Wood ducks and a turtle

Wood ducks and a turtle at Bobolink Meadow just now. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle

Sugar Maple

Our sugar maple is finally turning orange and red.  Late this year due to unseasonably hot weather in September and early October.

Cormorant

At Wooded Isle in Chicago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormorant

Take a knee

German team Hertha Berlin (Hertha BSC) linked arms and took a knee, mirroring professional athletes in the U.S. taking a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice.

And a good piece on the Quartz website regarding the NFL players who are "taking a knee":
https://qz.com/1102238/americans-can-take-a-knee-during-the-national-anthem-thanks-to-the-jehovahs-witnesses/?utm_source=qzfb

To my mind, the United States is a nation founded on the promise and power of dissent and these players are exercising their first amendment right to peaceful protest.

California wildfires

Satellite image of Santa Rosa wildfires

Californians describe escaping wildfires:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/us/california-fires-evacuations.html

Stay humble

Writing's on the Wall

English singer-songwriter, Sam Smith, keeps appearing on American TV.  When I looked up his Best Original Song Oscar and Golden Globe winner on Youtube, I saw that it has over 170 million views. I guess I'm not the only person that likes his voice: