July 4th Weekend

Well, it's been a while since I posted. I've been busy moving. I'll post about the move soon, but first a few pictures from my trip home for Grant's birthday and the 4th of July. I don't have any pictures of it, but I spent most of the first day home playing with Grant and talking to the rest of my family. Towards evening I ended up in my brother's heated pool, watching as a neighbor mowed our hay fields and my older brother tedded it, and my younger brother mowed his yard. Then Grant started helping his dad mow. He is an excellent driver and requires pretty much no help at all even with the big tractors. Right after the guys were done in the fields, a doe came out of the woods not far from the pool and started eating the freshly mowed hay. She seemed pretty unconcerned with our presence. Soon dramatic clouds rolled in and it was time to head home. Ah, country living.

The next morning we went to the 4th of July parade. There were a lot of American flags, which I was actually happy to see. Not so long ago, I felt a bit of shame whenever I saw it. There was a strong association between the flag and a certain ex-president. To disagree with said president was to be unAmerican, which I found rather disturbing.


Grant seemed to enjoy it all.
He especially liked the tractors...


and the trucks...

He was thrilled when the big trucks blew their horns for him. They had varied adornments...
There were other spectacles too...
But they weren't as good as the tractors and trucks...
As the sunset that day, I went out to experiment with taking nighttime photos...


Then the various fireworks started...
Next, of course, my family decided to make some noise of their own. They like to be the loudest in the land...

And then there is the simple thrill of lighting a line of black powder...

The next day more tractors and fire, but this time on Grant's birthday cake...