Someday Never Comes

March 31, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start hammering out flower pictures from the flowers in my yard from last year. There aren’t many, but I’ve definitely fell behind in my editing of those pictures.

This collection of flower pictures was taken on July 29, 2021.

Moonflowers continue to be my favorite flowers. As signs of spring start showing up around my yard, it is time I start planning what annuals I am going to plant in my flowerpots this year and if there are any annuals I am going to add to the mix. The only thing I know for certain is that I will be thinning out some hostas and moving them in front of my house at some point this year. Last year I pulled out all the evergreen bushes from the front of my house to make room for the hostas. Now I need to get that area landscaped and looking good again.

Art, Baseball/Softball, Black & White, Christianity, Railroad, Road Trip

Kossuth and Winnebago County Auxiliary Images Vol. 3

March 30, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

Several months back I cruised around Kossuth ad Winnebago County harvesting their town signs. This is the third and final collection of auxiliary images from that road trip.

The next time we hit the open road and share some auxiliary images from TOWN SIGN PROJECT road trips, we will be in Decatur and Wayne County.

Art, Road Trip, Town Sign Project

Town Sign Project: Cherokee County

March 29, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

A month or so back I made a trip to Cherokee County to harvest their town signs. Cherokee is a beautiful town and is on my list of towns I would like to visit again in the future.

Here are some facts about Cherokee County:

+ Population is 11,658 making it the 66th most populous county in Iowa. Below Shelby County and above Louisa County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Cherokee.
+ Formed on January 15, 1851.
+ Named after the indigenous tribe.
+ Major highways are US-59, IA-3, IA-7, IA-31, and IA-143.
+ Adjacent counties are O’Brien, Buena Vista, Ida, Woodbury, and Plymouth.

The Cherokee County Courthouse is fairly hideous:

The Cherokee County Courthouse located in Cherokee, Iowa.

The Cherokee County Freedom Rock is located in Cherokee, Iowa:

With Cherokee County conquered, here is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:

PURPLE=COMPLETED

64 counties completed. 64.6% of the Cyclone State conquered!

Here are the town signs of Cherokee County:

Cherokee, Iowa
CHEROKEE WELCOMES YOU
Population: 5,199 (-36)

Marcus, Iowa
Welcome To MARCUS
Pride in the Past
Faith in the Future
Population: 1,079 (-38)

Aurelia, Iowa
WELCOME TO AURELIA
Population: 968 (-68)

Quimby, Iowa
WELCOME TO QUIMBY
Population: 249 (-70)

Washta, Iowa
Welcome to Washta
COLDEST SPOT IN IOWA
-47
1912
FOUNDED IN 1868
Population: 209 (-39)

Cleghorn, Iowa
CLEGHORN
Population: 240 (0)

Meriden, Iowa
MERIDEN
A CITY WHERE PEOPLE CARE & SHARE
Population: 161 (+2)

Larrabee, Iowa
LARRABEE
WHERE TOWN & COUNTRY UNITE
EST. 1887
Population 123 (-9)

I think Cherokee County has a really solid set of town signs. I think the only one that is bad is Quimby’s sign, which is more of a town announcement sign than anything else. Nothing wrong with town announcement signs, but they shouldn’t be the town’s primary town sign.

While I like the town signs of Aurelia, Marcus, and Meriden. It really comes down to Larrabee and Washta for me and the purple ribbon. But in the end the Washta sign is so much fun that it gets Best in Show.

Washta – Best in Show – Cherokee County

There are several alternate town signs in Cherokee County:

Quimby – Alternate

Marcus – Alternate

Cherokee – Alternate

Aurelia – Alternate

Here is the current list of Best in Shows:

Best in Show – Adair County

Best in Show – Adams County

Best in Show – Audubon County

Best in Show – Benton County

Best in Show – Boone County

Best in Show – Bremer County

Best in Show – Buena Vista County

Best in Show – Butler County

Best in Show – Calhoun County

Best in Show – Carroll County

Best in Show – Cass County

Best in Show – Cedar County

Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County

Best in Show – Cherokee County

Best in Show – Clarke County

Best in Show – Clinton County

Best in Show – Crawford County

Best in Show – Dallas County

Best in Show – Decatur County

Best in Show – Franklin County

Best in Show – Fremont County

Best in Show – Greene County

Best in Show – Grundy County

Best in Show – Guthrie County

Best in Show – Hamilton County

Best in Show – Hancock County

Best in Show – Hardin County

Best in Sow – Harrison County

Best in Show – Humboldt County

Best in Show – Ida County

Best in Show – Iowa County

Best in Show – Jackson County

Best in Show – Jasper County

Best in Show – Jones County

Best in Show – Kossuth County

Best in Show – Linn County

Best in Show – Lucas County

Best in Show – Madison County

Best in Show – Mahaska County

Best in Show – Marion County

Best in Show – Marshall County

Best in Show – Mills County

Best in Show – Monona County

Best in Show – Monroe County

Best in Show – Montgomery County

Best in Show – Page County

Best in Show – Palo Alto County

Best in Show – Pocahontas County

Best in Show – Polk County

Best in Show – Pottawattamie County

Best in Show – Poweshiek County

Best in Show – Ringgold County

Best in Show – Sac County

Best in Show – Shelby County

Best in Show – Story County

Best in Show – Tama County

Best in Show – Taylor County

Best in Show – Union County

Best in Show – Warren County

Best in Show – Wayne County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Winnebago County

Best in Show – Worth County

Best in Show – Wright County

The next time we hit the backroads of Iowa for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, our Toyota will end up in O’Brien County.

Andy, Becky, Bill, Cathie, Christianity, Elizabeth, Evie, Jesse, Kim, Kio, Layla, Linda, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Sara, Shannon, Still Life, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 341 – SHADOW

March 28, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

SHADOW seems to be a pretty popular theme.

As of 10:59 AM on Monday, March 28, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks:

+ Harrison Gorshe – 1 week
+ Monica Henning – 1 week
+ Logan Kahler – 1 week
+ Stephanie Kim – 1 week
+ Becky Parmelee – 1 week
+ Mike Vest – 1 week
+ Dawn Krause – 5 weeks
+ Joe Duff – 9 weeks
+ Teresa Kahler – 9 weeks
+ Tamara Peterson – 9 weeks
+ Carla Stensland – 9 weeks
+ Michelle Haupt – 10 weeks
+ Micky Augustin – 11 weeks
+ Andy Sharp – 12 weeks
+ Bill Wentworth – 13 weeks
+ Cathie Raley – 17 weeks
+ Elizabeth Nordeen – 18 weeks
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley – 20 weeks
+ Kio Dettman – 23 weeks

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Jesse Howard – 1 week

Micky Augustin – 12 weeks

Layla Gorshe – 1 week

Evie Gorshe – 1 week

Teresa Kahler – 10 weeks

Teresa Kahler

Michelle Haupt – 11 weeks

Kio Dettman – 24 weeks

Kio Dettman

Tamara Peterson – 10 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley – 21 weeks

Becky Parmelee – 2 weeks

Bill Wentworth – 14 weeks

Linda Bennett – 1 week

Christopher D. Bennett

Elizabeth Nordeen – 19 weeks

Carla Stensland – 10 weeks

Carla Stensland

Sara Lockner – 1 week

Cathie Raley – 18 weeks

Kim Barker – 1 week

Andy Sharp – 13 weeks

Monica Henning – 2 weeks

Monica Henning

Suzie Brannen – 1 week

Logan Kahler – 2 weeks

28 submissions from 22 participants. That is a great week.

Congratulations to Teresa, Tamara, and Carla for being the latest people to join the double digit club!

Unfortunately a few streaks were snapped. Harrison, Stephanie, and Vest could not build on their submission from last week. Dawn had a 5 week streak snapped. And Joe… a 9 week streak gone! Hopefully they can start building that streak back up starting next week!

Here are the current top streaks:

1. Kio – 24 weeks
2. Shannon – 21 weeks
3. Elizabeth – 19 weeks
4. Cathie – 18 weeks
5. Bill – 14 weeks

But enough dwelling on the past. Time to look to the future. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future! This week’s theme:

FRAMED

FRAMED! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what exactly is a FRAMED picture? It is simply a picture where the subject is FRAMED in by something else. In the theme reveal, the edge of the garbage can makes a frame for the subject of the refuse. A doorway makes a good frame. So does a hall way. A window Any thing that creates negative space makes a great frame for your subject. Or you could even do something as easy as taking a picture of something that is in a literal picture frame.

While thinking on possible subjects for your FRAMED image, meditate on the following quote:

You can frame a moment. But you can’t frame life.
-Armin Houman

I look forward to seeing your interpretations.

RULES

The picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge.

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of FRAMED in this place that tries to put a frame around my existence next Monday.

Black & White, Formal Portrait, Gretchen, Maven, Sara, Shawn Lockner

The Juncks 2021 – Volume 2

March 27, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

It is time once again on Formal Portrait Sunday to share a collection of images from the The Junck Family Photo Shoot of 2021.

Next Sundays Formal Portrait Sunday will once again concentrate on the Howard Family Photo Shoot.

Animals, Black & White, Flowers, Grandma, Macro, Mom, Photoshop

2011-06-08

March 26, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures in the folder 2011-06-08 are from a time I went with my Mom over to my Grandma’s house to photograph some of her flowers. She always had beautiful flowers.

WEEK 22 - SHADOWS - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:

RWPE Y2 #22 – SHADOWS

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK #76 ALPHA

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK #76 BETA

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT #76 GAMMA

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve THE 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT.

Art, Basketball, Christianity, History, Iowa State, Railroad, Road Trip, WPC - Reminder

Kossuth and Winnebago County Auxiliary Images Vol. 2

March 25, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is a big day for Iowa State athletics. Iowa State is one of only two schools that have both their Men’s and Women’s basketball team still alive in the NCAA tournament. For the Men, this is pretty shocking since they only won two games last year. This was the expectation for the Women.

However, for the third time in as many games, in their infinite wisdom, the NCAA has scheduled the Men’s and Women’s games to overlap. (Yes, I actually know that the television networks schedule the game times, but still!) This has lead several people to ask me how I’m going to watch both games. The astute people know that I refuse to DVR games, so that isn’t a possibility.

The answer is simple. I’m going to watch Season 2 of BRIDGERTON on Netflix and then read about the games in the morning paper on Saturday.

+++++++

Several months back I cruised around Kossuth ad Winnebago County harvesting their town signs. This is the second collection of auxiliary images from that road trip. All these images were taken in Kossuth County.

Algona

Wesley

Titonka

Lone Rock

There is still one more collection of images from this trip to share.

+++++++

This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is SHADOW:

SHADOW

SHADOW! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what exactly is a SHADOW picture? A SHADOW picture is simply a picture where one of the major compositional elements of the image is a SHADOW. The SHADOW can be on the ground. It can be on a wall. It can be across somebody’s face. A silhouette picture is a SHADOW picture, for example. And of course, there are other types of less literal SHADOWs out there too.

Happy photo harvesting!

Flowers, Macro, Mom

One.

March 24, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

You don’t exactly get over it. An offensive phrase under any circumstances. But the grief, in time, does turn into a nostalgic ache, that is almost comforting.
-P.J. O’Rourke

+++++++

Art, Black & White, Christianity, Photoshop, Road Trip

Kossuth and Winnebago County Auxiliary Images

March 23, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Several months back I cruised around Kossuth and Winnebago County harvesting their town signs. Here is the first collection of auxiliary images I took on this trip. Most are from the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend. Many more are from near the Kossuth County Freedom Rock in Whittemore.

There is still plenty more images to share from this road trip.

Art, Road Trip, Town Sign Project

Town Sign Project: Jackson County

March 22, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Back at the end of January I went to Jackson County to harvest the balance of their town signs. This was a big one to cross off the list for me, because my strategy (if you can call it that) for this project has been all over the place. However, for a few months now, my strategy has been to finish what I call the cross of Iowa. All the counties north, south, east, and west of Boone County. From there, I will knock out the corners of Iowa. First the southwest, then the northwest, then the northeast, and then finally the southeast. Obviously, not everything has went exactly to that plan, as I finished the southwest corner before I finished the cross, but finishing Jackson County meant that the cross is finished and now I can devote myself to knocking out the northwest corner.

Here are some facts about Jackson County:

+ Population is 19,485. Making it the 36th most populous county in Iowa. Below Fayette County and above Poweshiek County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Maquoketa.
+ Formed on December 21, 1837.
+ Named after one of the worst humans to ever be President of the United States and undoubtedly the worst person to have an Iowa county named after them… vile piece of human refuse Andrew Jackson.
+ Home of one of the best state parks in Iowa Maquoketa Caves State Park. Also home to Bellevue State Park.
+ Home of the only Iowa town that is an island.
+ Major highways are: US-52, US-61, US-67, IA-62, and IA-64.
+ Adjacent counties are: Clinton, Dubuque, and Jones.
+ Population peaked in 1880 at 23,771.

For a modern looking courthouse, I don’t hate the Jackson County Courthouse:

The Jackson County Courthouse in Maquoketa, Iowa.

The Jackson County Freedom Rock is located in Bellevue, Iowa:

With Jackson County conquered, here is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:

PURPLE=COMPLETED

63 counties completed. 63.6% of the Cyclone State conquered!

Here are the town signs of Jackson County:

Maquoketa, Iowa
MAQUOKETA
Population: 6,128 (-13)

Bellevue, Iowa
BELLEVUE
Population: 2,363 (+172)

Preston, Iowa
WELCOME TO PRESTON
Population: 949 (-63)

Sabula, Iowa
Welcome to SABULA
Iowa’s Island City
Population: 506 (-70)

Miles, Iowa
WELCOME TO MILES
Population: 408 (-37)

Andrew, Iowa
Welcome to the Heart of Jackson County
ANDREW
Population: 380 (-54)

La Motte, Iowa
WELCOME TO LA MOTTE
Population: 237 (-23)

Monmouth, Iowa
Monmouth Co-Ed 4-H Welcomes You
Population: 129 (-24)

Springbrook, Iowa
EST. 1906
Springbrook
Population: 143 (-1)

St. Donatus, Iowa
ST. DONATUS
Population: 120 (-15)

Baldwin, Iowa
WELCOME TO BALDWIN
Population: 99 (-10)

Spragueville, Iowa
THE SPRAGUEVILLE COMMUNITY WELCOMES YOU
FOUNDED 1841
Lauren Sprague
“DOWN BY THE OLD MILL STREAM”
Population: 92 (+11)

It should be noted that Zwingle is also partially in Jackson County, but it is mostly in Dubuque County, so I will share that sign when we get to Dubuque County.

Jackson County is not a great collection of town signs. Mostly a lot of tombstone looking signs. It is very disappointing, considering that Jackson County is a very beautiful County. I love Bellevue and Saint Donatus and Maquoketa as towns, but they all have terrible signs. But I would have to give the worst sign to Monmouth, which is more a 4-H sign than a town sign.

There are a few town signs in Jackson County I do like though. Andrew is solid. As is Spragueville, but I’m giving the purple ribbon to La Motte.

La Motte – Best in Show – Jackson County

Preston is the only town sign with an alternate town sign.

Preston – Alternate

Here is the current list of Best in Shows:

Best in Show – Adair County

Best in Show – Adams County

Best in Show – Audubon County

Best in Show – Benton County

Best in Show – Boone County

Best in Show – Bremer County

Best in Show – Buena Vista County

Best in Show – Butler County

Best in Show – Calhoun County

Best in Show – Carroll County

Best in Show – Cass County

Best in Show – Cedar County

Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County

Best in Show – Clarke County

Best in Show – Clinton County

Best in Show – Crawford County

Best in Show – Dallas County

Best in Show – Decatur County

Best in Show – Franklin County

Best in Show – Fremont County

Best in Show – Greene County

Best in Show – Grundy County

Best in Show – Guthrie County

Best in Show – Hamilton County

Best in Show – Hancock County

Best in Show – Hardin County

Best in Sow – Harrison County

Best in Show – Humboldt County

Best in Show – Ida County

Best in Show – Iowa County

Best in Show – Jackson County

Best in Show – Jasper County

Best in Show – Jones County

Best in Show – Kossuth County

Best in Show – Linn County

Best in Show – Lucas County

Best in Show – Madison County

Best in Show – Mahaska County

Best in Show – Marion County

Best in Show – Marshall County

Best in Show – Mills County

Best in Show – Monona County

Best in Show – Monroe County

Best in Show – Montgomery County

Best in Show – Page County

Best in Show – Palo Alto County

Best in Show – Pocahontas County

Best in Show – Polk County

Best in Show – Pottawattamie County

Best in Show – Poweshiek County

Best in Show – Ringgold County

Best in Show – Sac County

Best in Show – Shelby County

Best in Show – Story County

Best in Show – Tama County

Best in Show – Taylor County

Best in Show – Union County

Best in Show – Warren County

Best in Show – Wayne County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Winnebago County

Best in Show – Worth County

Best in Show – Wright County

The next time we hit the open road for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT we will end up in Cherokee County.