock but the lights would also come on and let half of the mountain know my exact position. But if I waited until the last second I could open the door and be safely locked in before anything could zero in on me. I looked back down the road behind me and saw that nothing was there yet but the thumping was getting louder. Why can’t tell which direction it’s coming from? I thought as eased back to the truck. After a few steps I realized that it was my own heartbeat that I heard. Pounding in my ears like a drum. Just a few yards before reaching the door but before unlocking the truck I had a terrifying thought. I was on Panther Mountain. Not butterfly mountain. Not puppy mountain but Panther Mountain. The old timers would tell about the large “Devil Cats”. Jet black and able to move as silent as the fog across the leaves. What else was it that they said? I searched my memory for the tales and yarns that were told around campfires. If ever there was a real monster it was an 80 pound predator able to carry a full grown buck up to the treetops and devour it there. That was it! The Devil Cat is an arboreal hunter. I remembered my great uncle Teddy saying that when he was a kid people would walk with sharp sticks taller than they were to keep panthers from leaping out of a tree onto their backs. All I had was the monopod for my camera but it was kinda pointed so opened it up and shouldered it like I was marching. In those last few steps I watched the trees for any sign of movement and only took my hand off the stick to unlock the truck. Just as I predicted the headlights came on and cut through the fog. The trees were empty. I breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled at my own senseless panic. No panthers had been confirmed in this spot for at least a generation. But there was still the strange silence of the birds. It’s not unusual for there to be holes in the noise that gives you way to track people and animals that are out of sight but for the whole forest to suddenly became devoid of sounds is very odd. I turned the key in the ignition and the big blue truck purred to life. I have a choice to make. I can go forward and push beyond the fog in order to find a place where I can turn around or I can attempt to back the truck down the very narrow path.

Image Titled “A Foggy Morning On Panther Mountain 101919c ”

I shifted in drive and began to move deeper into the foggy woods. I had decided that it was all in my head when a shadow slipped through the trees on the hillside to my left. It happened so quick that I couldn’t tell what it was other than a dark mass.

To be continued on Part 3

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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! Simply message me on Facebook oruse 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!❤