Need to start by wishing Jen a very happy birthday. Happy birthday Jen!
I hope your birthday is as amazing as you want it to be.
Sorry about the lack of iris pictures.
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Time for another and I believe the last collection of tulip pictures for this year. All these tulips were found in my Mom’s yard.
I threw a peony picture in there at the end.
Yesterday I pointed out that Pufferbilly Days was cancelled. Yesterday the Farm Progress Show in Boone was also cancelled. This is an event that brings over 100,000 people to Boone over 3 days. Cancelling it was the right move. Here is part of their press release:
For more than 65 years, farmers have turned to the Farm Progress Show and Husker Harvest Days for the latest information about new products and tools they can use to boost productivity and profit for their operations. However, for the first time in its history, the show won’t go on. In the best interest of our visitors, exhibitors, partners and staff, Farm Progress has made the difficult decision to cancel both shows in 2020 due to rapidly changing conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Show management had confirmed earlier that the two shows would be operated differently with physical distancing a requirement, along with other health and safety changes to the events.
While state and local officials had expressed support for both shows, Don Tourte, Senior Vice President, Farm Progress said that in a very short time it became apparent that the situation across the US had rapidly changed.
“We have been working with officials in Iowa and Nebraska for our shows, and we appreciate the support they expressed for us to hold the events,” Tourte says. “They are critical partners to us, and we are all disappointed to not host the events this year, but feel confident that this is the right decision for our community.”
Rising concerns
One of the key features of both shows is their attraction to visitors from across the country, and across the globe.
“Within days of our commitment to hold both farm shows, more than half the United States saw a significant spike in new cases of COVID-19. We have a multi-generational audience that travels from all across the country and around the world to attend the shows and based on that we felt it better to reconsider the traditional show for 2020 to prioritize the safety of all. Our community’s safety is our priority, always,” said Matt Jungmann, Events Manager, Farm Progress.
“Within the next two weeks tents and other work would be underway on site. We had to make a decision based on the current landscape so that our exhibitors and suppliers wouldn’t potentially waste valuable time and resources,” said Jungmann. “While we are hopeful that case numbers throughout the country will decrease soon, we felt compelled to make a proactive decision on our community’s behalf, given the information we have today.”
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This collection of pictures is the balance of images from a walk I took around Iowa State’s campus back in early May with Teresa.
It truly is the most beautiful campus in the world!
This is amongst the most important works I’ve ever done on this website. For Lent, I was going to attempt to rely as heavily as possible on fish for my protein. However, part of the way through Lent, the pandemic hit and my diet became a lot less discretionary. However, since I was doing way more cooking for myself, I did start eating more fish for my lunch.
It is not an exaggeration to say that since I started working from home, I have used my oven more than the previous nine years that I have owned it. You are thinking that is hyperbole, but I normally go months without using my oven. Now I use it at least 4 times a week. Sometimes, it is daily.
After trying a different types of fish, I decided to rank ten of them as a public service.
I followed the baking instructions to the letter. Feel free to make fun of my cruddy cooking pans. I don’t take pride in my pots and pans. It is one of the great things about being me.
Without further adieu, I present:
10. SeaPak Budweiser Beer Battered Cod
SeaPak Budweiser Beer Battered Cod isn’t just not good. It is terrible. It doesn’t taste like “beer battered”. It tastes like you are holding a swig of beer in your mouth and then somebody has shoved a little bit of fish in your mouth.
I don’t have any more pictures of it, because I decided to do the Power Rankings after I tried it and it is so terrible (and also crazy expensive) that I couldn’t bring myself to buy it again, just to photograph it.
9. Van de Kamp’s Crunchy Fish Fillets
Van de Kamp’s Crunchy Fish Fillets are a marked improvement over SeaPak, but still not very good. Despite claiming to be crunchy, they were a touch soggy. Which is a common theme with Van de Kamp’s products.
8. Trident Pubhouse Battered Alaskan Cod
I picked this fish up because I wanted an even 10 fish in The Frozen Fish Power Rankings. I had high hopes for it because the fish lacked any form of uniformity. Looks like it was made by the hardworking indigenous people of wherever. Like the well-established champion breakfast pastry, Toast ‘Ems. However, they just aren’t good. I still have a bag of these in the freezer weeks later.
7. Hy-Vee Crunchy Fish Fillets
One thing I liked about the Hy-Vee Crunchy Fish Fillets is that they were inside a plastic bag, inside the cardboard box. I’m normally not a fan of excessive packaging, but that plastic bag allowed me to store leftover fish safer. Unlike Van de Kamp’s that when you open the box, those leftover fish are on their own. The Hy-Vee Crunchy Fish Fillets are the first one on the list that I would buy again. Although, I’ve seemed to discover that I’m just not that big of a fan of “Crunchy” fish.
6. Van de Kamp’s Beer Battered Fillets
Finally, a beer batter fish where the beer taste isn’t overwhelming. Still perhaps a little too strong, but manageable. A good frozen fish product here.
5. Gorton’s Crunchy Breaded Fish Fillet
As you will find, Gorton’s dominates the list. They are a good 45% more expensive than Van de Kamp’s, but they are worth the premium. Maybe it is because they use pollock and Van de Kamp’s isn’t all that forthcoming about what type of fish they use. Maybe it is the superior resealable bag packaging. Maybe it is because the Gorton’s fisherman definitely knows what you did last summer. Whatever it is, they are the best fish brand and Crunchy Breaded Fish is their worst offering.
4. Gorton’s Beer Battered Fish Fillet
As a general rule, frozen beer battered fish didn’t score great on this list. This is the highest ranking achieved by a beer battered fish. But of all the beer battered frozen fish, this was by far the best. The batter was on point and you can taste the lack of mincing. Nice job Gorton’s!
3. Van de Kamp’s Crispy Fish Fillet
This is by far Van de Kamp’s best offering. It also turns out I’m a bit of a sucker for crispy fish. Van de Kamp’s isn’t very forthcoming with what kind of fish they us, other than it is wild caught. But I can says that their crispy batter is solid.
2. Gorton’s Crispy Battered Fish Fillet
This is where Gorton’s really nailed it. It is really a coin flip between this and the top ranked fish on this list. Once again, pollock. Battered. Crispy. A little slice of fish heaven.
1. Gorton’s Potato Crunch Fish Fillet
Breaded. Not battered. Gorton’s isn’t real forthcoming about the type of fish. Don’t care. It is 100% whole fillet and 100% delicious. Trust me. Next time I see that Gorton’s is on sale, I will be packing my freezer!
A word about tartar sauce.
I tried to use the same tartar sauce for every fish that I tried. I am a big fan of the Hy-Vee tartar sauce. It is reminiscent of Long John Silver’s tartar sauce. I was going to use the Bennett Family Tartar Sauce recipe, but that involves the Bennett Family pickle relish. It is delicious, however, you wouldn’t be able to duplicate it at your homestead. So I decided to go with the Hy-Vee brand tartar sauce.
Only a funny thing happened…
I wasn’t paying attention and when I bought tartar sauce and I accidentally picked up Kraft. I didn’t think it would be a big deal, but turns out it was a big deal. Kraft Tartar Sauce is wretched. It requires spitting it in a garbage can and then scrubbing your tongue down with boiling water.
I quickly changed to Hy-Vee Tartar Sauce. I haven’t looked back.
I think I might do a power ranking of frozen sausage pizzas next.
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A reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ABSTRACT:
Remember an ABSTRACT picture is a picture that breaks the subject down into shapes and colors. It does not look like the subject.
The easiest way to do this is to take an out of focus picture of a subject.
You can also take a picture of an existing piece of ABSTRACT art.
Happy photo harvesting!
Back in early May, I took an early afternoon walk around the Iowa State campus with Teresa. It was a good replacement for going to Pella, since going to Pella in early May, in the middle of a pandemic seemed like a terrible idea. Plus, how snooty are the people of Pella?
This isn’t completely a collection of tulips, but there are many tulips in this collection.
I reserve comment on this “art”.
There is one more collection of pictures from this walk still in the hopper.
Once again, no problems reaching double digit submissions! 38 straight weeks! Once again, I didn’t have to send out any reminder text messages this morning.
Not going to lie, even though this week’s theme couldn’t be easier, I worry that the streak might end at 38. I guess we’ll find out.
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:
Monica Henning
Andy Sharp
Kim Barker
Andy Sharp
Elizabeth Nordeen
Tamara Peterson
Micky Augustin
Aaron Barnett
Christopher D. Bennett
Jesse Howard
Jesse Howard
Cathie Raley
Shannon Bardole-Foley
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:
ABSTRACT! What a great theme! But what is an ABSTRACT picture? Think of it like this, rather than taking an accurate picture of a subject, you are taking a picture that breaks the composition down to colors and shapes.
There are a couple of easy ways to do this. First, take an out of focus picture of something. Bright and colorful subject work best for this method. The reveal picture, for example, is an out of focus picture of flowers.
Another method is to take a long exposure and move the camera around.
Another suggestion is to just take a picture of an existing ABSTRACT piece of art. Once again, ABSTRACT is where the subject isn’t depicted as it actually exists. For example, there are a ton of ABSTRACT pieces of art hanging up all over the walls of just about every office. Including the computer mine.
I look forward to seeing your interpretations!
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A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION
The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.
Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date.
OR
I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.
It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.
That is it, them’s the rules.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION
Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.
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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very abstract Monday!
Another week of working from home almost in the books. I don’t even know how long it has been now. I don’t that much has changed. I still listen to 96.1 in the morning. In the afternoons, there isn’t really anything designated any more. I’ve been listening to podcasts I suppose. But not exclusively.
One positive or one thing I’ll miss when I get called back to working in the office is this: I’ll missing sitting under my cherry trees with Naima and eating my lunch. Listening to the birds. Feeling a warm breeze. It is very peaceful, but also makes it hard to go back to work when my lunch is over.
I have been working on the basement, but the project has become more ambitious than expected. There will be pictures when it is done, but it is several weeks out, at least. I’d guess I’m about 35-40% done.
Logan helped me big time last Saturday with the interior of the project. The Citywide Cleanup was also a big help. Lots of stuff hit the curb and are now on the ash heap of history. Although I’m still finding plenty of stuff that needs to hit the dusty trail. Andy helped me get rid of some of that too.
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I took several YELLOW pictures for this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. I’d like to share the one’s that didn’t make the cut for Monday’s reveal at this point:
I always have fun playing with the “creative” settings on my camera.
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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ROAD TRIP:
A ROAD TRIP is any photo that involves a ROAD TRIP. Doesn’t have to be a large ROAD TRIP. The reveal photo was taken when I went on a ROAD TRIP to get gas. A ROAD TRIP photo doesn’t even have to be taken on a ROAD TRIP. It can be taken showing planning for a ROAD TRIP or preparing for a ROAD TRIP.
Happy photo harvesting!
No problems reaching double digits for 37 straight weeks! I didn’t even have to send out an reminder text messages this morning!
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:
Carla Stensland
Tamara Peterson
Michelle Haupt
Bill Wentworth
Carla Stensland
Elizabeth Nordeen
Elizabeth Nordeen
Kim Barker
Kim Barker
Christopher D. Bennett
Cathie Raley
Micky Augustin
Shannon Bardole-Foley
Monica Henning
Jesse Howard
Jodie Cue
Jodie Cue
Jodie Cue
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:
ROAD TRIP! What a great theme! It might be one of the harder themes consider the current public health environment, but just getting in your car and getting groceries or gas is a ROAD TRIP these days. Even showing the planning on a ROAD TRIP that you will be able to take some day is a good ROAD TRIP image.
I look forward to seeing your interpretations!
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HOUSEKEEPING
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION
The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.
Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date.
OR
I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.
It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.
That is it, them’s the rules.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION
Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.
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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very trippy Monday!
I wasn’t able to make it up to Pella to deal with the very “delightful” Pellians this year because of the virus, but I did get a few chances to take tulip pictures here and there. But mostly the here and there was my Mom’s flowerbeds.
Here are some tulip pictures:
There are more tulip photos out there. Been taking lots and lots of flower pictures lately as I have been stuck by myself, not going anywhere mostly these days.
Today is Jorge’s birthday! Happy birthday Jorge!
I hope your birthday is as wonderful as you hoped it would be!
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Here is a quick update on Naima. Her surgery went well. The mass they removed from under her shoulder was even bigger than expected, but Dr. Stephanie said that everything went well. They don’t think it is cancerous, but they sent it away to get tested anyways.
She was pretty sore.
Naima napped mostly when she got home. But then around 8 PM, the doorbell rang. My neighbor Stan had stopped by to check on Naima. Stan is the guy in the picture with Naima from my submission for FRIENDS for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. She ran (as much as she could) out the front door to greet him and readily chomped down the snacks he had brought for her.
Then Naima refused to back inside the house. She begged for a car ride. She stood by her car door (the back driver’s side door) and refused to budge. This is the only door she will get in. So I opened the door and I helped her into the car.
We made a quick trip down to my Mom’s house. She is used to going down there several times a week. She went in and saw my Mom, Teresa, and Mocha. She drank all of Mocha’s water. Stood around for a bit. Then she was ready to go.
Naima will only go out the front door at my Mom’s house. So we went out the front door. I helped her down the steps. On her way to the car she sniffed out a ground squirrel and chased it up a rain spout.
For a minute or so she danced around the rain spout. Forgetting that she was sore and drugged up. Finally I had to pull her away, otherwise she surely would have knocked the rain spout off the house.
I brought her back home and she followed me around the yard as I watered the flowers. Then she came in and begged to go on a walk. I had to break her heart on this one. Maybe Thursday night she will be ready for a short walk. Maybe Friday night. We’ll see.
After that, she laid down and took it easy the rest of the night.
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Back in April I took a few pictures of my Mom’s daffodils. My daffodils didn’t bloom this year, but that is okay. Daffodils are not my favorite, but they are okay.
A long time ago, I decided to name pictures of certain flowers all the same name. Daffodils were going to be “Before the Swallow Dares”. I think I’m going to get back to that.
A couple weeks back, I spent several hours, off an on in my Grandma’s garage going through things that the family was getting rid of. One of the fortunate things about Grandma’s house is that it is staying in the family. Therefore, this isn’t quite the rush to get rid of all of Grandma’s stuff, and unlike the minimalist that is me, Grandma was a hoarder. Not ready to be on the television show level hoarder, but a child of the depression level hoarder.
My Aunt Sheri and her husband Terry had been going through some of the things she accumulated in over 90 years of living and put some of it in her garage for other people to rummage through before it was donated to the DAV.
I didn’t claim a ton of things, but I did get a few items. A couple of squirrel statues for the yard. A dog sculpture. A few glass jugs. But perhaps the most important thing that ended up in my possession was Grandpa’s WWII foot locker.
I don’t have any birthright claim on it, but both my Uncle Butch and Uncle Gary didn’t want it. So it is currently in my possession. Holding up a cherub lamp in the living room that I also gave a new home to.
I don’t plan on being the permanent home for the footlocker. I do have a plan for it, but it will call my living room home for a bit of time any ways.
I don’t have any pictures of these new possessions, but I did meander around Grandma’s yard for a bit while Teresa and Mom were looking around the garage. While I was doing that I took some pictures of some of Grandma’s beautiful flowers. Peonies, daisies, asters, petunias, lupines, and even wretched irises.
I’m sure I’ll be over there again to photograph some more of her flowers soon.
