Category Archives: Jay

Fisher of Men: Boone Field Work

Today is Andy’s birthday so I have to wish him a happy birthday!


Day 194 - July 13, 2022
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY!

I hope your day is filled with 17 hour old tenderloins!

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It is Lent! During Lent I like to hit a Fish Fry here and there. Which gives me the added benefit of hitting some Catholic churches and checking out what is usually some pretty creepy Catholic art!

On the first Friday of Lent Jay, Jesse, and I hit Sacred Heart in Boone to check out their fish and their creepy art:


Sacred Heart Fish Fry
Every single one of these dudes looks like a serial killer. Especially the guy in the upper left.

Sacred Heart Fish Fry
Is this a serious question? Is Geraldine a super outlandish horse name? Also, nice use of the term “Indians”. Racism isn’t dead.

Sacred Heart Fish Fry
If this kid didn’t die when he was 15 he would have put up H.H. Holmes type numbers.

Sacred Heart Fish Fry
I kind of like this one. Like the world’s largest shrinky dink.

Sacred Heart Fish Fry

Sacred Heart Fish Fry
No pictures of them standing on the corner of Story & US-30 shaking down people for donations.

Sacred Heart Fish Fry
Fish, baked potato, cole slaw, green beans, and a roll. They also offered mac & cheese, but I was able to cut them off before they put that pile of bland on my plate.

Sacred Heart Fish Fry

Sacred Heart Fish Fry

Sacred Heart Fish Fry

Sacred Heart Fish Fry

Sacred Heart Fish Fry

Sacred Heart Fish Fry

Sacred Heart Fish Fry

Sacred Heart Fish Fry

Sacred Heart Fish Fry
Gave a kid a $5 donation for this brownie. It was worth it.

Sacred Heart Fish Fry
We closed that Fish Fry down. Which is cooler than closing down the bar in my book.

Sacred Heart Fish Fry

Sacred Heart Fish Fry

The verdict? It was a darn good fish fry. I would definitely hit it on the regular if I wasn’t trying to hit all different fish fries this Lent.

Here is the update on my efforting to live a healthier lifestyle. I guess the big development is that I have joined a gym. I joined Planet Fitness in Ames. Although with my membership I can go to any Planet Fitness in the world. I am a little leery of joining a gym in a different town, but I don’t really like either gym in Boone and my tentative gym plan isn’t super ambitious. I mostly want to hit it twice a week. Once after working in Ames and then once again on weekends. I mostly plan to use it to do some HIIT workouts. Maybe some weightlifting. It seems like a good fit cause Brandon goes there and I think I got a deal by being referred by Elizabeth. Or she got a deal. Somebody got a deal and that is all that matters. Now I’m thirsty for some Deal’s Orchard apple cider! Adding the fitness watch and the gym membership are really the 2 big changes. I don’t know of any else that I’m planning to add in the future. Okay, I’m considering buying a smart scale. But we will see.

I have taken to posting some highlights from my daily walks on Snapchat. I really only send those to my Top 8 Snapchat Friends. That is currently Elizabeth, Fran, Brandon, Logan, Sabas, Alexis, Nathanial, and Micky. I have substantial Streaks with 7 of them. I mean maybe they don’t want to get them, but that is the burden of being one of my Top 8 Snapchat friends.

But if you are feeling left out and want to get Snaps from the thrilling world of me walking, let me know and I can send them to you as well. Maybe someday you will be able to squeeze into my Top 8 friends as dictated by the Snapchat algorithm.

I don’t have really any interesting statistics from Noom this week. I was going to try to dig up the statistic on how eating eggs for breakfast increases weight loss, but that was a couple weeks back and suddenly seems like a lot of work. So just take my word for it. Eating eggs for breakfast helps with increased weight loss because they can boost metabolic activity and increase satiety.

This week’s Noom lessons were mostly about how exercise doesn’t really help you lose weight. Mostly cause people overestimate how many calories exercise burns and then justify overeating because they think they burned more calories than they did. While exercise might not help you lose weight, it does help you maintain weight and exercise definitely makes you healthier. And your ultimate goal shouldn’t be to lose weight, exactly. It should be to be healthier and exercise is a big part of the healthier lifestyle.

That being said, I did lose some weight this week. I am down another 2.3 pounds. 14.7 pounds since I started Noom about 5 weeks ago. 51 pounds since January 1 of 2023.

But weight isn’t the only way to measure improvement. It is just the easiest way to measure cause you can stand on a scale every morning. So a couple less directly measurable results are that I’ve been going through my closet to downsize my extensive clothing collection. I definitely fit into some shirts better that I haven’t worn in a long time. While I am a well documented fashionista and twice recognized as the best dressed man at the Computer Mine (in my head at least) the one result that I have found most meaningful to me is my photo backpack. When I first purchased it the bottom strap, the strap that goes around my waist, it would buckle, but it definitely didn’t like it. I didn’t like it. People that saw me probably didn’t like it. It definitely dug into my sides. Now I can cinch it up. Maybe not a lot. Maybe an inch. Maybe two. Maybe just several millimeters. But it is definitely an improvement.

Next Sunday’s food adventure will involve a local barbecue joint. I swear it this time!

WPC – WEEK 441 – LEADING LINES

Today is Micky’s birthday so I have to wish him a happy birthday:


June 22
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICKY!

I hope your birthday is filled with all the outdoorsman adventures you can handle!

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It is the last Monday of the month and on the last Monday of the month I like to revisit our Frequently Asked Questions. Who asks these questions? I mostly ask them of myself. But that isn’t a Frequently Asked Question. These are:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

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 10 photographers that participate regularly that have won a photography award of some kind.

Is this a competition?
NO. It is a challenge. There are no winners and losers. Well the people that don’t participate are losers.

Is there a limit to the number of submissions I can have each week?

Yes. That limit is 2. If you send me more than 2, I will post the first 2 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 I start to average like 45 participants a week, I will lower the limit to 1.

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 every week. 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.

Do I have to wait until Monday morning to submit?

Absolutely not! In fact (AND CAN’T EMPATHIZE THIS ENOUGH) I appreciate the submissions that make it to me by Sunday evening. Makes the job of putting this together on Monday morning much easier!

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 widest point, but don’t ban smaller pictures at this point. But don’t tempt me!

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. In fact, I appreciate you letting me know where a picture was taken. If you don’t let me know, I will assume the picture was taken in the state you live in.

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.

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LEADING LINES! They lead somewhere, but did they lead to being a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, February 19, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Mary Green – 1 week
2-Susanna Funk – 1 week
3-Stehanie Kim – 1 week
4-Becky Parmelee – 1 week (2)
5-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 2 weeks (2)
6-Deanna McClain – 2 weeks
7-Willy McAlpine – 3 weeks (2)
8-Sara Lockner – 5 weeks
9-Monica Jennings – 5 weeks
10-Suzie Brannen – 7 weeks (2)
11-Lowell Davis – 7 weeks
12-Michelle Haupt – 7 weeks
13-Alexis Stensland – 7 weeks (2)
14-Brandon Kahler – 8 weeks
15-Scott Degeneffe – 26 weeks (2)
16-Sabas Hernandez – 27 weeks
17-Mike Vest – 32 weeks
18-Sheri Fakhouri – 36 weeks
19-Logan Kahler – 37 weeks
20-Nathanial Brown – 38 weeks
21-Jesse Howard – 38 weeks (2)
22-Tamara Peterson – 41 weeks
23-Mindi Terrell – 53 weeks (2)
24-Linda Bennett – 82 weeks (2)
25-Sarah Toot – 83 weeks (2)
26-Angie DeWaard – 87 weeks
27-Dawn Krause – 91 weeks (2)
28-Kim Barker – 97 weeks
29-Joe Duff – 98 weeks (2)
30-Teresa Kahler – 109 weeks (2)
31-Carla Stensland – 109 weeks
32-Micky Augustin – 111 weeks
33-Andy Sharp – 112 weeks
34-Bill Wentworth – 113 weeks
35-Cathie Morton – 117 weeks
36-Elizabeth Nordeen – 118 weeks
37-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 120 weeks
38-Kio Dettman – 122 weeks (2)

Reminder. Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:


1. The picture must 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 and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM next Monday.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.

There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.
3. Sometimes, for special people, for special circumstances, we can negotiate something.

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


WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 123 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley (Summerset Trail – North of Indianola, Iowa) – 121 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 119 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - CATHIE MORTON
Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 118 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 114 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 113 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin (Beardshear Hall – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa) – 112 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland (Brookside Park – Ames, Iowa) – 110 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland (Iowa)

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler (Lagomarcino Hall – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa) – 110 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - JOE DUFF
Joe Duff (Houston, Texas) – 99 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 98 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 92 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause (Bandorama – Boone High School – Boone, Iowa)

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 88 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - SARAH TOOT
Sarah Toot (Ludlow, Vermont) – 84 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - LINDA BENNETT
Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 83 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - MINDI TERRELL
Mindi Terrell (Terra Park – Johnston, Iowa) – 54 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - MINDI TERRELL
Mindi Terrell (Terra Park – Johnston, Iowa)

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson (Mayo Clinic – Rochester, Minnesota) – 42 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - NATHANIAL BROWN
Nathanial Brown (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) – 39 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - JESSE HOWARD
Jesse Howard (The Waterfront – Ankeny, Iowa) – 39 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 38 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - SHERI FAKHOURI
Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 37 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - SHERI FAKHOURI
Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa)

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 33 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - SABAS HERNANDEZ
Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 28 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - SCOTT DEGENEFFE
Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 27 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - SCOTT DEGENEFFE
Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa)

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - BRANDON KAHLER
Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 9 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt (Iowa) – 8 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - LOWELL DAVIS
Lowell Davis (Bandorama – Boone High School – Boone, Iowa) – 8 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - SUZIE BRANNEN
Suzie Brannen (Clive, Iowa) – 8 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - SUZIE BRANNEN
Suzie Brannen (Clive, Iowa)

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - ALEXIS STENSLAND
Alexis Stensland (Boone County, Iowa) – 8 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - ALEXIS STENSLAND
Alexis Stensland (Iowa)

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - SARA LOCKNER
Sara Lockner (Des Moines, Iowa) – 6 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - MONICA JENNINGS
Monica Jennings (Boone, Iowa) – 6 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - WILLY MCALPINE
Willy McAlpine (Ledges State Park – Boone County, Iowa) – 4 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - MARY GREEN
Mary Green (Michigan) – 2 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - MARY GREEN
Mary Green (Michigan)

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - STEPANIE KIM
Stephanie Kim (Downtown Brooklyn – New York City, New York) – 2 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - BECKY PARMELEE
Becky Parmelee (Arkansas) – 2 weeks

WPC - WEEK 441 - LEADING LINES - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett (McHose Park – Boone, Iowa)

36 participants! That is a slight dip from the previous weeks, but still a pretty great week!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Michigan
+ Nebraska
+ New York
+ South Dakota
+ Texas
+ Vermont

Thanks to the travels of Sarah, we added Vermont to the list!

Here is the Year 11 list of states where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each state):

+ Arkansas (3)
+ California (1)
+ Colorado (2)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Iowa (307)
+ Kansas (12)
+ Michigan (4)
+ Minnesota (1)
+ Missouri (1)
+ Nebraska (10)
+ New York (5)
+ Pennsylvania (6)
+ South Dakota (2)
+ Texas (15)
+ Vermont (1)

15 states so far! No bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple states:

+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX)
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT)
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO)
+ Mary Green (MI, IA)
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN)
+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD)

Sarah has trimmed Jen’s lead down to 1 state to be crowned the Queen of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Travel! I’ll keep workshopping that name.

There were no major milestones this week, but there are some big ones coming up!

There were some sad times though. Susanna couldn’t build on last week’s submission and her streak is over before it began. Jen and Deanna’s streaks both ended at 2.

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:


WEEK 442 - ROAD TRIP
ROAD TRIP

ROAD TRIP! What a great them for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE! One of my favorite themes every year. Since I’m pretty sure several of you are shut-ins, I like to see some of you actually leave the house now and again. Although I’ve mentally prepared myself for pictures of toy cars.

I look forward to your interpretation!

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 ROAD TRIP in this place in this place that is at least a trip on its best days next Monday.

Tenderloining: Boone Food Truck Field Work

Last Sunday I reported that I was out of food adventures to… uhh… report? Then on Saturday one just kind of fell into my lap*. A tenderloin food truck came to Boone. I’m not hitting the tenderloins hard, as they do fly in the face of my eating healthy journey, but I’m budgeting to eat about 1 a month. Since I had zero in January and it had been 2 months since I’ve had a tenderloin, my favorite enabler said I should do it. And I listen to people when they tell me exactly what I want to hear.

On the positive, a tenderloin actually isn’t super unhealthy. It is a healthy cut of meat. The real problem is that it is fried. The bun also doesn’t help much. The fries I ate as a side were way unhealthier than the tenderloin. Probably. I’m not a food scientist. I just play one on the interwebs. But there are no “red foods”. Only “green foods”, “yellow foods”, and “orange foods”.

I met Jay up there after a trip out to Wally World to pick up a new record, some pastel paper, and a Lego set.**

Jay got their pulled pork as he is not a fan of tenderloins.

Here are some pictures:


Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins
I’ve never heard of this brand of condiments.

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins
Assist to Jay for holding the box open in the wind.

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins
Picture by Jay.

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins
Picture by Jay.

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins
Picture by Jay.

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins

Tenderloining - Triple B's Tenderloins

On a technical note, these images are the first foodtography images I’ve taken (well for mass public consumption) since I switched from the Pixel 5 to the Pixel Pro 8.

But you probably care more about the food.

The Good for starters:

+ The fries really hit the spot. Maybe it was because they were the first fried food I’ve had since… well it has been a minute. Unless you count air fried foods. Then it hasn’t been all that long. Unless kolaches are fried. If that is the case, the first fried food since I ate a poppyseed kolache 4 hours earlier***.
+ The tenderloin was a good thickness.
+ The bun-meat ratio was right on.

The Bad:

+ The breading on the tenderloining was salty. Not to a point where it was inedible, but definitely to a point where you knew it was there and you didn’t love it.
+ Jay said his pulled pork was also very salty. Still good but too salty.

The Ugly:

+ Scottie D. and his crew went up there shortly after we did. He was not impressed with the food safety of the crew working the joint. He noted a decided lack of gloves. Their tenderloins tasted like plastic. He said they definitely had a decided plastic aftertaste. I definitely didn’t experience that and I’m not sure what would even cause that. I did not observe the cooks at work. Jay did the ordering and I just mostly stood back and waited, wondering why it was so much colder in the Dollar General parking lot than it had been on the High Trestle Trail just a few hours earlier. Jay did note that he saw some plastic gloves blowing around (so they did have them) and it is just speculation that maybe some of those blew into a fryer.

The Final Verdict:

+ I wouldn’t eat there again. I mean I would if I hit a small town festival and they were the only food truck there, I would imbibe, but I definitely would not go out of my way to eat there and if I saw them serving up grub on the side of the road I would just drive by.

I don’t exactly have another food adventure in the hopper, but I have a sorta food adventure that I am considering.

* Teresa gets the finder’s credit for letting me know there was a food truck setting up shop.
** Teresa also gets the finder’s credit for finding this sweet Lego set that you build into a film camera.
*** You want to see a picture of the kolache don’t you? I took one, but it stays between me and my Czech friends. Better luck next kolache.

Birthday Hikin’

When I celebrated my birthday with Jesse and Jay it was actually a split affair. We celebrated my birthday and Jay’s birthday. We played miniature golf for me. Then Jay chose the restaurant. We ate at a Mexican restaurant in Granger. I took pictures and was going to make it a Sunday food adventure entry, but I found it a little hard to quantify. Then we went to Picket Fence Creamery and got ice cream. Then for the pièce de résistance, we made the hike to the High Trestle Trail Bridge. It was Jay’s first ever trip to the bridge. So while that may have been more for Jay, making this happen was definitely for me.

Some of the pictures here might confuse. Some of you might think they are HDR. Some might think they are Photoshopped. They are neither.

Here they are:


High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip
The 1st Step!

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

High Trestle Trail - Jay's 1st Trip

Every trip to the High Trestle Trail Bridge is a great trip. Now that Jay has been to the bridge there is only one person left that I badly want to make a trip there. But that is probably a pipe dream. But if I have to smoke opium to make it happen, I guess that is what has to happen.

A Miniature Birthday

Last year the only real birthday celebration I had was playing miniature golf with Jesse and Jay at Jester Park. I’m not old and unathletic enough to play real golf yet. Maybe I’ll get there in the next few years, but until then the occasional stroll around a miniature golf course is good enough for me.

Here are some pictures from the day:


Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Birthday Miniature Golf

Jesse came out as the victor. Jay finished last. I look forward to playing miniature golf again this year. Maybe.

Calendar Favorites

Today is Lowell’s birthday so I need to wish him a happy birthday!


Day 138 - May 18, 2022
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOWELL!

If you don’t know, Lowell is not Kim and is not the tall guy.

It is one of my most profoundest birthday wishes that today is a good day.

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This is one of my favorite posts of the year. To share what people said was their favorite calendar image from the 2024 Photography 139 Calendar. There is still 1 calendar left to distribute, but I don’t know when that will happen. I got a response back from most people I gave a calendar to. Some people must have just immediately thrown it in the garbage and never given it a second thought. But that’s okay. Maybe opens up new calendar recipients for 2025…*

Some of these picture below are of different people in the same family that got one calendar, in case you are wondering if I gave, say 6 calendars to the Baiers.

Here we go:

FRONT COVER
2024 Calendar Favorites
Brandon Kahler

2024 Calendar Favorites
Nora Yoon

JANUARY
2024 Calendar Favorites
Jay Janson

2024 Calendar Favorites
Jen Ensley-Gorshe

2024 Calendar Favorites
Sabas Hernandez

2024 Calendar Favorites
Sara Lockner

FEBRUARY
2024 Calendar Favorites
Jesse Howard

2024 Calendar Favorites
Kevin Krause

2024 Calendar Favorites
Layla Gorshe

2024 Calendar Favorites
Olivia Baier

MARCH
2024 Calendar Favorites
Andree Jauhari

2024 Calendar Favorites
Andy Sharp

2024 Calendar Favorites
Bill Wentworth

2024 Calendar Favorites
J.J. Baier

2024 Calendar Favorites
Kim Barker

2024 Calendar Favorites
Russ Kahler

2024 Calendar Favorites
Scott Degeneffe

2024 Calendar Favorites
Will Baier

2024 Calendar Favorites
Willy McAlpine

APRIL
2024 Calendar Favorites
Colleen Hobe

2024 Calendar Favorites
Joe Duff

2024 Calendar Favorites
Michelle Haupt

2024 Calendar Favorites
Monica Jennings

2024 Calendar Favorites
Teresa Kahler

MAY

2024 Calendar Favorites
Ben Baier

2024 Calendar Favorites
Fran Duncan

2024 Calendar Favorites
Beck Gorshe

2024 Calendar Favorites
Jason Carpenter

JUNE

2024 Calendar Favorites
Carrie Baier

2024 Calendar Favorites
Logan Kahler

2024 Calendar Favorites
Mike Vest

JULY

2024 Calendar Favorites
Jason Baier

2024 Calendar Favorites
Russell Kennerly

AUGUST WAS UNIVERSALLY UNLOVED

SEPTEMBER

2024 Calendar Favorites
Becky Parmelee

2024 Calendar Favorites
Elizabeth Nordeen

OCTOBER

2024 Calendar Favorites
Alexis Stensland

2024 Calendar Favorites
Derrick Gorshe

2024 Calendar Favorites
Jorge Rios

NOVEMBER

2024 Calendar Favorites
Carla Stensland

2024 Calendar Favorites
Elainie Hernandez

2024 Calendar Favorites
Jeanette Duff

2024 Calendar Favorites
Johnathan Stensland

2024 Calendar Favorites
Kio Dettman

2024 Calendar Favorites
Melissa Degeneffe

2024 Calendar Favorites
Nader Parsaei

DECEMBER

2024 Calendar Favorites
Anders Runestad

2024 Calendar Favorites
Dawn Krause

That is it. I’m done writing about the calendar until the next one comes out!

*This is facetious.

‘Cause Someday I’ll Be Everything to Somebody Else

Time to clean out the April backlog. Lots of pictures that didn’t quite make their way into previous “An Artist’s Notebook” entries. Including some that were alternates for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE and some that were taken in Jester Park and some at the end of a flowertography road trip. And some that include Naima.


Dickcissel with Naima

Dickcissel with Naima

Dickcissel with Naima

Dickcissel with Naima

Dickcissel with Naima

April Movie Night

Jester Park Elk

Jester Park Elk

Jester Park Elk

Jester Park Elk

Jester Park Elk

Jester Park Elk

Jester Park Elk

Jester Park Elk

Jester Park Elk

Jester Park Elk

Jester Park Elk

Lucas County

Lucas County

Lucas County

Lucas County

Lucas County

Lucas County

It always feels good when the backlog gets a little more cleaned out!

Post 5,005

I need to start this milestone post by wishing Elainie a happy birthday!


Day 57 - February 26, 2022
Happy birthday Elainie!

I hope your birthday is amazing!!

+++++++

Today is also Layla’s birthday!


Day 278 - October 5, 2021
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAYLA!

I hope you have an awesome birthday!

+++++++

Can you believe that this is the 5,005th entry in the blog known as “An Artist’s Notebook”? Every 250 posts or so I like to take a moment to reflect on where this post has been and post a lot of meaningless stats. I meant to post this post on Sunday night when it would have been Post #5,000, but you know how my week went. Not great.

As always on these posts, I like to start by quoting the very first “An Artist’s Notebook” entry that published on August 9, 2006. That first post that published 6,296 days.

That post that started with these words:

So here is the first journal entry. I felt like having as pretentious sounding name as possible for my journal. I have a few goals about this journal. My main goal is just to actually write in it. My second goal is to be as truthful as possible towards my true thoughts and feelings. I have another journal on another website, but it is really just a collection of sarcastic statements and cheap jabs at open faced sandwiches. This journal is meant to be about what my achievements and failures are in the world of art. What projects I am working on and what I have accomplished and what I have failed to accomplish. What I am photographing and what I am thinking about entering in photo contests. What I am thinking about. It might not always make sense. It might just be things I need to write down because they strike me as poignant or inspirational. This is in a small way an online “idea box”.

Since those words, I have posted 5,005 journal entries. (Normally I would do this little exercise on post #4,750, but I was in Vegas at that time.) This website is still something of an “idea box”. Sometimes I’m just working stuff out here. I don’t know why, sometimes I need to work stuff out in public. But this website is definitely more than just an “idea box”. It is a place where I post a few thoughts and a ton of pictures. I’ve gone through a few photo projects on these pages. From THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT to the 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT to THE SELFIE PROJECT to the POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT to name just a few. This website has also created a community with THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Which is one of my proudest achievements. Even if it sputtered and spit and barely survived in its first few years.

5,005 posts. I can’t even measure the elevation changes my life have taken since then. Major ups. Major downs. Peaks and valleys. 5,005 posts and I vow to keep on chugging along.

On these reflective posts, I like to publish a bunch of statistics that me and Joe Duff find interesting. So I might as well get to it.

Every post in “An Artist’s Notebook” is tagged with at least one Category. It is one of the easiest ways to navigate around the website. They are listed at the top of each post. Here are some statistics about Categories:

THE TOP 10 MOST USED CATEGORIES (RANK IN POST #4757 & INCREASE SINCE THEN)
10. Carla – 582 (#8 – +52)
9. Teresa – 590 (#9 – +65)
8. Road Trip – 611 (#6 – +42)
7. Macro – 627 (#10 – +132)
6. Formal Portrait – 638 (NR)
5. Jesse – 684 (#4 – +54)
4. Art – 744 (#5 – +122)
3. Animals – 790 (#3 – +65)
2. Flowers – 958 (#2 – +77)
1. Black & White – 1,212 (#1 – +220)

Dropping from the from the Top 10 was Shannon, a category that was #7 in Post #4757.

The 5 categories that have the best shot at making the Top 10 in Post #5,250 are Shannon, Nature, WPC-Submissions, and Candid Portrait.

It should be noted that some of these increases are caused by my working on the categories on some older posts.

THE TOP 10 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Photoshop – 432 (#10 – +43)
9. Candid Portrait – 475 (NR)
8. Nature – 538 (+101 – #8)
7. Road Trip – 611 (#5 – +42)
6. Macro – 627 (#6 – +132)
5. Formal Portrait – 638 (#8 – +191)
4. Art – 744 (#5 – +122)
3. Animals – 790 (#3 – +65)
2. Flowers – 958 (#2 – +77)
1. Black & White – 1,212 (#1 – +220)

WPC-Submission fell out of the Top 10. It was ranked #7 in Post #4757.

The categories that are just right outside of the Top 10 are Still Life, Naima, History, and Self-Portrait and Christianity.

THE TOP 10 HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Vest – 350 (NR)
9. Jay – 353 (#6 – +5)
8. Micky – 359 (NR)
7. Logan – 380 (#9 – +61)
6. Kim – 395 (#7 – +53)
5. Mom – 464 (#5 – +6)
4. Shannon – 576 (#2 – +37)
3. Carla – 582 (#3 – +52)
2. Teresa – 590 (#4 – +65)
1. Jesse – 684 (#1 – +54)

Dropping from the rankings was Willy and Derrick.

The categories that have the best shot at cracking the next Top 10 are Willy, Derrick, Jen, Andy, and Sara.

If you are wondering what is your best way to improve your Photography 139 Score and crack the Top 10, it is simply to be active in THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE or go on trips with me or participate in various other photo projects or be related to me. Now these aren’t necessarily the 10 people that have influenced my photography the most, but these are the 10 people that have made the largest imprint on this website.

I can tell you the people that have influenced my photography the most, but that is a tale for another time. But I’m pretty sure you can guess who.

If you have spent any time on the Photography 139 website, you know that on the left sidebar, the “Top 100 Categories” are listed. I thought I would give a little bit of coverage to the Bottom 10 of the Top 100. There are currently 203 categories used on the website. I could cover the Bottom 10, but they are mostly people that either very recently came into the life of this website by birth (Jonah Kahler) or another way (Nathanial, Mindi, Fran). Or people that I thought would be a bigger part of my life and then weren’t. No need to cover those people. The Category that is #203 probably needs to be purged.


THE BOTTOM 10 OF THE TOP 100

#10. Andree – 77
#10. Flat Earth Joe – 77
#10. Self-Portrait Project – 77
#9. Photo Journal – 79
#8. Commercial – 83
#7. Sabas – 84
#6. Becca – 89
#3. Pufferbilly Days – 91
#3. Pastor Sarah – 91
#3. House – 91
#1. Faust – 92
#1. Writing – 92

The following categories have either fallen out of the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 or climbed out of it:
Kelly, Lowell, and Suzie.

The following categories have the best shot at dropping back into the Bottom 10 of the Top 10:
Sarah Toot, Lowell, Suzie, Russell, and Nate

The following categories have the best shot at climbing up into the Bottom 10 of the Top 10:
Layla, Kelly, Vacation, Saydie, and Kalista

“An Artist’s Notebook” is part of Photography 139. The 139 comes from Psalm 139:1-12. The Photography part comes from the fact this website is supposed to be filled with photography. So, what are the most popular photo galleries on the Photography 139 website? Glad you asked:

TOP 10 PHOTOGRAPHY 139 PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERIES (LAST 365 DAYS)

To View the Gallery, Click on its Representative Image

Now I don't want your sympathy
10. Naima – 64,796 views

Tenderloin Trail 2.0 - Stumble Inn
9. Tenderloining – 75,558 views

9 Emotions Project - Elainie
8. 9 Emotions Project – 81,405 views

Day 267 - September 24, 2022
7. Selfie-Project – 2022 – 88,632 views

Rodan139: Water Works Park
6. Drone – 99,708 views

WEEK 364 - COLORFUL - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
5. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 9 – 108,852 views

Anita, Iowa
4. Town Sign Project – 118,563 views

Las Vegas, Nevada
3. Las Vegas 2023 – 169,257 views

Plymouth County - Le Mars
2. Town Sign Project Auxiliary Images – 219,546 views

WEEK 414 - ART - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
1. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 10 – 323,781 views

Galleries that fell out of the Top 10 are:
Christopher D. Bennett, Miami Beach, Jayton Poole, and Alexis Pregnancy Photo Shoot – 2020

Galleries that fell just outside of the Top 10 are:
Sleeping Angels – 2023, Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 6, Photo Journal Rejects, Iowa State Cyclones Football – 2008, and Christopher D. Bennett.

But what are the most popular single images of the last 365 days? Don’t worry, I’m gonna feed you baby birds.

Top 10 Photography 139 Images

Sleeping Angels Fun Run - 2023
10. Sleeping Angels Fun Run – 2,772 views

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022
9. Maven’s Birthday Party – 2022 – 2,820 views

Community Thanksgiving - 2022
8. Boone FUMC Thanksgiving – 2022 – 3,073 views

Color the Wind - 2023
7. Color the Wind – 2023 – 3,149 views

Celtic Dancing - Renaissance Fair - 2022
6. Renaissance Fair – 2022 – 3,302 views

Fran & Pepper - 2022
5. Fran and Pepper – 3,687 views

World Food Festival - 2022
4. World Food Festival – 2022 – 3,754 views

Howards - 2022
3. Howards – 2022 – 3,976 views

Boone County Fair Barbecue Contest - 2023
2. 2023 Barbecue Contests – 4,168 views

2023 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship Game
1. Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship – 18,045 views

If you are interested in checking out some of the milestone posts of the past, I got you. Click on any of the links below to check them out:

Post 1
Post 750
Post 850
Post 1,000
Post 1,101
Post 1,200
Post 1,447
Post 1,718
Post 2,500
Post 3,000
Post 3,252
Post 3,751
Post 4,000
Post 4,250
Post 4,500
Post 4,757

I think that is enough. We will check back in, in another 245 posts.

Food Truckin’: Boone County Fair Field Work

On the Friday of the Boone County Fair, I went out there with Jay and Willy for supper. I’m a big fan of the grinder and I found a food truck called Off the Griddle serving a variety of the sandwich, so I thought I would give them a try.

Here are some pictures:


Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

I can say that service was very friendly, but it was INCREDIBLY slow. It is not an exaggeration to say that I waited well over 15 minutes before I got my food. I ordered my food at the same time as Willy. He got his food and had eaten it, cleaned up his mess, and began to think about what he wanted to dessert before I even remotely saw my food. It is also not an exaggeration to say that double digit people that ordered after me got their food before me. I was fairly certain that they had completely forgot about my order.

When I finally got my food and went back to the table to eat it, by myself, since it took so freaking long, the food was okay. It was what those of us in the grinder biz say. NJGG. Not Jennie’s Grinders Grinder. But in fairness, the only thing that has ever approached it is Mema’s Grinders.

The verdict on Off the Griddle is that it was okay. I would never pursue it. If it was at a place and it was the only food truck there I would eat there, but I wouldn’t get the grinder again. Maybe go for the Philly Cheesesteak.

To washdown the grinder I went to Hawaii Grill for a Lotus Refresher:


Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

Food Truckin': Boone County Fair Field Work

They made me an off-menu drink that was incredible. The kid that designed it was very proud of it and he should have been. I would have knocked down about 4 or 5 of them, if they weren’t crazy expensive for such a small drink. However, the drink definitely redeemed the meal.

Next Sunday’s meal will cover all the food I ate at the Iowa State Fair!

Like A Big Pizza Pie: Homework

Recently I was given a gift of a Ooni Pizza Oven. Jesse felt some kind of obligation to give me something for letting him crash at my place for a few months last year. Completely unnecessary, but I won’t turn down the pizza oven.

One night Jay (who is a pizza chef of some note), Jesse (a pizza eater of some note), and I (also a pizza eater of some note) got together to take it for its maiden voyage.

Because we didn’t really know what we were doing, I tried to make it fairly easy and maybe went too low end on one of the ingredients.

Here are some pictures from the maiden voyage:



It is wood fired, but it can be modified to also run on propane.


The fire is at the back of the oven.


While I was making the pizzas up, Jay got the fire going with some old matches.


Good fire makes good pizza.


Pizza 1: Sausage, hamburger, white onions, red onions, mushrooms, and green peppers.


Inside the belly of the beast.


We badly underestimated how quickly it cooks. Lesson 1. Turn pizza at the 1 minute mark or under.


Pizza 2: Really more of the same.


Also learned to lubricate the peel to make it easier to turn the pizza.


Pizza 2 a touch burnt, but still delicious.

My one real regret with the ingredients for the maiden voyage was that because I was trying to make everything quick and easy, I went too low end on the sauce. I got Hy-Vee pizza sauce and it is trash. It is runny and bland tasting. Even after I tried to church it up a bit by mixing in some Italian seasoning.

I have a really good sauce recipe from some family friends that I’ll have to crack out someday. I also have their crust recipe as well.

Anyways, if you ask nicely, I may invite you over for pizza some night. I also have a tentative plan to take it camping some time. I just haven’t found the right camping trip yet.

Next Sunday’s food adventure is more of an endorsement. An endorsement that doesn’t need to be made. But I’m going to make anyways.