Chest Pain!

October 23, 2020 M.G.

No, it’s not that kind of chest pain – and it’s on the right side of my chest, not the left.

At the end of September, I was walking across our back yard carrying some short sections of cut up 4×4 lumber in my left arm when I stepped into a depression in the yard and lost my balance. As I fell, I guess I pushed/flung the lumber away from me to keep from falling on them. That didn’t give me any time to limit my impact with my arms and I hit the ground pretty hard on my right side.

Every other time I’ve fallen since I was a kid, I’ve been able to get up and – after a little bit of cussing and walking around – get back to whatever I was doing before I fell. I had been pulling branches and other yard trash from piles in the yard to a spot where we were burning the debris…, and I started back at it and continued the next couple of days.

Big mistake – and the pain wasn’t going away like I thought it should.

I didn’t realize how long an injury like that to the rib area could take to heal. I was probably exacerbating the problem.

After a week, I called the clinic to see if I could get in to see a doctor. I was pretty sure I knew what it was, but decided I should get a diagnosis from a professional.

As they were fitting me into the schedule, it didn’t surprise me that it took over an hour. Everyone, staff and patients, was wearing their masks. The chairs in the waiting room were a little closer together than I would have liked, but they probably satisfied the social distancing requirements. Quite a few people cycled through while I was waiting, most of them to get a flu shot.

After an initial consult with the doctor, he sent me to another part of the clinic for x-rays and then saw me again after they had been taken.

His diagnosis matched what I thought was the problem: bruised ribs – also called chest wall contusion. None of the ribs were cracked or broken. He prescribed some pain medication – I only used that at bedtime a few days before I disposed of the remaining tablets.

One of the online medical sources says, “Don’t do any activity that causes pain.” Hah! The pain is the worst after getting out of bed in the morning. I’m not about to stop sleeping. I think the pain there is from laying in the same position for a long period and stiffening up.

Unfortunately, chest bruises can take weeks or months to heal. It’s been nearly 4 weeks, I guess. In the first couple of weeks, it really hurt whenever I would cough, sneeze, or even have hiccup. That kind of pain is pretty much gone. The remaining pain isn’t noticeable… most of time.

The older one gets, the more concerning falls become.

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Argh!

October 18, 2020 M.G.

I’ve been having problems accessing some of the editing features for this blog. On many posts, I’ve been unable to shift to text view, where I can see the html level coding for the post. The “Add Media” button hasn’t worked. There have been a couple of other features that weren’t responsive.

It’s been more than a little bit frustrating. I did a search on the problem and the top suggestion was to disable all plugins to see if that would fix the problem.

It did.

The recommendation was to enable each plugin one at a time and check after each to see if that was the one that was causing the problem.

It was CommentLuv Premium.

CommentLuv was originally created over a decade ago by Andy Bailey in the UK. It automatically shared a link to a commenter’s recent post and offered a number of different options associated with comments, spam filtering of comments, ensuring that commenters weren’t “robots,” and more. It was a pretty decent plugin and I upgraded to the premium version to take advantage of some of its features.

Unfortunately Andy was diagnosed with MS several years ago and, while he tried for a while, he was unable to keep up with his coding, including maintaining CommentLuv. At some point after he stopped working with it, another party purchased the plugin and all rights to it. Unfortunately, it seems, they did not choose to honor the “lifetime” CommentLuv Premium purchases, which I see as totally understandable. They were buying the app and the code, not the obligations to existing customers.

The old premium plugin still works but it is no longer available from WordPress, is no longer updated and the link to the plug-in site goes to a garbage link site. A new CommentLuv plugin is available from the new app owners. It doesn’t yet have a premium option which I doubt I would pay the extra cost for as I am not blogging as frequently as I was when I first bought the old premium version.

The new CommentLuv has not been updated in 9 months. It’s been tested through WordPress 5.3.4, but the current revision is 5.5.1.

At least the blog editing features are now working.

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Uh-oh

October 17, 2020 M.G.

Got up this morning and found the Dell black startup screen on both of my monitors.

Uh-oh, that’s not good.

….Turned my Dell desktop computer off and then back on.

Uh-oh, no change.

….Turned off, back on, and toggled F2 repeatedly to try to boot to BIOS.

Nope, didn’t work.

I mainly try to keep all of my photos backed up. The only things I don’t have backed up are a very few photos, newer items in the documents folder and all of the graphics I’ve created the last year for posting and all of the images I’ve downloaded associated with that. So, there is a lot that I don’t have backed up. I guess I’ll have to rectify that.

….Unplugged the external hard drives that I use mainly for photo storage and backup photo storage.

Shazam!

The PC is back!

It turned out that my computer will not reboot if a new 5 terabyte external hard drive is connected.

Fortunately, the packaging was still in a trash bag next to my computer desk. The drive is now repackaged and will be returned for a refund.

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New Post

October 15, 2020 M.G.

I’ve just started using a new iPad and decided to try writing a blog post using it. I tried a couple of times with my old iPad, but it just didn’t seem to work out.

I use the iPad to watch shows when I am walking on the treadmill. Currently, I am on season 2 of Game of Thrones. I tried reading the kindle while walking, but that was disorienting. I also tried watching the big-screen TV in the living room, which is where we have the treadmill, but it is off to the right too far for it to be comfortable to watch while I am walking. The iPad with Bluetooth earbuds works out great, though.

This iPad is the newest generation iPad with plenty of storage space for downloading shows to watch if we are away from cellular signals and internet access.

I am using a Bluetooth keyboard for composing this post. I certainly would not want to try to use the onscreen keyboard for that, though I am sure it is doable. If I were to use the iPad for frequent writing, I would probably want to get a Bluetooth mouse for iPad.

I will have to pronounce this blog post “test” a success. It will certainly be something to consider if we are far off-grid in our travels and we go somewhere to publish the post away from the camper where there is connectivity. The iPad is certainly smaller and lighter than our laptops. That would certainly be worth considering if we fly anywhere.

There is one additional benefit I wouldn’t think to mention except for an experience from last year’s trip. When I went to use my laptop in Laramie, Wyoming, I discovered that I had left the power adapter at home. I couldn’t find one locally so we ended up driving 65 miles to Ft. Collins, Colorado. The lightning power cords are interchangeable and available everywhere.

I also didn’t have a lightning to SD card reader to allow use of photos from my Pentax camera. That would be another purchase to make before our next trip.

Given all this, the iPad is certainly a feasible option for blog posts. However, at home, I prefer my desktop computer and, for most instances, when traveling, I will probably use my laptop for blog posting.

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Health Care Visits

October 12, 2020 M.G.

Surreal.

At least it would be in any normal times.

Now, the whole world is surreal, so donning a mask for health care facility visits is just part of today’s normal as is the required COVID screening for gaining access.

Shortly after officials announced that clinical service in Arkansas were going to be allowed to resume with restriction last May, my dentist’s office called and asked me if I wanted to schedule an an appointment for cleaning on what turned out to be the first day they were going to reopen for routine patient services.

“Ummm…, no, I don’t think so. I think I’d rather wait.”

That was a good call. My dental hygienist later told me that things didn’t go well. Apparently, after that first day, they decided to retreat on the resumption of services and do some more planning.

Since then, I have visited health care “facilities” 13 times. That’s more than I’ve been in all retail establishments combined in the same time period. The visits were for:

dentist’s office for cleaning
local clinic for blood test
cardiologist for routine visit
optometrist for eye exam
primary care physician for routine visit
ophthalmologist for cataract surgery evaluation
cataract surgery right eye
right eye post-operation exam
cataract surgery left eye
left eye post-operation exam
flu shot
cataract surgery final post-operation exam
local clinic for pain resulting from a fall

The cataract surgeries made a tremendous improvement in my vision. Everything is clearer and brighter. I can see at distances without needing glasses, though I now need glasses for reading, a reversal of my previous optical needs.

The fall was around 10 days or so ago. I was carrying several short lengths of 4 by 4 lumber across the backyard when I stepped in to a depression. Starting to fall, I instinctively thrust the lumber away from me to the left so that I wouldn’t land on any of the pieces, but that hindered my ability to arrest my fall with my arms. I landed pretty hard on my front right side.

Even though my rib cage hurt, I continued to working in the yard over the next several days. With the pain continuing, I finally decided to see a doctor on the 6th. X-rays showed that there were no cracked or broken ribs, so what I have is bruised ribs on my right side front. It’s going to take a while to fully heal and I need to watch it so that I don’t exacerbate it. It does make really difficult to get the exercise I want in order to maintain or even improve my fitness level.

Oh, and I did go one other place during the last few moths.

I got a haircut.

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Stalked

October 11, 2020 M.G.

Glacier National Park

August 30, 2014¹—Last evening, we were walking the trail in this photo² to Apgar Village. A couple with two small dogs was coming from the opposite direction and I sarcastically said, referring to the dogs, “Bear bait” and “Mountain lion bait.”

The couple pulled off the side of the trail to restrain their very friendly dogs. We got into a conversation and they told us about an encounter they had just had on a trail that paralleled the one we were on—one that we had walked last Monday evening. For some reason, they looked behind them and there on the trail was a mountain lion!

The man was able to chase it off by throwing a couple of large sticks at it.

I told them about my sarcastic “mountain lion bait” comment and they agreed, saying the big cat was probably after the dogs. They had already reported the encounter to a ranger.

This cat is getting too habituated to humans and something will probably have to be done. I hope it can be relocated and won’t have to be put down. There has been reports of a mountain lion with 4 cubs. If they belong to this cat, something will need to be done with them, too.

This was originally published on Facebook with a post titled, “Couple and Their Dogs Stalked by Mountain Lion.”
Photo was rendered into a drawing using an application named Akvis Sketch.

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Halloween 2020 #7

October 10, 2020 M.G.

Halloween and the Minnesota snowball

This cartoon by Charles Lewis Bartholomew was probably published in The Minneapolis Journal between 1898 and 1915 and was probably one of many that he drew to illustrate the daily weather forecast.

Library of Congress description: Two figures are shown standing outdoors in the snow, one with a jack-o-lantern head and the other with a snowball for a head. The jack-o-lantern wears a bow tie labled “Halloween” and holds a party horn. From the corner of its mouth, smoky breath eminates, perhaps serving as an indication of the cold temperature. The snowball, in mittens and a tie labled “Minnesota Snowball,” stands next to the jack-o-lantern holding one hand to his mouth.

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Account of Lincoln’s Death by a Diarist Who Knew Him

October 5, 2020 M.G.

Horatio Nelson Taft’s remarkable entry recording of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln remained unseen by the public until after his diary was obtained by the Library of Congress in 2002. Much of Taft’s unique knowledge of the event came from his oldest son, Charles S. Taft. Charles, an army surgeon, had been in the audience in Ford’s theater that April 1865 night. Lifted from the stage into the presidential box, Charles, with other surgeons, attended Lincoln until his death. He appears in at least two less-than-accurate images representing the death of Lincoln (the room in the Peterson boardinghouse where Lincoln died was far too small for the crowd shown at his bedside). In one of them, Charles is at the head of the deathbed with his hands on Lincoln’s head.

Taft’s civil war diary is one many diaries and journals whose entries, as well as news articles, letters, and other material, are scheduled for publication 160 years after they were originally written or published in my Civil War blog, American Civil War Chronicles. Taft’s first diary entry, from January 1, 1861, is scheduled to be published on January 1, 2021.

Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1865^1,2

April 14^th ½ past 10 o’clock P.M.

O, fatal day. O, noble Victim. Treason has done its worst. The President has been Assassinated. It has just been announced at my door that he was shot a half hour ago at Fords Theatre. Is it possible? I have just come from near the scene, it is too True. 11 o’clock P.M.

April 30^th 1865

This has been a most eventful month. The most eventful in the History of our Country. We have seen during this month the complete crushing out of the “Great rebellion” by a series of masterly Military achievements. The occupation of the Rebel Capitol by our troops. The surrender of Gen^l Lee with his Army near Richmond, and the surrender of Gen^l Johnson and his Army in North Carolina, and above all in importance which has occured in the World during this month, The President of the United States has been assassinated. Abraham Lincoln, the good and kind hearted, was Shot while sitting in his Box at Fords Theatre on the night of the 14^th In^t at about half past ten O’clock. Mr Lincoln had been in the habit of attending the Theatre occasionaly, perhaps once in four or six weeks, as a relaxation from the arduous duties of his position and constant mental exertion. On this occasion he went rather reluctantly. But it had been published in the Bills that Himself and Gen^l Grant would be present, and Gen^l Grant having left the City in the evening train for Phil^a, the President said that he did not “wish the people to be disappointed” and so went with his Lady arriving about ½ past 8. Miss Harris (daughter of Hon Ira Harris) and Maj Rathbone of Albany were also in the same Box, which was a double one, two being thrown into one. This Box was in the 2^nd Tier and entered from the Dress circle through a narrow corridor some three feet wide and eight or ten long. There was a door at the dress circle end and at the other end there were two doors, one for each Box but now the two Boxes being thrown into one, one of the doors was closed. The other was open, and all of them unguarded. The assassin J Wilkes Booth had made his arrangements in the most deliberate manner (probably during that day). He had fixed a bar across the door leading into the dress circle and had cut a hole through the closed door leading to the Box, which enabled him to see the exact position of the President and others in the Box without being seen himself. At about ½ past 10, he entered the corridor from the Dress circle, bared the door to prevent any one from entering, examined the position of Mr Lincoln through the hole in the closed door. Then entered the Box behind all who were there (as they were looking toward the stage) and standing within three or four feet of Mr Lincoln, Shot him in the back of the head. The ball entering about two inches from the left ear near the base of the skull and lodging in the brain about two inches back of the right eye. His head was probably inclined forward at the time. The Murderer rushed to the front of the Box with a dagger in his hand. Major Rathbone caught his coat but Booth struck him on the arm with the dagger wounding him severely, which compelled him to let go his hold. Booth vaulted over the front of the Box and as he did so exclaimed “Sic Semper Tyranis” (Thus To Tyrants). As he Jumped from the box his spur cau[gh]t in the flag and as he struck the Stage he came to a crouching position from the effect of the concussion, his hands striking the floor but he recovered himself in a moment and flourishing his dagger he strode across the Stage some forty feet in sight of the spectators and past some of the actors, and reaching the back door which opens into a lane, he mounted a fleet horse and escaped. The lane enters F S^t betwen 9^th & 10 S^ts. The audience was paralized for some seconds, but rushed on to the Stage. A Surgeon was called for and Charles S Taft² a Surgeon being present was lifted up from the Stage to the Box by those present. Before this the bar had been removed by Maj Rathbone and several men had reached the Box. When Cha^s reached the Box the President was lying upon the floor. Water and stimulants were used immediately but without avail in attempts to revive him. He was taken up and carried from the Theatre to the House opposite in about fifteen minutes after he was shot. A Dr Leale from Armory Square Hospital was the first Surgeon in the box. But Cha^s did not know that there was any Surgeon but himself present until the President was removed from the Theatre. Cha^s had charge of him until Dr Stone (the Presidents family Physician) arrived which was half an hour after he was placed on a bed at the House of Mr Peterson, opposite. When the shot was fired Mrs Lincoln was sitting near her husband with her hand on his knee. She says she saw the flash and heard the report of the pistol, thinking it was in some way connected with the the Play. She leaned forward to see what it was, and then looked to Mr Lincoln to see where he was looking. He was sitting with his head droped down and eyes shut. She was not alarmed at this, he sometimes held his head in that way when in deep thought, but she put her hand on his forehead and he not stirring she put it on the back of his head and feeling it wet she immediately withdrew it covered with blood. She then screamed and that is the last she remembered that took place in the Theatre. She says, as she put her hand on his head she recollects that something suddenly brushed past her and rubbing off her Shawl. It was Booth as he jumped from the Box. The President made no noise, nor attempted to speak, nor Stirred a limb after he was shot, nor was he conscious for one moment from that time until he died. When his skin was touched or his hand was taken, there was a slight quiver or tremor of the muscles, but that was all. Mustard paste was applied nearly all over the body and stimulants were given as long as he could swallow in hopes to revive him but entirely without avail. His pulse ceased to beat at 22 minutes past Seven. Cha^s had his hand on his heart, he said it fluttered or trilled for 10 seconds longer. It was the opinion of the Surgeons that the wound would have killed most men instantly, or in a very few minutes. But Mr Lincoln had so much vitality that he lived nearly nine hours. There were four Surgeons in immediate or active attendance. Dr Stone, The Surgeon Gen^l Dr Barnes, The Assistant Surgeon Gen^l Dr Crane and Charles. Some others were present whose services were not required. Most of the members of the Cabinet were there all night. Chief Justice Chase and other distinguished men. Mr Senator Sumner with Robert Lincoln leaning on his shoulder near the head of the bed. Sec’y Stanton was active in giving directions and writing dispatches all night. Gen^l Meigs Stood at the door to keep out all who were not wanted or to see that the room was not crowded. The room is at the end of the entrance Hall about 9 feet by 15, with two windows and three doors, one door entering from the Hall, one at the left as you enter, opening to an open porch or piazza, and the other at the farther end of the room, opening into another small room from which stairs decended to to [sic] the Basement. Some few individuals came in to the room through that door clandestinely. Mrs Lincoln occupied a room near by with some of her friends who were there. She went in frequently to see the President with Doct Gurley (The family Pastor) who had been sent for about 3 O’clock. She was not in the room when he died. Robert Lincoln was there and Dr Gurley, the two private Secretaries of the President Nicolay and Hay. Upon one occasion when Mrs L went in and saw her husband she fainted and was carried out insensible. It was thought best for her not to be there when he died. Dr Gurley prayed by the bedside of the President when he first arrived (at 3 o’clock). Then went into the room where Mrs Lincoln was and prayed with her, and remained with her most of the time, accompanying her and supporting her into the room of the dying President when she visited it. After the death Dr Gurley who was standing near Mr Stanton said shall we have any religious exercises here or elsewhere now? Yes said Mr Stanton offer Prayer ________ now and here. For the last half hour before the death, the utmost stillness had prevailed in the room, not a word, not a whisper was heard. The President of the United States dying, surrounded by his Cabinet and many of the first men in the Nation standing like statues around the bed presented a scene for an artist seldom equaled for solemn grandeur. It is to be hoped that it will yet be transfered to Canvass. After the President died Dr Gurley went to Mrs L and told her “the President is dead.” O – why did you not let me know? Why did you not tell me? “Your friends thought it was not best. You must be resigned to the will of God. You must be calm and trust in God and in your friends.” She soon after left, with Dr G for her Home. She was asked during the night if her son “Tad” (Thaddeus) (a boy about twelve years old) should be sent for. “O, my poor “Taddy” what will become of him? O do not send for him, his violent grief would disturb the House.” When they reached the Presidents house “Tad” met them on the Portico. “Where is my Pa? Where is my Pa? He kept repeating the question till they got into the room of Mrs Lincoln. He had heard that his Pa had been shot but evidently expected him when his mother came. He was very much excited and alarmed but had not thought that his Pa could be dead. “Taddy” your Pa is dead” said Dr Gurley. He was not prepared for this. He screamed in an agony of grief “O what shall I do? What shall I do? My Brother is dead. My Father is dead. O what shall I do? What will become of me? O what shall I do? O mother you will not die will you. O don’t you die Ma. You wont die will you Mother? If you die I shall be all alone. O dont die Ma.” Dr Gurley said that up to that time he himself had not shed a tear, but he could not witness “Tads” grief unmoved and the Tears flowed freely. He said, when I got back to my own house at about 10 o’clock that morning, “I felt as though I had been engaged all night in a terrible Battle and had but just strength enough left to drag myself off the field.”

Horatio Nelson Taft was a patent office civil servant whose young children per playmates of the Lincoln sons during the first 10 months of the Lincoln administration. Taft’s daughter, Julia, wrote a memoir, Tad Lincoln’s Father, of those days that includes many observations of the private side of Abraham Lincoln.
Charles S. Taft, the doctor lifted from the stage to the President’s box, was the diarist’s oldest son. He attended the president until he died and appears in at least two images of the deathbed scene in the Peterson boarding house room where Lincoln died.

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Halloween 2020 #6

October 4, 2020 M.G.

Skull, Bannack State Park, ghost-town of first territorial capital and mining town,
Montana, September 19, 2018

This image is mine, a horse skull on top of a building’s sod roof. Unlike others in this series, this image is not public domain nor is it creative commons licensed, though a similar image from a different angle has been placed in the public domain.

The Origins of Halloween

Wilstar—Halloween is one of the most anticipated and celebrated holidays of the year. Kids dress up as their favorite characters and go house to house in order to receive sweet treats. Many culinary accomplishments are attributed to Halloween time such as candy apples, popcorn balls, and any food that looks like it might belong in a horror movie. Halloween is one of the highest grossing holidays of the year aside from Christmas. Families spend billions of dollars on costumes and other Halloween related merchandise.

The origins of Halloween have been traced to over 2,000 years ago to a Celtic Holiday known as Samhain. Samhain was the start of the Celtic year and marked the end of summer for the Celtics. Samhain was celebrated on November 1st but it was believed that Samhain Eve, October 31st, was the time of year when the dead came back for a night in the form of ghosts. Families would leave food and refreshments for their loved ones who had come back from the dead for that one night. People would also wear masks on their faces when they had to travel on Samhain Eve so that they would blend in with all the other ghosts. This day was important to Celtics because they believed that Samhain Eve gave their priests, a group known as the Druids, the ability to better see into the future and the upcoming year. They would gather around a large bonfire as a group, wearing costumes and spend the night warding off unfriendly ghosts and trying to predict the upcoming year. Samhain faded out after the Celtics were conquered and the world progressed past prophesies. The holiday became a part of many other traditions and parts of Samhain were still celebrated.

From the 8th to the 9th Century, Samhain became All Hallows and the night before became All Hallows Eve, which was eventually shortened to simply Halloween. This is thought to be because at the time Christianity was widespread in the area where the Celtics lived. The church wanted to establish a church-sanctioned holiday that would still have some components of the Celtic holiday but would allow for a more religious view. Trick or Treating is a result of two different traditions that originated out of Medieval Britain, Souling and Guising. Souling is when young needy people would beg for pastries and bread in return for praying for the diseased or for the end of famine and plagues. Guising is a tradition, where young children would dress up in costumes and accept money, food, and wine from others because they would perform jokes, small skits, dances, or would sing. These two traditions morphed into trick or treating. While the start of trick or treating was mainly an excuse for tricks, the 1950’s saw a change in the tradition and it became more family friendly.

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Halloween 2020 #5

October 3, 2020 M.G.

pumpkins harvest vegetables autumn

Wilstar—Halloween is both a secular and religious holiday. It is celebrated on October 31. Although countries all over the world celebrate Halloween or a form of it. Churches may celebrate All Hallows Day or All Saints Day. The secular celebration is marked by dressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating and carnival style events characterized by spooky elements such as ghosts.

The original source of Halloween is of pagan tradition, although many believe the Christian celebrations came first. These festivals often honored gods of fruits, such as the Roman Pomona. Others, like the festival of Parentalia, may have honored the deceased.

The Celtic festival of Samhain is of major influence, which marked the end of summer and the harvest. Bonfires were lit, often to provide light for those bringing in livestock from the fields or mountains to be slaughtered for winter. On this day, the Celts believe that the door to the underworld was opened, letting in spirits. They would hold a feast, setting a place for any deceased relatives, as they were believed to visit home on this day. Mean spirits entered the earthly realm as well. People would dress in costume in order to confuse these spirits. This evolved into the custom of visiting houses to collect food for the feast while in costume, a precursor to trick-or-treating.

There were several legends associated with Samhain due to the believed opening of the underworld: The body parts of those who had died since the last Halloween would become animated and possess the living. This is why many observers would extinguish fire inside of their house and purposely make it very cold so that spirits would not be drawn there.

Image is royalty free from Pixabay
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Pixabay image by Majaranda • NRW/Germany • Member since Aug. 9, 2019 •

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agriculture, autumn, autumn decoration, decoration, halloween, harvest, pumpkins, season, thanksgiving, vegetables

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