Since Easter is tomorrow, thought I would share some pictures from Christmas. I spent the day with Teresa’s family and unfortunately didn’t get to see Carla’s family as they were down with the COVID. Maybe next year.
Here are a few photos:
I hope everybody has as good of a Christmas as I did and I hope all of you also have a great Easter as well!
A couple months back Jesse and I hit the open road and ended up at The Feed Mill Restaurant in Audubon, Iowa. It was the 9th stop (technically 10th – but I’ll cover that) on the Tenderloin Trail 2.0. Leaving me just one stamp short of earning my Tenderloin Trail 2.0 shirt!
Despite being one of the closer Tenderloin Trail 2.0 restaurant stops to Boone, I didn’t know if I was ever going to be able to cross this one off the list. Their hours are pretty awful. They are only open a few hours a week. Which is too bad, because their food is excellent!
The Feed Mill Restaurant is inside Waspy’s Truck Stop and that gas station itself has really good food. There are two Waspy’s. One in Audubon and another in Templeton. If you are in the area, I think it is worth the stop. But you know me, I’m partial to food in gas stations. Casey’s Pizza. The Filling Station in Madrid. The Filling Station in Ames. Joe’s in Kansas City. You get the point.
Here are some pictures from the outing:
As you know, in addition to being a noted tenderloin fiend, I also love me a great cheese curd. Fried or otherwise. If I remember correctly their cheese curds were muenster. It made a fine cheese curd, but it wasn’t decidedly different from your standard cheddar cheese curd. So I’m saying it was pretty great!
As for the tenderloin. It was a pretty great tenderloin! Now the question is, would I eat there again? Would I go out of my way to go there? Would I make a special trip to get this tenderloin?
It is a great tenderloin. The problem is that it is just down the street from Darrell’s Place and the Darrell’s Place tenderloin is the O.G. great tenderloin in Iowa. So being put in the situation of having to choose one, if I was in the area, I would choose Darrell’s Place.
That isn’t a reflection on The Feed Mill. Just nothing is Darrell’s Place.
The Feed Mill Restaurant is located at:
2079 US Highway 71
Audubon, Iowa
Located in Waspy’s Truck Stop.
But I’m not done with this post quite yet. Earlier I wrote that this was the 9th Stop on the Tenderloin Trail, but technically the 10th. That is because back in 2022 I visited the Wood Iron Grille in Oskaloosa with Carla and Teresa and knocked down their tenderloin. However, I didn’t have my Passport on me, so I didn’t get it stamped.
You can understand my frustration because it takes 10 stamps (out of 14, but really 13) to get the free shirt. So shortly after my trip to Audubon with Jesse I made a return trip to Oskaloosa with Teresa. With passport firmly in my hands.
I don’t need to cover the Wood Iron Grille tenderloin again, but I thought I could share 2 pictures from that trip:
The passport.
I got my shirt and this letter within a couple weeks of mailing in my Passport:
I’m not going to share a picture of the shirt yet. I have a whole photo session for that worked up in my head. Which means you will probably never get to see it, unless you catch me in the wild wearing it.
However, I would be a poor tenderloin enthusiast if I didn’t thank those people that helped me in fulfilling this dream. An accomplishment that some are calling “the greatest in the history of mankind”. So thanks to everyone who at least sat across from me while I knocked down a tenderloin on this trail:
+ Austin Degeneffe (Iowa Taproom)
+ Porter Degeneffe (Iowa Taproom)
+ Scott Degeneffe (Co-Founder of the Tenderloin Appreciation Society) (Iowa Taproom)
+ Jesse Howard (The Feed Mill, Birdies, Burgers & Brews, and The Pub at Pinicon)
+ Dahlia Kahler (Whatcha Smokin’)
+ Logan Kahler (Whatcha Smokin’)
+ Teresa Kahler (Whatcha Smokin’, Grid Iron Sports Bar & Grille, Stumble Inn, and Wood Iron Grille)
+ Nader Parsaei (Darrell’s Place, Birdie’s Burgers & Brews)
+ Carla Stensland (Wood Iron Grille)
+ Phil Webb (Grid Iron Sports Bar & Grille)
The only stop on the trail I made solo was PrairieMoon on Main.
You might be asking yourself what my future tenderloin plans are since I am eating healthier these days? It is true. I don’t really eat much fried food any more. Really hardly at all. That doesn’t mean tenderloins are off the menu. I have a plan for a more structured tenderloin quest this year. I want to make 1 special tenderloin trip a month. 1st on my list is the reigning 2023 Best Tenderloin at Cliff’s Place in Manning.
I haven’t had this month’s special tenderloin, so I’m going to effort to go to Manning next week and if that doesn’t work out, some place else. Also on my list are the 3 tenderloins on the Tenderloin Trail 2.0 that I haven’t tried. Jethro’s is also on the list, but I’ve had that tenderloin. It isn’t great. Plus my understanding is that the owner of Jethro’s is not a great person and I have limited desire to line his pockets with any of my green. Also on that list is the other finalists from last year. Plus any of the past champions that I haven’t tried.
Drop me a line if you want to go on one of these tenderloin quests. I already have you marked down Michelle. I haven’t forgotten.
The next food adventure I will share will be the last time I ate ice cream. At least I’m pretty sure the last time I ate ice cream.
Time for another collection of images from the Pufferbilly Days Parade:
Still one more collection of photos from the parade left to post.
This year Logan and Amanda hosted the Bennett Family Thanksgiving. I took a few pictures, but not many, but I thought I would share a few of them.
I once again hope all of you had a good to great Thanksgiving!
Today is Dahlia’s birthday so I need to wish her a happy birthday. Happy birthday Dahlia!
Enjoy life without spreadsheets and emails and meetings and call centers and bills and jobs as long as you possibly can!
This is your reminder that if you are interested in entering the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest, the deadline is Friday:
I’ve already heard from a few of you that you are entering and I am excited. Hopefully this is a popular year for the photo contest!
It is the last collection of submissions of the month, so it is a good time revisit the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE FAQ:
What skill level photographer can participate?
THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is open to photographers of all skill levels. From award winning photographers to professionals to the highly ranked amateurs to those that are just beginning to those who don’t even know how to focus a camera. All skill levels are encouraged and welcome. You can’t be too bad and you can’t be too good! Everyone has room to learn and be challenged!
Award winning photographers? Really?
Yes. I can think of at least 7 photographers that participate regularly that have won a photography award of some kind.
Is this a competition?
NO.
Is there a limit to the number of submissions I can have each week?
Yes. That limit is 3. If you send me more than 3, I will post the first 3 that you send. I’m not trying to harsh your photography buzz, but any more than that starts to overwhelm the other submissions and it takes me about 5 minutes to take a picture from my inbox to code it on the website. So I have to manage my workload.
If you are going to submit more than one picture, I strongly urge you to choose completely different subjects for each submission. If you are submitting multiple pictures of the same subject, make sure that each picture is saying something unique.
If participation rates climb, that limit of 3 is subject to lower.
Can I send you several pictures and have you pick the best one?
No! No! NO! If those words come out of your mouth or your keyboard, I consider that to be a non-submission.
Do you ever question whether somebody’s submission fits the theme?
Meh. Only if I think somebody is clearly confusing this week’s theme with last week or next week’s theme. Otherwise, if the submission makes sense in your head, that is good enough for me. However, I would urge you to not try to fit your favorite subject into the theme. This isn’t a challenge to share a picture every week of your kid or your business or your pet. It is a challenge to take pictures of different things every week. Which isn’t to say subjects can’t be repeated, but you shouldn’t become reliant on the same ones.
Why can’t I submit after 11 AM on Mondays if the post doesn’t publish until 12:01 PM?
I go to lunch at 11 AM. I leave my office. I’m not near a computer. At 11 AM I hit “Schedule” and then I go throw food down my throat. 167 hours is more than enough time to send a submission. Okay, 166 hours and 59 minutes. You got me.
Are there resolution requirements for submissions?
I won’t turn down submissions that are too small. I will probably ask you for a picture of greater resolution if it is really small. The typical 4 x 6 image posted to my website has a resolution of 1280 pixels x 853 pixels. While a 400 x 300 image might look okay on your phone, it looks like trash on a computer monitor. I prefer images that are at least 1000 pixels at their largest point, but don’t ban smaller pictures at this point.
What format should my submission be?
.JPG but .PNG also works.
If I write a description of my image will you include that in your post?
No. Photography is art that should stand on its own. Only exception is the SLICE OF LIFE theme. But if you let me know where the picture was taken, I will include that.
When will you start accepting suggestions for next year’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE themes?
I will take suggestions only and ONLY in the comments sections of the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE posts the last week of October and the 1st week of November.
You are probably wondering if you are every going to get to see this week’s submissions. It is one of my GUILTY PLEASURE(s) to make you wait. But were there a ton of people that were willing to share the shame of their GUILTY PLEASURE with all of us? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!
As of 12:01 PM on Monday, July 17, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):
1-Willy McAlpine – 1 week
2-Scott Degeneffe – 2 weeks
3-Mary Green – 2 weeks (3)
4-Mike Vest – 2 weeks
5-Suzie Brannen – 3 weeks
6-Sabas Hernandez – 3 weeks
7-Sheri Fakhouri – 5 weeks
8-Monica Jennings – 6 weeks (2)
9-Logan Kahler – 6 weeks (2)
10-Nathanial Brown – 7 weeks
11-Jesse Howard – 7 weeks
12-Tamara Peterson – 10 weeks
13-Alexis Stensland – 15 weeks (3)
14-Mindi Terrell – 22 weeks (3)
15-Brandon Kahler – 47 weeks
16-Linda Bennett – 51 weeks
17-Sarah Toot – 52 weeks (2)
18-Angie DeWaard – 56 weeks
19-Dawn Krause – 60 weeks
20-Kim Barker – 66 weeks
21-Joe Duff – 67 weeks (2)
22-Teresa Kahler – 78 weeks (2)
23-Carla Stensland – 78 weeks (2)
24-Micky Augustin – 80 weeks
25-Andy Sharp – 81 weeks
26-Bill Wentworth – 82 weeks
27-Cathie Morton – 86 weeks
28-Elizabeth Nordeen – 87 weeks
29-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 89 weeks
30-Kio Dettman – 91 weeks (3)
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:
Shannon Bardole-Foley (Sommerset, Iowa) – 90 weeks
Kim Barker (Iowa) – 67 weeks
Christopher D. Bennett (Boone County Fair – Boone, Iowa)
Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 52 weeks
Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 4 weeks
Nathanial Brown (J.C. Newman Cigar Company – Tampa, Florida) – 8 weeks
Nathanial Brown (John’s Pass – Treasure Island – Florida)
Scott Degeneffe (Near Boone, Iowa) – 3 weeks
Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 92 weeks
Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)
Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 57 weeks
Joe Duff (Texas) – 68 weeks
Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Iowa) – 1 week
Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 6 weeks
Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa)
Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa)
Evie Gorshe (Iowa) – 1 week
Mary Green (Iowa) – 3 weeks
Sabas Hernandez (Clive, Iowa) – 4 weeks
Jesse Howard (Ames, Iowa) – 8 weeks
Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 7 weeks
Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 48 weeks
Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 7 weeks
Logan Kahler (Boone County Fair – Boone, Iowa)
Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 79 weeks
Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)
Dawn Krause (Infamous Ink – Boone, Iowa) – 61 weeks
Sara Lockner (Iowa) – 1 week
Willy McAlpine (Boone, Iowa) – 2 weeks
Cathie Morton (Road to Newton, Iowa) – 87 weeks
Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 88 weeks
Becky Parmelee (Arkansas) – 1 week
Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 11 weeks
Andy Sharp (Iowa) – 82 weeks
Alexis Stensland (Ames, Iowa) – 16 weeks
Alexis Stensland (Ames, Iowa)
Carla Stensland (Iowa) – 79 weeks
Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 23 weeks
Mindi Terrell (Iowa)
Sarah Toot (Maryland) – 53 weeks
Sarah Toot (Maryland)
Sarah Toot (Maryland)
Mike Vest (Iowa) – 3 weeks
Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 83 weeks
35 participants!! WooHoo! Another great week! Nearly tying a record currently held by FLOWER. Lots of guilty people out there! Also exciting is that thanks to Sarah Toot’s travelling ways, we’ve added Maryland to the map!
There were submissions this week taken in the following places:
+ Arkansas
+ Florida
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Maryland
+ Nebraska
+ Texas
Here is the current calendar year list for states:
+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Louisiana
+ Maryland
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ Montana
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ North Carolina
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Tennessee
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Washington
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming
32 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over 60% of the way there!
The Outside of the United States map is currently:
+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico (General)
+ Isla Mujeres, Mexico
+ Riviera Maya, Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
I took my picture about 1 mile from my front door, so I continue not to contribute.
The big milestones this week were Evie had her first submission of the year! WooHoo! Linda joined the 1 Year Streak Club! WooHoo! Another exciting development was that there were no streaks broken this week. WooHoo!
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:
LIQUID! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!
But what exactly is a LIQUID image? Simply put it is an image where the subject or a major compositional element is a LIQUID. And there are so many LIQUID(s) out there. From water to Jones Soda to AE Chocolate Milk to Jagermeister to some kinds of soap to lotion. There are just so many possibilities!
While thinking about possible subjects for LIQUID meditate on the following quote and I have no doubt you will come up with a fascinating image:
Time is liquid. One moment is no more important than any other and all moments quickly run away.
-Kurt Vonnegut
I look forward to your interpretation!
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. There is a limit of 3 submissions per participant. To be considered the photographer, you have to be the one that takes the picture. Don’t be stealing the work of other artists. You can submit pictures for other photographers that took pictures with your camera or phone, but give credit where credit is due.
You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.
That is it. Thems the rules!
That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of GUILTY PLEASURE in this place that will hold only a little bit of judgment on your pleasures next Monday.
Seems like a good time for another backlog cleanup. These images were taken in October of 2022, but never really fit into any other “An Artist’s Notebook” posts. Most of these were taken before the Iowa State-Kansas State football game. A game that Iowa State completely handed away to the eventual conference champions. Last year was absolutely an awful season for Iowa State, but the fact that they lost so many games by so few points, gives one hope for this season.
Here is this backlog collection:
The neighbor lady giving candy to Dahlia unfortunately has dementia. She is the sweetest lady, but because of her memory loss, sometimes she shows up at my house confused and she doesn’t know where she is. It breaks my heart.
Back on Easter I took the drone up for a quick flight in Teresa’s neighborhood to take my submission for ODD CAMERA ANGLE for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Here are some of the other pictures I took, but didn’t use:
The house that was burnt down yesterday is in the upper left hand corner of this picture.
Next time Rodan139 spreads its wings and takes to the sky, it will be in Red Haw State Park.
Seems like a good time to clean up the July backlog. This collection of images was taken in July of last year, but never really found a spot in a previous “An Artist’s Notebook” entry. Some pictures are of a storm. Some are from the Boone County Fair. Some are of a baby bird, or an immature bird. Some are from Dahlia’s birthday party.
Always feels good to get a little bit of that backlog cleared out.
About the time this publishes Iowa’s (yes there is another university in the Cyclone State) women’s basketball team will be tipping off against Louisville for a chance to play in the first Final Four for any Iowa university since 1993. In that year, the Iowa women’s basketball team made it to the Final Four. This is their second Elite Eight since then. The got crushed by Satan, I mean Kim Mulkey and the Baylor Bears 85-53 in 2019.
Since 1993, the only men’s team from the state to make it to the Elite Eight was Iowa State in 2000, but we don’t talk about that Elite Eight game and the fact that they had to play a road game and still would have won the game if it wasn’t for the Blarge… the single worst call in the history of basketball.
The Iowa State women have made the Elite Eight twice. Falling to Georgia in 1999 and Stanford in 2009.
Iowa is lead by Caitlin Clark who will probably win most of the National Player of the Year Awards. She is the best player in Iowa history and she went to West Des Moines Dowling.
I bring up her high school career, because Caitlin Clark will probably go down as the greatest women’s basketball player in the history of the entire state, although that is legitimately hard to say because Iowa girls played 6 on 6 basketball until the 1990s. She might be the greatest player ever and she NEVER won a State Championship. In fact, her senior year, she didn’t even make the State Tournament.
I don’t follow high school sports much unless I know a kid or know a kid’s parent’s or that kid is going to Iowa State. For example, the highest ranked recruit in Iowa State Men’s basketball history lost in the semifinals of the State Tournament this year. The team his team lost to, then lost in the Championship Game to a team that was lead by a kid that is being recruited to Iowa State to play wide receiver and the son of one the greatest men’s basketball players in history. They are both sophomores.
It made me curious about the history of Boone County teams in the State Tournament. Madrid made the tournament for the first time ever this year and they were the first team from Boone County to make the State Tournament since 1988 and the school that made it that year doesn’t even exist any longer. At least not as a high school.
Here is the history of Boone County Schools in the Boys State Tournament:
Boone Toreadors
1919
+ Boone 16 Ames 11
+ Council Bluffs 16 Boone 9
+ Boone 9 Cedar Rapids 7 (Consolation)
1920
+ Boone 23 Council Bluffs 5
+ Boone 17 Grinnell 12
+ Boone 23 Nashua 17
+ Boone 20 Spirit Lake 15
1921
+ Boone 16 Council Bluffs 10
+ Boone 20 Charles City 9
+ Boone 28 Cedar Falls Teachers 23
+ Boone 23 LuVerne 10
1922
+ Boone 16 Columbus Junction 9 (Suck it Jorge!)
+ Boone 16 Union 13
+ Grinnell 30 Boone 14
1926
+ Cedar Rapids Washington 16 Boone 13
+ Boone 19 Webster City 16
+ Newton 23 Boone 21
1927
+ Burlington 21 Boone 18
+ Missouri Valley 18 Boone 10 (Consolation Bracket)
1931
+ Boone 27 Henderson 21
+ Boone 25 Alta 17
+ Boone 16 Des Moines Roosevelt 15
+ Boone 16 Muscatine 11
1948
+ Boone 45 Carroll 41
+ Ankeny 41 Boone 37
1963
+ Storm Lake 48 Boone 47
Boone has not been back since 1963.
Ogden Bulldogs
1952
+ Marion 72 Ogden 42
1979
+ Ackley-Geneva 56 Ogden 55
1982
+ Ogden 65 Buffalo-Center-Rake 62 (OT)
+ Central City 63 Ogden 54
+ Cardinal Stritch, Keokuk 69 Ogden 50 (Consolation)
Haven’t been back since 1982.
Boxholm Swedes also the Blue Stars
1932
+ Boxholm 21 Wellsburg 20
+ Boxholm 15 Cedar Rapids Washington 12
+ Des Moines Roosevelt 27 Boxholm 23
+ Boxholm 31 Livermore 16
Boxholm High School doesn’t exist any longer. After 1957-58 it consolidated with Pilot Mound to form Grand. Which eventually split and was absorbed by Southeast Webster and Ogden.
United Community Comets
1970
+ Tri-Center, Neola 63 United Community 62
1988
+ Wellsburg-Steamboat Rock 70 United Community 41
United Community no long exists as a high school. Until Madrid made it this year, they were the last school to make it to the Boys Basketball Tournament from Boone County. Unless you count Woodward Academy. Which I suppose is technically in Boone County but the town of Woodward is pretty much completely in Dallas County.
I’ll go over Boone County’s Girls Basketball Tournament history at a later date.
The Methodist Men did the grilling and the rest was a potluck. In case you don’t know, Methodists like our potlucks.
Need to start today off by wishing Angie a happy birthday:
I don’t know I’ve seen Angie in person in years, so that is a picture of her pitching Little White Lye Soap.
I hope your birthday has all the mirth that you desire!
I had a good Christmas. I got up and went to church, cause it was on a Sunday. Then I went over to Teresa’s house for homemade pizza. We probably made too many pizzas, but since some were experimental, that was okay. Then I went out to Carla and Jason’s for a bit to watch ALIEN. Or at least the beginning of ALIEN.
Here are some pictures from Teresa’s:
Some of these pictures were taken by Logan.
I hope your Christmas is one you still remember fondly.
