Flu shots are available to most. They have been for a while. I got my flu shot and my COVID booster last month at the same time. I know people who will not do it that way. Some friends are afraid they will have a sore arm. Some are afraid they will be sick and tired afterward. Some are afraid they will feel like they have the flu for a day or two.

Three years ago -- and it feels like even longer -- I drew everything. Including foliage. And the birds that show up in the fall, especially grackles. We got hundreds of them this year and they are beautiful. They didn't visit for a couple of years and I was afraid I'd never see them again. In 2022, I "drew" autumn. I thought I'd post some. It ain't world-class art, but it is pretty to look at. Maybe that ought to be enough.

I feel like a forgotten soldier off the old Siegfried line. Think of old black and white movies. Slippery gray mud. You can slide down slimy, gray mud from every jeep. I believe this still IS the same world in which I grew up, without chapters. Or a binding. Or an editor or proofreader. Like reality, it's a mess. I always wondered what was Lulu's crime? What dire things had she done? I will never know, I guess. Just please, don't bring Lulu.

The year I was fifteen, I started my senior year of high school. That September (1962), I was sitting and watching television. I found a biggish lump near my right ankle. I checked the other leg. No lump there. It was painless. Mom had me visiting a surgeon a couple of days later. It turned out to be a non-malignant tumor called an osteochondroma.

Share Your World 20th October What a weird world we share. It has always been kind of peculiar, probably for hundreds of years. That I was not -- still AM not -- noticing everything is simply that my short term memory hold for under a minute. Sometimes I forget what I'm saying while I'm saying it or I'm just about to say something.

CITY (1952), CLIFFORD SIMAK City is a 1952 science fiction novel by Clifford D. Simak. The book is episodic with eight or nine (depending on which version you read) short stories that have "bridges" between episodes. Version of the book after 1980 includes the ninth tale, "Epilogue." The novel contains eight stories, which are the "Mythology of the Dogs." Each tale is preceded by doggish notes and learned canine discussion.

Last on the Card – September There weren't any "leftovers" in my cameras this month. All were downloaded, and many have been posted. These look wet because everything looks wet. Even the birds look soggy. The wood on the deck looks sodden. The ground won't absorb more water. What a change from last year, when we couldn't get rain for all the rain dances and prayers to the cloud gods.

I was in the hospital for a week during which time, my computer stopped working and every piece of software on which I relied doesn't work. Talk about bad timing. Sheesh. My computer died as Adobe did something awful to Photoshop. Microsoft updated. EVERYTHING updated. I can't figure out how to use it. I got a new computer -- this one is really REALLY messed up.

JYProvocative Question #4 – Underrated Write about something you think is underrated and why it deserves more attention and appreciation. A lot of us appreciate the value of work done by professionals. Doctors, quarterbacks, scientists, authors, actors, researchers, pitchers, golfers, surgeons, astronauts. We appreciate teachers and nurses and realize how underpaid they are. Who don't we appreciate? The people who deliver our packages.

My Top Albums On Vinyl, Rich Paschall Those who have lived through the eras of music on vinyl, reel-to-reel tape, 8-track and cassette tapes, CDs, and digital formats may tell you that the best of all was the vinyl era. Yes, most audiophiles believe that the best sound actually comes from records, not the other formats. As records and recording equipment evolved over many decades, the sound steadily improved.

FOTD – Fall Berries The leaves are thinking about changing. There are some pink leaves, and many vines are red. For some reason, vines change color first. The predictions are for a slow start to autumn, but also a longer-than-usual fall and a slower end to the season. That's just fine with me. The longer the fall lasts, the happier I am.

CFFC: Autumn – Metal Finally, an opportunity to show off my best bridge. I couldn't find it last time, but a friend had a copy of it. Lucky for friends who saved my pictures for you. Thank you, Ben! The bridge between Arizona and Utah Steel gate to an early autumn farm Fall cleanup A copper mixing bowl against an outside wall of bright autumn leaves Autumn over the old iron bridge over the Blackstone

I have a pair of great jeans that have become my favorites. I bought them on sale at J Jill. They are stretchy, comfortable, a perfect length, and are designed like real jeans with pockets and belt loops -- and they have a fringe down the outer edge of each leg. The jeans were advertised online and in the catalogue. All the pictures show the fringe.

FOTD – Chrysanthemums in bud The sun was shining, and it was chilly enough to need a jacket outside, so it was definitely time to buy those mums. I was afraid that if I waited, there wouldn't be enough healthy plants to choose from. I could have gone to Koopman -- they have a better selection usually -- but the supermarket was loaded with fall plants.

FOTD – Summer Flowers The joy of each season can be told by the flowers. These are summer flowers. Now that I've shifted to chrysanthemums, there will be a gradual shifting from the flowers I grew in summer to the flowers of fall. For me, the flowers are the mums in all their glorious colors. Otherwise, it's the trees. I'm just beginning to see a hint of color in the trees.

Chicago Edition by Rich Paschall It is troublesome for us to say that certain American cities are under attack ordered by the Orange Leader, but that is what has happened to Washington D.C., Portland, Oregon, and now Chicago. The leader prefers certain cities in red states. He does not wish to bring the country together or serve all the people.

FOTD – Hydrangea The only flower that has ever thrived when brought to life outside after living for several months inside is this hydrangea. We didn't get much blooming this year. Too much rain, too little sun. But the hydrangea -- which started out as my birthday present three years ago -- has done well. Last year, after flowering most of the summer, the starving deer ate it.

WQ#38: Confusion About Native or Indigenous I'm using you as the quote because this is a question with which -- on some level -- we all wrestle. My question is when does indigenous begin? Are we indigenous to where we were born? Does being native start with where our parents or grandparents were born? Does it take 100 years, 1,000 years to be indigenous?

Nature Photo Challenge #28: Wild animals It's not that we don't have other critters near us. We have more, including coyotes, bobcats, fishers, raccoons, flying squirrels, rabbits, and a variety of lizards and snakes. I never seem to have a camera at hand when I see them. It's frustrating. We did, however, have a field camera up for a while and got pictures of the night crew.

Last year on the SERENDIPITY website, we mentioned the lies told in the first Trump administration. Has the second administration turned out any better? And sometimes statistics, by Rich Paschall You may be familiar with the Mark Twain quote, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." The third category might refer to statistics that are incorrectly used to support someone's point of view.

Trump vs. Freedom of Speech by Rich Paschall Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. If you have been watching closely, it would seem that the Orange Leader and his followers have been trampling on all of the above.

FOTD – Waterlily Depending on the weather, there are waterlilies all over the valley. Last year, not so much, but it was a very dry year. Rain has been more than abundant this year, but we didn't see a lot of waterlilies at the Mumford, nor many at River Bend. Of course, they are usually blooming in June and July, and we might have been too late.

FOTD – Chrysanthemums For the fall that hasn't come yet, the flower of the season -- Chrysanthemums.

CWWC: Step or Stairs Our town lies on the edge of a ledge, which is sort of the side of a small mountain -- or a large hill. Between the raised hilly areas is water -- tributaries to the Blackstone Rivers, streams with no name. Ponds, little lakes, rivulets, and little waterfalls. There are dams and big canals, tiny canals. Water and hills, pretty much everywhere.

FOTD – Lantana I thought everything was dying back, but it rained again, and suddenly, everything is blooming. Very confused flowers, but at least they are blooming amidst the confusion.