For the record, I'm not crazy about fireworks. Perhaps it's the family story about Uncle John having a firecracker blow up in his mouth (he was playing that it was a cigar -- Grandma sewed him up and used homemade poultices). Or the few times I was allowed to hold a sparkler, the parental units hovered closely with large glasses of iced tea (which would have doused any fires and cooled any burns).
In KC, seems folks have to start celebrating July 4th early. Several of our neighbors has been setting off fireworks for at least a week now -- some during daylight (DUH!) and some at night. We don't like the sound, which gets on our nerves and makes Her Highness jumpy.
Last night, a nearby subdivision had a fireworks display, which we actually enjoyed. We could see it from our deck and from the count (between light and the BOOM) it was about a mile away. Clearly a professional job.
My main worry for this July 4th is not only the annoying noise, and the fireworks debris in our yard, but the potential for fire. We've had scorching temperatures for at least a week, and we're way behind in rain for the year. While our prairie garden looks okay (with Joel's watering), the lawns in the neighborhood are dry and a brittle grayish-green/brown. The sides of the highways, including the land in the cloverleafs (entrance/exit ramps) looks as if a fire had taken place. That's how dry things are.
So, please, if you must set off fireworks, have water handy -- a 5 gallon bucket of it AND a waiting garden hose. I'm praying for rain tomorrow evening!
Did you get any rain last night? We got a good soaking, so the chance of fire is greatly reduced. Hurray!
Happy Independence Day.
Posted by: Rustee | Tuesday, 04 July 2006 at 10:00 AM
Oh, you're singing my song! My neighbors across the street (teenagers) have been setting off fireworks every night at about 10 PM...hello, trying to sleep! Because I too am concerned about the potential for fire I get up to monitor from the window just to make sure they don't do something stupid.
Posted by: Suzanne | Tuesday, 04 July 2006 at 10:12 AM
We did get some rain last night. I can only hope it'll rain more this afternoon to keep the pyros in. They've been setting off firecrackers since 10am.
Posted by: lauragayle | Tuesday, 04 July 2006 at 11:49 AM
I never wanted to hold a sparkler when I was a kid...all those flames shooting off were just too much to contemplate. Suzanne was always fearless though, and would even hold TWO at a time. That's pretty impressive to a five year-old.
My neighbors continued to shoot off their stash of fireworks well into the night last night. I can only hope they used them all up.
Posted by: mosker | Wednesday, 05 July 2006 at 06:15 PM