SutherLAND LLC

03/16/2020

Civilizations have recognized copper’s antimicrobial properties for centuries. It’s time to bring the material back.

01/15/2020

Property for Sale! SOLD!!!!!

$199K for 53 acres located at the corner of Old Furnace Road and Happy Valley Road in Floyd, VA!

* Long-range views from the summit at over 3,000 feet
* Driveway in place to the summit
* Numerous potential building sites
* Access to fiber optic high speed internet
* Multiple mountain water springs and creeks
* Rick black organic soil
* Recently timbered
* Long road frontage on state maintained gravel road
* Can be divided
* Wind and solar possibilities
* Close proximity to
the Blue Ridge Parkway,
Friday Night Jamboree
FloydFest
Chateau Morrisette Winery

Numerous possibilities for this land in this location!

12/17/2019

December 17, 2019 All Around

"The North Wind"
The north wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will poor Robin do then,
Poor thing?

He'll sit in the barn
And keep himself warm
And hide his head under his wing,
Poor thing!
~ An Old English Poem

Stay warm, my friends, stay warm during these cold and blustery days.

09/27/2019

Enjoy our latest nature blog!

September 26, 2019 Franklin

There's just something about freshwater fishing that's hard to beat. This outdoor pastime should more aptly be described as pure pleasure than as sport.

Freshwater fishing encompasses several settings. Ponds, lakes, and streams beckon with their soothing calmness, and creeks and reservoirs are also favorite fishing holes. Although not common in Virginia, even freshwater marshes may host fish life and shouldn't be overlooked in our praises of fishing spots.

Common fish in these alluring places include catfish, bass, crappies, and bluegills. Trout, walleye, bream, and carp are other favorites to have tugging on your line.

Not only are these freshwater leviathans fun to catch and pull from the watery depths, they are also delicious to eat. Cooking a fresh catch of fish, whether it's in a frying pan on the stovetop or at the backyard firepit, is one of the most rewarding experiences possible. Eating what you catch yourself is satisfying in its own special way-and healthy too.

The tools needed for freshwater fishing range from simple to complex. At the minimum, a decent fishing rod and reel and a can of corn will do the trick. If you have money to spare and time to shop, there are countless lures and flies and other modern bits of fishing equipment waiting to be purchased. Of course, it may be wise to remember that back in the day a cane pole with string attached and a few unfortunate earthworms in an old metal can were plenty for an afternoon of fishing joys.

Have you been fortunate enough to go fishing lately? If not, then I encourage you to seek the opportunity. Drop a line in the water, sit back, and soak in the delight of an ancient tradition. Happy Fishing!

All About Fishing in Virginia Virginia has become one of the most popular destinations on the east coast for freshwater fishing. With the wide variety of opportunities available to anglers of every skill level, it’s easy to understand why. Virginia has lots of lakes with quiet coves perfect for re...

09/04/2019

Our Latest Nature Blog!

September 3, 2019 Franklin

Yellow is one of my favorite colors for it is a tiny burst of happiness, a visible reminder of laughter and light-heartedness. The evening primrose is one such pleasure with its rich yellow brightness and its fresh lemon scent.

Biennials, these wildflowers take two years to complete their life cycle. The leaves emerge the first year, and then in the second year the beautiful yellow flowers appear. Evening primroses bloom in the hours of twilight, and the four-petaled flowers stay open until noon the next day. Then those particular blooms have completed their mission and fall lifeless to the ground.

The great news is each stem hosts a multitude of flowers, so from early summer to early fall the showy display occurs again each evening. Watching the flower petals open is quite the experience, nature's magic for all who have the time to enjoy.

These unique wildflowers are more than just visual delights. Their nectar-rich blooms attract hummingbirds and butterflies and bees. After the flowers come and go, the seeds become a delicious cuisine for birds. Deer eat the mature foliage. Having these plants in your garden or fields will be a win-win, enriching both you and the wildlife.

Evening primroses are edible. The leaves can be cooked like other greens, and the flowers make a nice garnish for salads. The roots are also edible, especially tasty in the spring. The roots and seeds can be roasted.

The plant is full of many nutrients, including proteins, carbohydrates, and especially an Omega-6 fatty acid, which is known to boost the immune system. There is a multitude of perceived health benefits gained from using evening primrose essential oils. If these uses interest you, then please do careful research yourself first.

Evening primroses are an enchanted addition to any landscape. Their vibrant yellow blooms shine with happiness, bringing a smile to our world-weary spirits. I wish for you such moments of nature's contentment.

Want to know more about these outstanding wildflowers native to North America? Check out these web sites for more information!

https://www.gardenia.net/plant/Oenothera-Biennis-Common-Evening-Primrose

www.ediblewildfood.com/blog/201

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=OEBI

Fragrant and showy, Oenothera biennis (Common Evening Primrose) is an erect biennial featuring large, bowl-shaped, lemon-scented, yellow flowers, up to 2 in. across (5 cm), at the top of a stiff, purple-tinged flower stem.

08/16/2019

Our Latest Nature Blog

August 15, 2019 All Around

An artist's palette on full display! The colors of nature astound and inspire and uplift, the most beautiful tints and hues ever found for they occur naturally without human input; therefore, the beauty is pure.

As summer progresses, and the days become hot and dry and miserable, all we have to do is stop and notice. In spite of the sweltering heat and the relentless beating of the sun's rays, the gorgeous colors still abound, providing our souls with a visual respite.

Morning glory blooms with their intense purple and sparkling white contrast magnificently with the deep greens of their leaves. Likewise, the emerald green of ferns growing in cool, soothing places takes away the frustrations of tedious life, comforting the soul with their essence of peace.

The white delicate lacy umbels of Queen Anne's lace grow boldly beside the ever-outstanding black-eyed Susans, showy with their yellow-orange petals radiating from their dark brown centers. Orange clusters on butterfly w**d draw in the butterflies. Just today I saw five velvety dancers on one such wildflower.

And then there is the sky. Stately pines and hardwoods with their dark green foliage are showcased against the gray of stormy clouds. The two complement each other well, the greens and the grays. The fluffy clouds change from dawn to dusk, sometimes dainty pink or regal lavender or fiery red. Soft blues, steel grays, thunderous blacks, innocent whites, these clumps of water droplets are a world all their own as they constantly move and change, providing the perfect excuse for relaxation-cloud watching. Let us never grow too old in spirit for that!

This list could go on and on, for the sheer wonder of the colors of nature is endless. Rocks, caterpillars, turtle shells, salamanders, specks of mica in the red clay soil, white ripples of cold mountain water rippling over black stones of untold age and wisdom, bird feathers, foxes, the speckled coat of a fawn-the opportunities for visual refreshment from nature's display is unending, perpetual, all around us. My hope is that you are in a place where you can partake of this visual feast, enriching your spirit and brightening your days.

08/08/2019

Our latest Nature Blog

August 8, 2019 All Around

Queen Anne's lace is an exquisitely elegant wildflower that graces our landscape with its charming beauty. This hardy biennial with its delicate white blooms grows wildly in fields and along roadsides, in places with optimal conditions and in barren lands. Named after Anne (1665-1714), queen of both England and Denmark, who was noted for her intricate lace-making talents, the common but classical lacy beauty is noteworthy in many ways.

This wildflower has a stately height of up to four feet. With fern-like, feathery leaves the plant is adorned with a showy white umbel, a flat disc-shaped cluster of tiny white flowers. The umbel florets radiate from a center, one dark purple floret which the legend says is a drop of blood from Queen Anne's pinpricked finger. The purpose of this infertile little bloom is unknown, but some speculation suggests it resembles the upturned rear of a female insect, inviting males in with the end result being nothing for them but pollination for the flower.

The umbel resembles a bird's nest during two stages of the flower's existence, which occur during the second year of the plant. When the flower cluster first develops it is closed into itself, looking like a bird's nest. It again reverts to this shape after the seeds have formed, just prior to the umbel's death, closing to wait until the clutching seeds can hitch a ride on passing hosts. For this reason the flower is sometimes called a bird's nest.

Another name for Queen Anne's lace is wild carrot. The roots smell like carrots when crushed, and this member of the parsnip family has several cuisine uses.

Queen Anne's lace is a delightful wildflower to have in fields and flower gardens. It can be invasive, but its delicate lacy addition to colorful flower arrangements, whether growing or in a vase, is worth the bit of necessary growth control. Here's a moment of reverence for the natural wild beauty found all around us!

Note: Care needs to be taken to not confuse Queen Anne's lace with the very deadly poison hemlock plant. The most obvious difference is that the stem and leaves of Queen Anne's lace are covered in tiny hairs, while the leaves and stems of poison hemlock are smooth. Another great distinction is that the roots of Queen Anne's lace have a pleasant carrot aroma, but the roots of poison hemlock smell quite foul. Another visual difference is that the umbel (flower cluster) of Queen Anne's lace is a flat disc of florets, while the flower head of poison hemlock is more rounded.

Want to know more about Queen Anne's lace? Check out these web sites:

https://www.ediblewildfood.com/queen-annes-lace.aspx

http://www.ravensroots.com/blog/2015/6/26/poison-hemlock-id

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/queen-annes-lace/queen-annes-lace-plant.htm

https://www.uaex.edu/yard-garden/resource-library/plant-week/queen-annes-lace-7-22-05.aspx

https://www.gardendesign.com/flowers/queen-annes-lace.html

07/29/2019

Our Latest Nature Blog

July 29, 2019 All Around

"Queen Anne's Lace"

Queen Anne, Queen Anne, has washed her lace
(She chose a summer's day)
And hung it in a grassy place
To whiten, if it may.

Queen Anne, Queen Anne, has left it there,
And slept the dewy night,
Then waked, to find the sunshine fair,
And all the meadows white.

Queen Anne, Queen Anne, is dead and gone
(She died a summer's day),
But left her lace to whiten on
Each w**d-entangled way!

~ Mary Leslie Newton

07/25/2019

Our Latest Nature Blog

July 23, 2019 Franklin

There he was, his iridescent colors sparkling in the sunlight as he perched on a twig over the clear stream water. The upright velvet black wings and metallic marine blue of the slender damselfly captured my attention as we shared that cool shady spot, and I was honored to be in the presence of an ebony jewelwing.

Damselflies are also called snake doctors, devil's darning needles, damsels, and bog dancers. They are in the same scientific order Odonata as dragonflies, and many of their general features and lifestyle patterns are similar. The easiest distinguishing differences are in their wings, their eyes, and their bodies. A damselfly at rest holds its wings in a vertical position, unlike the dragonfly wings which are positioned horizontally. Damselflies have eyes that are far apart with space between, and their bodies are slender. Dragonflies, on the other hand, have huge eyes that actually touch, filling the entire face, and their bodies are bulky, lacking the trimness of the damselfly physique.

Both of these magnificent insects are survivors. They have been present on earth for eons of time. Fossil evidence proves that they were here during, and even before, the dinosaurs, and their preserved forms show that when they inhabited the dinosaur realm they had the wingspan the same as that of hawks today.

Damselflies are found on all of the continents, except Antarctica. They most often are seen around freshwater areas-marshes, streams, ponds, and lakes. Water is necessary for damselfly reproduction, so it's logical that this is where they live.

After mating, the male damselfly stays with the female, protecting her as she goes underwater to lay her eggs on the stem of a water plant and sometimes helping her emerge from the water. The eggs will hatch in one to three weeks, resulting in a creature that looks nothing like an adult damselfly.
Damselflies develop through a cycle known as incomplete metamorphosis, three stages of growth with each being different from the others. The first stage, obviously is the egg, which hatches into a nymph, sometimes called a larva or naiad.

This second stage of life is lived exclusively in the water environment. The damselflies in this stage are a brownish color with three gills that look like feathers extending from the posterior.The nymphs are carnivorous, meat eaters, feeding on smaller insects and other animals in their body of water. Depending on the species, the damselfly is in the nymph stage from two months to three years, molting five to fifteen times. In essence the majority of the damselfly's life is lived here, a voracious hunter of the underwater world.

Once the final molting time has arrived, the nymph crawls up a water plant stem. The exoskeleton splits for the last time, and the adult form emerges. The gills have been replaced with lungs, called spiracles, located in the abdomen. Fluids have to be pumped through the wings and body, and usually within thirty minutes the beautiful adult flits away in the sunlight. Their adult life lasts from a few days to several months, at the end of which they mate, lay eggs, and then die.

Damselflies are important parts of freshwater ecosystems. They are fierce predators of harmful insects, such as mosquitoes and flies, and they sometimes eat beetles and moths.

These slender flyers, along with their dragonfly relatives, are also used as indicators of water quality. Both are found where the water quality is good, as neither they nor their nymph offspring can thrive in polluted water or where the waterside vegetation is not healthy.

Preserving natural and man-made water sources, like marshes, streams, ponds, and lakes, is crucial to the survival of these outstanding water dancers. Damselflies survived what the dinosaurs couldn't. In our human greed and arrogance, let's not do them in now.

For more information about these unique insects, check out these web sites.

https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Ebony-Jewelwing-Damselfly

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial-12_damselflies.html

https://www.britannica.com/animal/damselfly

https://www.dragonfly-site.com/damselfly.html

http://www.cirrusimage.com/damselfly.html

This page details the Ebony Jewelwing including size, territorial reach and pictures.

07/06/2019

Our latest Nature Blog

July 4, 2019 Franklin

Blue, red, and white! What a display today of the patriotic colors! Bluebirds really know how to flash their charm in the bright morning sun.

Amazingly, a pair of bluebirds has already nested in the box we put on the old cedar tree a couple of months ago. Most of the time a birdhouse has to weather, sometimes for up to a year, before birds will even begin to nest there. It was such a delight today to notice both parents going in and out of the box, obviously taking in insects for hungry youngsters.

Bluebirds are a success story. Not too far in the past they were in trouble, since their natural habitats were disappearing. Bluebirds build their nests in hollow tree cavities, old fence post crevices, or abandoned woodpecker nests. Much of the farmland and forests, where these ideal locations are found, is disappearing; therefore, the bluebird population was declining due to lack of breeding sites.

But, humans stepped up and saved the day. All along the eastern portion of the United States people created bluebird trails, complete with birdhouses specifically designed for bluebirds. This kind and responsible human gesture has made a tremendous difference, and the population of these remarkable songsters is now thriving again.

Another way to help bluebirds is by planting shrubs that produce berries, especially in winter, on your property. These songbirds with their feathers of blue on their backs, red on their chests, and white on their stomachs primarily eat insects, berries, and fruits. They rarely come to bird feeders unless a fine cuisine of mealworms is offered. But, a selection of berries will entice them to your yard.

The male is quite dedicated to the female, especially during courtship and nesting. Males have even been observed chasing away intruders of their domain, including cats, other birds, and humans. Both parents care for the hatchlings, and the father takes over the first nursery, while the mother begins setting on a second bunch of eggs. The first brood will also sometimes help care for their younger siblings.

Bluebirds are clearly fascinating feathered friends, and watching them is certainly one of the pleasures of life. I hope wherever you are, you are blessed to see for yourself how unique they are. With their red, white, and blue colors, they are noteworthy for sure.

There's so much more to learn about these beautiful birds. Check out these web sites for more information.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird/overview

https://www.audubon.org/fieldguide/bird/eastern-bluebird

https://nestwatch.org/learn/focalspecies/eastern-bluebird/

Most of the country drives during an eastern North American summer will turn up a few Eastern Bluebirds sitting on telephone wires or perched atop a nest box, calling out in a short, wavering voice or abruptly dropping to the ground after an insect. Marvelous birds to capture in your binoculars, mal...

06/19/2019

From our Nature Blog:

June 19, 2019 All Around

Quite possibly, the daisy is the quintessential flower of summer. The happy faces of daisy flowers wave from pristine gardens and roadside fields and abandoned city lots, reminding us of the childhood joys of barefoot summer days.

The daisy flower is an example of simple elegance, if there ever has been one. Its very name suggests a radiant beauty, coming from the Anglo Saxon "daes eage," which means "day's eye." Daisy flowers are early risers, opening their classical blooms as the morning sun brightens the land for a new day.

In the language of flowers, daisy means "loyal love". The bloom, usually white but sometimes other soft colors like pinks and yellows, means "innocence" and "purity". The petals seem to be one simple flower, but actually they consist of two types of florets. There are small ones coming from the golden center, while other larger petals are around the outside edge. Together all the florets merge into one grandly graceful flower.

Some scientists believe the daisies are the oldest flowers on earth. The hardiness of these perennials is evident in the way they grow readily in both full sun or partial shade. They prefer loamy soil, but again they are not picky plants. Rarely are they bothered by insects or diseases.

There are thousands of types of daisy flowers. The traditional wildflower is the oxeye daisy, and the shasta daisy is a descendant of this wild plant. Some of the other most common daisies are the gerbera daisy, the English daisy, and the painted daisy. There are countless more, many of which can be purchased or shared from one flower-lover to another.

Wherever you are on this planet, I hope daisies are a part of your terrain. I hope your spot of earth graces you with these natural beauties, simple elegance in its grandest display. I hope daisies lift your spirits and brighten your days. I am grateful they do mine.

Want to know more about these delightful flowers? Check out these web sites:

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/daisy-flowers-56055.html

https://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/growingflowers/flowersandgeography/daisies

https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/flowers-and-plants/daisy-flower-types-of-daisies

https://www.ftd.com/blog/share/types-of-daisies

Create a delicate ground cover with low-growing and low-maintenance daisies. The English daisy (Bellis perennis) has cheerful white-petaled flowers with yellow centers and fresh green foliage. Daisies grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 8. Plant daisies in border a...