Fireworks

Minnesotans cannot purchase or use exploding fireworks: no firecrackers, bottle rockets, missiles, roman candles, or mortars and shells. Acceptable, as they have been, are sparklers, cones and tubes that emit sparks, and novelty items like snakes and party poppers. 

Then why am I hearing various booms…that are not party poppers.  People down on the lake are busy.  We have another couple of nights to endure before they run out of exploding supplies.  I hope they don’t start any fires or blow any body parts off.

We make sure that Chance is walked before dark…so he can go hide by the bathroom door or under my feet.

I bet the wildlife on the lake think the world is coming to an end.

We used to have a neighbor that had a cannon, the 4th of July was his day.  Various really big booms happened throughout the day.  He and his wife moved into an apartment in town…I wonder what he did with his cannon?  After all the little noise one could have some fun with a really big noise IF she had a cannon.  (She would probably end up in jail.)

As I write this it sounds like WW3 down on the lake. Maybe it will rain.

I can hope…we don’t have any skeeters to chase the people indoors.

I must be a party pooper.

Happy 4th of July!

In our younger years we would have been working on the 4th of July. 

In our older years a day at the lake with a picnic was nice, but with the jet stream funneling down smoke from the forest fires in Canada and causing limited visibility…we will stay put with the air conditioning on.

Chance coming home after getting the mail.

The haze hung heavy in our yard all day long.  The same is forecast for today.  The Fargo and Detroit Lakes air quality stations were both reporting "unhealthy" levels at 2 PM Friday afternoon.  My eyes were itchy…and it smelled like a forest fire out there.

One of my glass flowers at the edge of the woods.

Steve and Jo came over last night and we played a couple of games of Golf ( a card game) and listened to some oldies…with our usual “Who sang that or what is the name of that song…what year was that anyway?”

Fireworks started last night…people down at the lake are celebrating early.  Chance is not impressed with their noise and has to be coaxed to go outdoors. Oh well in a day or two the noise will be over… Far Guy took his vehicle in for an oil change yesterday across from the car dealership was a fireworks sales tent…and people were out front setting off fountains of fireworks…they must hire real smart help.

 

Fireworks!

We were invited into town for fireworks. Many thanks to Gravy and Dawn who were very gracious to include us!  They have a prime viewing spot along the river.

It rained this past week and we had a shower that went through earlier in the evening.  So it was reasonably safe for the fireworks.  The fire trucks were standing by. 

Jen borrowed my tripod, she has never photographed fireworks with a tripod before.

I just took these shots with my camera on the ground..they turned out pretty good.

 

I have one that I thought was way cool.  It looks like an angel!

For a small town Park Rapids puts on a very nice fireworks display.

We had a quiet day.  We ran an errand in town and stopped by the Dairy Queen for a Sundae.  It was very warm (95F or 35C) so we skipped the 4th of July parade.  Far Guy was not feeling too perky after having two of his teeth pulled on Tuesday:(

Fireworks: Best Seat in the House!

We were very graciously invited into town for the fireworks..possibly to the best seat in the house on the river.  Gravy's place is right across from the area where the display is set to go off.  It was a great place..lots of elbow room and a place to park..a good time for me to practice photographing fireworks!  The bats began flying around at dusk.  We had lots of bats at the resort, they are harmless...some of the older ladies put their hats on..the old they will get caught in your hair thought. I used to sit on the edge of the bed and watch them fly out at dusk on warm summer nights so I am not afraid of them.

The fireworks show was awesome.  Here are a few of my best shots. In order to photograph fireworks you need a tripod and patience.  I tried counting and timing my shots..sometimes it worked..sometimes it didn't..my camera was pointed directly overhead.  The smell of gunpowder filled the air, the bats disappeared and the air turned a hazy blue, visible only in the light from the fireworks.

 The concussions began to bother Far Guy toward the end..he was grateful when the show was over. The sounds of the trumpet playing Taps and then The Star Spangled Banner came from our friend Ray. The sweet musical notes carried over the water as a reminder that we are indeed the land of the free and the home of the brave.

 We watched fireworks in the distance all the way home..and when we got home Chance refused to go outdoors, he is not a fan of loud popping noises.

 This is my best Artsy Fartsy shot..I guess I am a bit strange..but this one really appeals to me:)

Fireworks!

I have never photographed Fireworks before, I used the tripod, West Side of Straight saved us a spot at a prime viewing site. Thanks Jo! She has some parade photos over there and some new baby photos! :)