Many Happy Returns!

Today is the celebration of Bilbo and Frodo's birthday, or, as the vulgar have it these days, Hobbit Day. It is also the first day of Fall, so we doubly celebrate it around here.
I have been very busy for the past two weeks, first with a beloved niece's wedding and then with my brother and his family's visit that was a happy consequence of the same. I apologize for my unexplained absence, but there it is. As Sam would say, "Well, I'm back."

Approaching

Fallish

Fall Classroom Cork-board

Every September in grade school, in classroom and cafeteria, there would go up the cork-board decorations for Autumn. October was Halloween with pumpkins and scarecrows, and November was Thanksgiving with Pilgrims and cornucopias, but the default decoration for September was Fall-themed, with harvest and leaf-change. Although Fall does not technically start for a few weeks, here are a few nostalgic mood tones.

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Autumnal Mood