Category Archives: Nature

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Evie, Formal Portrait, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Nature, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 415 – SHADOW

August 28, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

It is the last collection of submissions of the month, so it is a good time revisit the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE FAQ:

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.

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.

Do I have to wait until Monday morning to submit?

Absolutely not! In fact 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.

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.

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SHADOW! A great theme, but did inspire people to lurk in the dark or come out into the light of participation? You’ll have to keep streaming to find out!

I do want to say that hope at least somebody appreciates my submission this week. I was pretty close to kicked out of a museum for taking it.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, August 21, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Sabas Hernandez – 1 week
2-Willy McAlpine – 1 week
3-Becky Parmelee – 1 week
4-Nader Parsaei – 1 week
5-Mary Green – 3 weeks (2)
6-Sara Lockner – 3 weeks (3
7-Mike Vest – 7 weeks
8-Sheri Fakhouri – 10 weeks
9-Monica Jennings – 11 weeks
10-Logan Kahler – 11 weeks (2)
11-Nathanial Brown – 12 weeks
12-Jesse Howard – 12 weeks
13-Tamara Peterson – 15 weeks
14-Alexis Stensland – 20 weeks
15-Mindi Terrell – 27 weeks (3)
16-Brandon Kahler – 51 weeks
17-Linda Bennett – 56 weeks (2)
18-Sarah Toot – 57 weeks (2)
19-Angie DeWaard – 61 weeks
20-Dawn Krause – 65 weeks (2)
21-Kim Barker – 71 weeks
22-Joe Duff – 72 weeks (2)
23-Teresa Kahler – 83 weeks (3)
24-Carla Stensland – 83 weeks (3)
25-Micky Augustin – 85 weeks
26-Andy Sharp – 86 weeks
27-Bill Wentworth – 87 weeks
28-Cathie Morton – 91 weeks
29-Elizabeth Nordeen – 92 weeks
30-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 94 weeks
31-Kio Dettman – 96 weeks (2)

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:

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 97 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 95 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 93 weeks

Cathie Morton (Water Works Park – Des Moines, Iowa) – 92 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 88 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 87 weeks

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 86 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 84 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Ames, Iowa) – 84 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa)

Joe Duff (Dallas, Texas) – 73 weeks

Joe Duff (Dallas, Texas)

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 72 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 66 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa)

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 62 weeks

Sarah Toot (East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) – 58 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 57 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 52 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 28 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 21 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 16 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 13 weeks

Jesse Howard (Ames, Iowa) – 13 weeks

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 12 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 12 weeks

Logan Kahler (Guthrie Center, Iowa)

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 11 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 8 weeks

Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Mary Green (Camp Wyoming – Wyoming, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Becky Parmelee (King Author Flour & Bakery – Norwich, Vermont) – 2 weeks

Becky Parmelee (West Lebanon, New Hampshire)

Becky Parmelee (Atlanta, Georgia)

Sabas Hernandez (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Cleveland, Ohio) – 2 weeks

Willy McAlpine (Boone, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Evie Gorshe (Iowa) – 1 week

Scott Degeneffe (Dickcissel Park – Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 1 week

Christopher D. Bennett (Union Station – Omaha, Nebraska)

34 participants! That is a pretty great week! And pictures were taken from all over the country this week!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:
+ Georgia
+ Kansas
+ Iowa
+ Nebraska
+ New Hampshire
+ Ohio
+ Pennsylvania
+ Texas
+ Vermont

Thanks to Becky’s recent travels, 2 more states have been filled in on the map. New Hampshire and Vermont. WooHoo!

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 Hampshire
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ North Carolina
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Carolina
+ South Dakota
+ Tennessee
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Vermont
+ Washington
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

35 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over 70% 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
+ Vallunareju Norte – Peru
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I took my picture 156 miles from my front door. In a state where a regular contributor resides. I continue not to contribute.

The big milestone this week is Brandon joining THE YEAR LONG STREAK CLUB! WooHoo! Congratulations Brandon!

But it wasn’t all good news! Nader could not build on their submissions last week and their streaks are over before the began.

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:

NATURE

NATURE! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what exactly is a NATURE photo? “Nature photography is a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes, wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures.”

That encompasses a lot of the world. So what isn’t NATURE? Humans and anything created by humans. Although those elements can be included in a NATURE photo. But they aren’t the main subject matter.

While thinking about possible subjects for your NATURE photo meditate on the following quote and I have no doubt you will come up with a fascinating image:

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
-Khalil Gibran

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

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. 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 NATURE in this place that shows mine next Monday.

Birthdays, Black & White, Kanoa, Nature

A Foggy Morn on the Trail

August 26, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

I realized yesterday that I had forgot to wish my great nephew Kanoa a happy birthday, cause I suck. So happy birthday Kanoa!

I hope it was a pretty great birthday!

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Back at the beginning of the year I took a foggy morning hike to the High Trestle Trail Bridge. Of course I took some pictures. Here is the first collection:

Almost every time one visits the High Trestle Trail Bridge, it is magical. But I think the most magical is when the river valley is filled with fog.

There are more pictures from this trip still to share.

Drone, Nature, Olympic Sports, Panorama

Rodan139: RAGBRAI East of Luther

August 15, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

On the Tuesday of RAGBRAI I went to check out the festivities in Luther. I expected Luther to be empty by the time I got there and expected everybody to already be in Ames. But Luther was absolutely packed. I’m guessing the people at Whatcha Smokin’ must have made a million dollars the place was so packed. I’m guess the population of Luther more than quintupled.

After checking it out, I drove a couple of miles east of Luther and took some drone pictures of people riding from Luther to Ames.

Not sure what the next set of drone pictures will be. I need to take Rodan139 out again. While I still can. Drone laws are getting pretty ridiculous.

Boone FUMC, Drone, Naima, Nature, Still Life, WPC - Alternate

Cause All I Ever Wanted Was to Be Enough for You

August 12, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Time to cleanup a little bit more of the backlog. These pictures are from November of last year that didn’t really fit into any other previous posts. Most are alternates for various THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme.

Always feels good when you get a bit of that backlog cleared out!

Carla, Nature, Night, Road Trip, Street Photography, Teresa

Oskaloosa Christmas Lighted Parade – I

August 4, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Last year before Christmas Teresa, Carla, and I went to Oskaloosa for their lighted Christmas Parade. It is the largest and oldest parade of its kind in Iowa. The show downtown Oskaloosa puts on with their lights does not disappoint.

I have one more collection of images from this parade.

Drone, Nature, Panorama

Rodan139: Sunset

August 1, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

A couple weeks back when the smoke from the Canadian wildfires was still hitting Iowa pretty hard I took Rodan139 out west of Boone to work out a few gimbal issues. I took a few pictures of the sunset and it seems a shame to let them go to waste.

Next time I will share some Rodan139 images, they will be some I took when RAGBRAI was in Greene County.

Art, Birthdays, Black & White, Christianity, Flowers, History, Nature, Road Trip, Ruins, Russell

Des Moines & Louisa County Aux. – Vol. 3

July 26, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is Russell’s birthday, so I need to wish Russell a happy birthday, so happy birthday Russell!

I’m not sure I’ve seen Russell in person since before the pandemic. That seems like something that should be remedied. Either way, I hope your birthday is filled with all the joy you can handle.

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Time to continue with the auxiliary images from my trip to Des Moines County and Louisa County to harvest their town signs. Last time we left off, we were in Grnadview. After that, I took US-61 down to Wapello.

Wapello

Toolesboro

Oakville

Morning Sun

So we should probably discuss some of the history in some of these pictures.

Here is some information on the Toolesboro Mounds:

The Toolesboro site consists of seven burial mounds on a bluff overlooking the Iowa River near where it joins the Mississippi River. The conical mounds were constructed between 200 B.C. and 300 A.D. by a local Hopewell group. They include some of the best-preserved and accessible remnants of Iowa’s Hopewell culture, a Middle Woodland people who hunted, gathered and gardened. At one time, there may have been as many as twelve mounds, but subsequent settlement and excavation have reduced that number to the present seven. As of yet, no village site near the Toolesboro mounds has been located, which is attributed to the shifting path of the Iowa River which has obliterated possible village sites on the flood plain over the last 2,000 years.

Of the seven mounds, only two are visible on the grounds of the Educational Center. The rest are off in the woods, and are separated by a wire fence from the Educational Center. One of the mounds maintained near the center, known as Mound 2, is the largest of the remaining mounds, measuring 100 feet in diameter and eight feet in height. This mound was possibly the largest Hopewell mound in Iowa.

And the Littleton Brothers… well…

The largest loss of life known in the history of all U.S. wars from any immediate family were the six local Littleton Brothers. All six were lost to the Civil War and the story just recently discovered and documented.

Here is some information on the Littleton brothers from the website (http://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/):

James and Martha Littleton, the boys’ parents, moved to Louisa (Lew-I-zuh) County in about 1840, six years before Iowa became a state. The young Littleton brothers likely helped on a 200-acre farm.

Toolesboro used to be a busy hub, said Wagner, who lives in Illinois City, Ill.

The 1860 census that shows the family was listed as mulatto, which traditionally refers to a person with one white parent and one black parent. There’s debate today on that point.

The Littleton memorial will have a panel saying James came from free slave roots. “Records indicate Louisa County abolitionists had helped the family get settled there.”

But oral history within the Nicewanner family, as descendants of Permelia, states that James actually had Native American roots on one side, said Wagner.

Doug Jones, an archaeologist and Iowa Freedom Trail project manager for the State Historical Society of Iowa, said the little information he has on the Littletons is “quite intriguing.”

“There was a mulatto settlement, and we don’t know much about the settlement.”

Only one of the Littleton brothers, John, had children, and that daughter died before having any of her own. James and Martha Littleton died before the war.

Here’s what is known about each of the brothers’ service records (thanks to the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum for much of the following information):

— George Handy Littleton: George, 33, a cooper, volunteered from service from nearby New Boston, Ill., in March 1862. He is described as having brown eyes and dark hair and complexion. He was with Company B of the 65th Illinois Infantry. Captured by Confederates at Harpers Ferry, W.V., he was later paroled and discharged for disability in Chicago, according to official records, for a disease contracted before service. Woodruff said other material indicates Littleton got sick while in service. “We do not have the exact date or know where we died,” said Woodruff. The Columbus Gazette indicated George died soon after returning home. His grave has not been found.

— John Littleton: Enlisted in August 1862 with Company F of the 19th Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He suffered a severe thigh injury during fighting at Prairie Grove, Arkansas, on Dec. 7, 1862. He died in Fayetteville, Ark., of wounds on December 18. It’s possible he may be buried among 800 unmarked graves at Fayetteville National Cemetery.

— Kendall Littleton: Also of the 19th Iowa, Kendall was killed in action on Dec. 7, 1862, at Prairie Grove, Ark. His remains were likely later moved to Fayetteville National Cemetery, and are marked as unknown.

— Noah Littleton: Survived the fighting at Prairie Grove but drowned March 1, 1863, in the White River in southern Missouri. His remains were disinterred and he is buried at Springfield (Mo.) National Cemetery. He, too, served in the 19th Iowa.

–Thomas Littleton: A member of the 5th Iowa, suffered a head wound at Iuka, Ms. He was taken prisoner in Chattanooga, Tenn., in November 1863. The private died of chronic diarrhea at Andersonville on June 16, 1864, and is buried at the national cemetery there.

— William Littleton: A corporal with the 8th Iowa, William was wounded at Shiloh in 1862 and died in December 1863 of diarrhea at Jefferson Barracks, Mo. He is buried at the national cemetery there.

There is still plenty more pictures left to share from this trip!

Brandon, Drone, Logan, Nature, Panorama, Road Trip

Rodan139: Tree in the Middle of the Road

July 25, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

It is confession time. I haven’t always been great with the organization of my drone photos. I am much better now as I treat them the same as how I treat all my other pictures. Recently I came across some drone photos that I thought I had lost I took on a road trip with Logan and Brandon. They are the famous Tree in the Middle of the Road located roughly in Audubon County. Kind of in the middle of nowhere.

Here they are:

Rodan139: Tree in the Middle of the Road

The legend of this tree that is in the middle of an intersection is ” The story is when the county lines were being established the surveyor placed a green cottonwood stick into the ground at the exact point where the lines crossed and grew into the present tree.”

Directions to the tree:

From U.S. Highway 71 at the town of Brayton, travel east on County Road T to F-65 and follow the green “Tree in the Road” signs on the gravel roads.

From Exira, go east on F-58 and follow the green ”Tree in the Road” signs. As you approach the curve take the gravel off the west side of Littlefield Park.

Art, History, Nature, Railroad, Road Trip

Lee & Van Buren County Aux. – Vol. 4

July 5, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Time to share another collection of images from my road trip to Lee County & Van Buren County to harvest their town signs. All of these pictures are taken in Van Buren County. In the villages of Bonaparte and Bentonsport.

Bonaparte

Bentonsport

So let’s talk a moment about The Mason House Inn. It has had an absolutely fascinating history. From their website (masonhouseinn.com):

The Mason House Inn was built in 1846, originally called the Ashland House, and was owned by William Robinson. It was built as a hotel to serve the steamboat travelers going from St. Louis to Fort Des Moines and Fort Dodge on the Des Moines River. It was built by Mormon craftsmen from Nauvoo, Illinois, who stayed in Bentonsport for several years, working and gathering supplies before making their trek westward to Salt Lake City, Utah. (Several of the brick buildings still in use here in Bentonsport were built by these craftsmen.) In 1857, the Ashland House was purchased by Lewis Mason and his wife, Nancy. They changed the name to the Phoenix Hotel, but the townspeople called the place the “Mason’s House”, and the name stayed. It was Nancy who started the tradition of “a cookie jar in every room”.

Over the years, the Mason House has withstood 6 major floods: 1851, 1903, 1905, 1947 and, most recently, 1993 and 2008. Through it all, this magnificent building remains a stalwart landmark. During the Civil War, the Mason House was used as a “holding hospital” for the wounded soldiers who were waiting for the train or boats to take them to the hospital in Keokuk. It was also a station on the Underground Railroad. For a short time in 1913 the building was used as a tuberculosis sanitarium. But the building was too small for their needs and they moved to Des Moines. From 1920 to 1950, Lewis’ grand-daughter, Fannie Mason Kurtz, ran the hotel as a boarding house for the town doctor and his wife and also the local school teachers. When Fannie died in 1951, the place was rented as a house for the Downing family until 1956.

Here is a little more. Remember last Wednesday when we talked about the Mormons being ran out of Nauvoo, Illinois? They settled in Van Buren County for a time and some built the Mason Inn.

The Mason Inn is considered haunted and for this reason, they ban guns inside of the Inn:

DO NOT BRING ANY GUNS OR FIREARMS OF ANY KIND INTO THE INN! I don’t care if you have a conceal carry permit or not. This is our house. Our rules. Its not that we are anti-gun (we actually have a rifle at our farm) but the ghosts don’t like guns and 2 of the ghosts know how to pull the trigger. One guest brought a hand gun without us knowing. He placed it on the night stand next to his bed. In the morning he found the gun on the dresser, pointed at his head. The clip was out of the gun and on a different dresser across the room. There was still a bullet in the chamber. If the ghosts could do that, they could have just as easily pulled the trigger. This is a true story.

I would love to stay there sometime. Maybe I’ll put it on my list for next year.

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

Animals, Art, Boone FUMC, Flowers, Macro, Nature, Still Life, Street Photography, WPC - Alternate, Youth Group

But I Don’t Think That’s True

July 1, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Another chance to clean up the backlog. These pictures were taken in October of last year but never really fit into any “An Artist’s Notebook” entries. Some were alternate images for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Some, I just took when I was out and about.

Always feels good to get a bit of backlog out of the system.