Here is another collection of pictures of my Mom’s flowers. Only this time, it is probably about 60% her flowers and 40% flowers in my yard. These pictures were taken on June 17, 2021.
Still many flower pictures left to share.
Here is the final collection of auxiliary images I took while harvesting the town signs of Hancock County. Although I would say about 50% of these pictures were taken in other counties. Like Winnebago County or Cerro Gordo County or Worth County.
Pilot Knob State Park
Fertile
Thornton
Dows
The next county I need to share auxiliary images from is Pocahontas County.
A few weeks back I cruised around Monona County on a solo town sign harvesting trip.
Here are some facts about Monona County:
+ Population is 8,751, making it the 84th most populous county in Iowa. Below Greene County and above Lucas County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Onawa.
+ Was a stopping point in 1804 for Lewis and Clark.
+ Where the Turin Man was discovered.
+ Formed in 1851.
+ Possibly names for an “Indian” word meaning beautiful valley.
+ Major highways are I-29, IA-37, IA-141, IA-175, and IA-183.
+ Adjacent counties are Woodbury, Crawford, and Harrison.
+ Population peaked in 18,238 in 1940.
The Monona County Courthouse is fair:
The Monona County Freedom Rock is located in Onawa, Iowa:
With Monona County conquered, this is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:
44 counties completed. 44.4% of the Cyclone State conquered.
Here are the town signs of Monona County:
Mapleton, Iowa
Mapleton
Population: 1,165 (-59)
Whiting, Iowa
welcome to WHITING
Population: 745 (-17)
Ute, Iowa
UTE
Population: 338(-36)
Blencoe, Iowa
Welcome To Blencoe
“You Are Among Friends”
Populatoin: 233 (+9)
Moorhead, Iowa
MOORHEAD
Population: 199 (-27)
Soldier, Iowa
SOLDIER
Population: 184 (+10)
Castana, Iowa
Welcome To Castana
Established 1886
Population: 107 (-40)
Turin, Iowa
WELCOME TO TURIN
HEART OF THE LOESS HILLS
Population: 72 (+4)
Rodney, Iowa
RODNEY
“ON THE GROW”
Population: 45 (-15)
Grant Center, Iowa – Unincorporated
GRANT CENTER
ESTABLISHED 1881
LITTLE SIOUX VALLEY
I don’t think there is a bad town sign in Monona County, so I’m not going to single one out for having the worst.
Despite there being some really solid town signs, I think the best is pretty obvious. It goes to Onawa. The rare triple crown winner. County Seat, Home of the Freedom Rock, and Home of the Best Town Sign.
And yes, their main street is very wide. I think 8 lanes wide. There are no alternate town signs in Monona County.
Here is the current list of Best in Shows:
Best in Show – Adams County
Best in Show – Audubon County
Best in Show – Benton County
Best in Show – Boone County
Best in Show – Butler County
Best in Show – Calhoun County
Best in Show – Carroll County
Best in Show – Cass County
Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County
Best in Show – Clarke County
Best in Show – Crawford County
Best in Show – Dallas County
Best in Show – Franklin County
Best in Show – Fremont County
Best in Show – Greene County
Best in Show – Grundy County
Best in Show – Guthrie County
Best in Show – Hamilton County
Best in Show – Hancock County
Best in Show – Hardin County
Best in Show – Humboldt County
Best in Show – Ida County
Best in Show – Jasper County
Best in Show – Lucas County
Best in Show – Madison County
Best in Show – Marion County
Best in Show – Marshall County
Best in Show – Monona County
Best in Show – Montgomery County
Best in Show – Page County
Best in Show – Pocahontas County
Best in Show – Polk County
Best in Show – Poweshiek County
Best in Show – Ringgold Count
Best in Show – Sac County
Best in Show – Story County
Best in Show – Tama County
Best in Show – Taylor County
Best in Show – Union County
Best in Show – Warren County
Best in Show – Webster County
Best in Show – Worth County
Best in Show – Wright County
Next time we visit THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit Shelby County.
At this time, BUSINESS doesn’t seem to be a popular theme.
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:
Christopher D. Bennett
Teresa Kahler
Teresa Kahler
Kim Barker
Shannon Bardole-Foley
Carla Stensland
Micky Augustin
Bill Wentworth
Carla Stensland
Carla Stensland
Carla Stensland
Monica Henning
Monica Henning
Monica Henning
Andy Sharp
Logan Kahler
Logan Kahler
Kio Dettman
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:
RELIGION! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!
But what is a RELIGION picture? It is simply a picture of anything relating to the practice of a RELIGION. It can be a book used in the practice of a RELIGION. It can be a building that is used in the practice of a RELIGION. It could be a symbol of a RELIGION. It can be a picture of somebody practicing their RELIGION.
Think on this quote when considering your RELIGION image:
The only clear line I draw these days is this: when my religion tries to come between me and my neighbor, I will choose my neighbor… Jesus never commanded me to love my religion.
-Barbara Brown Taylor
Thinking on that quote will no doubt take you on an interesting path towards your RELIGION photo.
The picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge.
You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.
That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of RELIGION in this place that that is based on its understanding of God next Monday.
Here is the second collection of auxiliary images I took while harvesting the town signs of Hancock County back several weeks ago:
Crystal Lake
Woden
Forest City
I’ve decided to start incorporating hobo signs into my everyday communication. There is one more collection of Hancock County pictures still to come.
The pictures in the folder 2011-02-27 are from a photo shoot I did with Jill. Some are for THE 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT. One was displayed at the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon.
Here are the pictures from the folder 2011-02-27:
By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:
The next walk down memory lane will involve Derrick and music methinks. Amongst other things.
Here is another collection of flower images from my Mom’s yard. These pictures were taken on June 14, 2021.
There are plenty more flower pictures still to come!
A few weeks back I cruised around Ringgold County on a solo town sign harvesting trip. I actually harvested the town signs of 3 different counties on this trip. Ringgold was the last of the three counties.
Here are some facts about Ringgold County:
+ Population is 4,663 making it the 98th most populous county in Iowa. Below Audubon County and above Adams County.
+ Named after Major Samuel Ringgold a hero of the Battle of Palo Alto during the Mexican-American War. It is one of 26 counties in Iowa that has a completely unique name.
+ Mount Ayr is the largest town and county seat.
+ The birthplace of Hy-Vee.
+ Birthplace of astronaut Peggy Whitson.
+ Major highways are US-169, IA-2, and IA-25.
+ Adjacent counties are Union, Decatur, and Taylor.
+ Population peaked in 1900 at 15,325.
The Ringgold County Courthouse is fairly nondescript.
The Ringgold County Freedom Rock is located in Diagonal, Iowa:
With Ringgold County conquered, this is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:
43 counties completed. 43.4% of the Cyclone State conquered.
Here are the town signs of Ringgold County:
Diagonal, Iowa
WELCOME TO DIAGONAL
EST. 1888
Population: 344 (+14)
Kellerton, Iowa
WELCOME TO KELLERTON
EST. 1881
Population: 243 (-72)
Tingley, Iowa
TINGLEY
EST. 1883
Population: 136 (-48)
Redding, Iowa
U.S. POST OFFICE REDDING, IA 50860
Population: 63 (-19)
Benton, Iowa
Welcome to BENTON
EST. 1889
Once a Railroad Town
Population: 39 (-2)
Delphos, Iowa
DELPHOS
Population: 26 (+1)
Maloy, Iowa
MALOY
EST. 1887
Population: 22 (-7)
Ellston, Iowa
WELCOME TO ELLSTON
EST. 1881
Population: 19
Beaconsfield, Iowa
Welcome to BEACONSFIELD
EST. 1881
HOME OF ASTRONAUT PEGGY WHITSON
SITE OF THE FIRST HY-VEE
Population: 15 (0)
Shannon City, Iowa (Partially in Union County)
Shannon City 2 ->
Population: 73 (-12)
I think it is pretty obvious that Shannon City has the worst town sign. Just a DOT sign. Obviously Delphos isn’t much better, but somehow their DOT sign manages to have more character. Redding isn’t great, but at least they had a post office to photograph.
But what gets Best in Show for Ringgold County? There really isn’t that sign that blows me away, but there are a couple that I really like. Maloy and Benton. I’m going to give it to Maloy by hair because it more colorful.
Only one town had an alternate town sign:
Here is the current list of Best in Shows:
Best in Show – Adams County
Best in Show – Audubon County
Best in Show – Benton County
Best in Show – Boone County
Best in Show – Butler County
Best in Show – Calhoun County
Best in Show – Carroll County
Best in Show – Cass County
Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County
Best in Show – Clarke County
Best in Show – Crawford County
Best in Show – Dallas County
Best in Show – Franklin County
Best in Show – Fremont County
Best in Show – Greene County
Best in Show – Grundy County
Best in Show – Guthrie County
Best in Show – Hamilton County
Best in Show – Hancock County
Best in Show – Hardin County
Best in Show – Humboldt County
Best in Show – Ida County
Best in Show – Jasper County
Best in Show – Lucas County
Best in Show – Madison County
Best in Show – Marion County
Best in Show – Marshall County
Best in Show – Montgomery County
Best in Show – Page County
Best in Show – Pocahontas County
Best in Show – Polk County
Best in Show – Poweshiek County
Best in Show – Ringgold Count
Best in Show – Sac County
Best in Show – Story County
Best in Show – Tama County
Best in Show – Taylor County
Best in Show – Union County
Best in Show – Warren County
Best in Show – Webster County
Best in Show – Worth County
Best in Show – Wright County
The next time we hit the open road for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will hit it in Monona County.
On Sunday I completed another successful month of THE SELFIE PROJECT. One thing that always happens when I look back at a month’s worth of pictures I’m always surprised at some of the things that all happened in the same month. That? That happened this month? I thought that was like 2 months ago.
Here are my favorites from October:
October 2
October 3
October 4
October 5
October 7
October 8
October 9
October 12
October 14
October 16
October 17
October 18
October 20
October 22
October 23
October 24
October 25
October 28
October 30
October 31
There can be only one Selfie per day, but here are some of favorite alternate selfies from October:
Hopefully November is a good month too.
Reminder this is the last day to submit ideas for next year’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme. Leave you suggestions in the comments section of today’s journal entry.
It looks like a few people have people they consider to be a HERO.
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:
Carla Stensland
Kio Dettman
Kio Dettman
Tamara Peterson
Christopher D. Bennett
Bill Wentworth
Michelle Haupt
Logan Kahler
Logan Kahler
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:
BUSINESS! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!
But what is a BUSINESS image? A BUSINESS image is any image that shows any aspect of a BUSINESS. From a storefront. To the employees working at the BUSINESS. To a BUSINESS card. Literally any aspect of a BUSINESS. And it can be any type of BUSINESS. From a mulit-million dollar corporation to somebody selling Pampered Chef out of the trunk of their car.
While thinking on your BUSINESS picture, think on the following quote:
Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.
-Andy Warhol
Good luck capturing a great BUSINESS image.
The picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge.
You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.
That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of BUSINESS in this place that that vaguely resembles a business next Monday.
