Independence Day 2011

When Daniel was still on Earth we had a family ritual of placing a piece of plywood in the front field, hosing a broad area around it with water, to prevent sparks and fires, and doing our own fireworks. We also made a number of different foods including a sponge cake with strawberries and blueberries with cream in order to incorporate the requisite red, white and blues. Somehow, this seems less important now. Last year we tried to hold the tradition together because we wanted to show it to James. This year it seems like hard going. Large fireworks have become very expensive and therefore we have a few sparklers and small items, but not enough for our traditional family Independence Day show. We also have a relative drought here which makes fireworks dangerous. It's not as bad as last years drought, but not enough water not to have drought. Life seems to spin faster and faster as we grow. We try to have the American flag up anyway and we will likely have the Independence Day picnic, but it seems we have outgrown the fireworks.
One of the disadvantages to living so far out in the country is that when you think you might like to see a commercial or local fireworks display, that traveling would be a necessity. It keeps us from doing a lot of things suburbanites might do on a whim.
I will try to make this a memorable and happy holiday here. Last evening, my husband took James to select fireworks after all from a roadside seller. He spent more than I would have. Perhaps one more year we will still have fireworks on the farm.
When darkness finally fell, James and Dad set off the fireworks one at a time. I think James had the best time. I stood watching from the porch getting bitten by the mosquitoes but also knowing that this was important for James, and also for my husband. The other kids watched and my daughter took pictures with a new camera with a filter which catches the light from fireworks. I think it was a salvaged holiday after all.
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This performance is a long time ago, before KT Tunstall was a big star. This is her first performance of UK TV