Dear UHHers,

This Weekly Challenge covering October 10 - 16, 2022, is being posted at this time because I will be in an area Monday where my internet might not be working or may be sketchy, at best. Please do not post in this challenge until Monday. Instead, enjoy posting in the Challenge: Free/Sunday for today!

As Autumn is such a multifaceted season, so too can people's opinions of it be. Your job in this challenge is to photographically show us what Autumn means to you.

Since I retired in 2020, I have been spending a great deal of time at the house my parents bought in the town of Fish Lake, Indiana in 1959, when I was five - just a wee tadpole.

Since Dad died in '76, I have had the responsibility of doing all the October buttoning up such a property entails. Since there is only a space heater, no hot water, no shower, and especially no insulation, the whole house gets winterized and closed until early March. Moreover, all the stuff that has accumulated outside throughout the year has to be put into my shed. Finally, I need to maintain the yard - and everything that entails. So what you will see posted from me here are not beautiful shots - but rather mundane ones. That's because for me, Autumn means w-o-r-k! Further on in this challenge, I will attempt to post some beauties so you know I’m not a party-pooper!

Have some fun, and show us your Autumn spirit.

Joe Cichocki

Getting used to autumn in Southcentral Alaska was a challenge. It is north of the treeline for the more colorful hardwoods like maple so the colors are more subdued. It's a shorter season than in the Lower 48, too. By Halloween the first frost is a distant memory and the first snow a more recent one. The trick or treaters come to the door in their winter coats. But once you recognize it for what it is, fall in Southcentral Alaska is a colorful experience. This is Knik Glacier as seen in September.