We have frogs of every sort and size in our lower pond near Dave's machine shop. One sounds like he's laughing, "Yuk, yuk, yuk." Another must be the straight man, "Croooak, croooak." The rest just make crowd noise, "Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit."
Last night they were all loudly voicing their opinions when I went to bed, and they were still at it this morning when I got up. We used to have one that sounded like a guitar with a broken string, "Poink, poink," very deep. He's been among the missing lately; hopefully he just doesn't feel like partying.
Yesterday I mowed a lane up through the hayfield to our upper pond which is gorgeous this year. I don't see as many cattails. A great blue heron took off as I rounded the corner to the pond. They are so beautiful in flight.
We haven't mowed around that pond this year and didn't do much last year, so it's gone back to nature. Must take the DR up to clear some of the brush away. We have bushes with sharp thorns taking over everywhere I don't mow now. They had pretty white flowers, but I've got to get rid of them.
At least part of our holiday weekend will be taken up with beginning to clear away the giant spruce tree that fell in a storm several weeks ago. We had to wait until the ground dried so we could drive the tractor across the yard to load branches on and take them to the burn pile. After a super wet spring, everything is finally dry, so time to get busy.
Our stone wall is completely finished, grass planted, and piles of crushed stone and earth gone! Hurray. I'll get a picture on as soon as possible. Still haven't bought a digital camera - things like auto insurance, homeowners insurance, school taxes, etc. seem to keep getting in the way. :( Such is life.
I hope everyone has a fantastic 4th of July weekend. We'll be attending the big parade in Montrose Monday morning and maybe go down to the Green for some food. Now that we have a wheelchair for Dave, we can wander around to our heart's content. Our old flag was a wreck so we even have a brand new one just in time for the 4th. Happy times everybody!
Showing posts with label 4th of July. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 4th of July. Show all posts
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Fourth of July in a Small Town
Our country's birthday is a real big deal in Susquehanna County, PA. Oh you might go to Scranton for St. Patrick's Day or someplace else for a Christmas parade, but if you aren't in Montrose, PA for the Independence Day parade, you're nowhere.
Last night we drove down to Wyoming County to Tunkhannock High School for the opening salvo of our holiday. That town has the best fireworks show around in our estimation. We found a huge crowd already gathered when we arrived early and it grew until the football field and surrounding lawns were packed with people of all ages. There were also people lined up along Route 6 and on porches in neighborhoods with a good view. Kiwanis volunteers collected donations ensuring that next year's show will be just as spectacular as last night's extravaganza.
I've often wondered what it would be like to fly over a fireworks show. Last night some of the rockets went so high I wondered if any small planes were nearby. Guess not. Other fireworks just to the left of those rockets were new to me, swirling, pulsating, screaming streaks of color and the pop, pop, pop of blinding lights. At 69 I was sqealing and cheering just as much as the children around us.
Today was the big parade in the Susquehanna County seat of Montrose. It's a lovely town with many large old homes built in the early 1900's by wealthy Philadelphia people who discovered how beautiful it is here in the summer. It's a staunchly conservative Republican area. The people are religious and they maintain old-fashioned values. As a Democrat I'm part of a tiny minority here but I love the people so I just keep my mouth shut. When I was a reporter for the weekly paper, it drove the county commissioners nuts that they couldn't figure out where I stood on things so they actually looked me up in the voting records to find out. Imagine their shock!
Anyway, we're as patriotic as they are and my husband was in the Marine Corps as were many of our neighbors. We always show up for the parade. It lasts an hour these days with all the typical ingredients for a good country parade: veterans, high school bands (2), Dixieland bands, Cub Scouts, local clergy in golf carts (there's an excellent course here), old tractors, classic cars, fire engines, floats, and politicians. We also have a local group reminiscent of "Stomp" who we all love, gorgeous horses (one carrying George Washington this year), dirt track race cars, Ronald McDonald, and queens of this and that. Bringing up the rear every year is Charlie Chaplin with a janitor's cart.
The crowd is unbelievable. Everyone brings the kids and grandma, and we see people we haven't seen for months. The parade ends at the town green where there are craft booths and food stands, barbecued chicken at the firehouse, and wonderful smells.
This evening we'll see fireworks at our high school on the hill but most of the out-of-town visitors will have gone home by them. The population of Montrose swells by thousands during this day as folks drive in from New York, New Jersey, and other parts of Pennsylvania. Then they go home and the town easily slips back into normal quiet days. Well, that is until the Blueberry Festival next month. You ought to see the crowd then!
Last night we drove down to Wyoming County to Tunkhannock High School for the opening salvo of our holiday. That town has the best fireworks show around in our estimation. We found a huge crowd already gathered when we arrived early and it grew until the football field and surrounding lawns were packed with people of all ages. There were also people lined up along Route 6 and on porches in neighborhoods with a good view. Kiwanis volunteers collected donations ensuring that next year's show will be just as spectacular as last night's extravaganza.
I've often wondered what it would be like to fly over a fireworks show. Last night some of the rockets went so high I wondered if any small planes were nearby. Guess not. Other fireworks just to the left of those rockets were new to me, swirling, pulsating, screaming streaks of color and the pop, pop, pop of blinding lights. At 69 I was sqealing and cheering just as much as the children around us.
Today was the big parade in the Susquehanna County seat of Montrose. It's a lovely town with many large old homes built in the early 1900's by wealthy Philadelphia people who discovered how beautiful it is here in the summer. It's a staunchly conservative Republican area. The people are religious and they maintain old-fashioned values. As a Democrat I'm part of a tiny minority here but I love the people so I just keep my mouth shut. When I was a reporter for the weekly paper, it drove the county commissioners nuts that they couldn't figure out where I stood on things so they actually looked me up in the voting records to find out. Imagine their shock!
Anyway, we're as patriotic as they are and my husband was in the Marine Corps as were many of our neighbors. We always show up for the parade. It lasts an hour these days with all the typical ingredients for a good country parade: veterans, high school bands (2), Dixieland bands, Cub Scouts, local clergy in golf carts (there's an excellent course here), old tractors, classic cars, fire engines, floats, and politicians. We also have a local group reminiscent of "Stomp" who we all love, gorgeous horses (one carrying George Washington this year), dirt track race cars, Ronald McDonald, and queens of this and that. Bringing up the rear every year is Charlie Chaplin with a janitor's cart.
The crowd is unbelievable. Everyone brings the kids and grandma, and we see people we haven't seen for months. The parade ends at the town green where there are craft booths and food stands, barbecued chicken at the firehouse, and wonderful smells.
This evening we'll see fireworks at our high school on the hill but most of the out-of-town visitors will have gone home by them. The population of Montrose swells by thousands during this day as folks drive in from New York, New Jersey, and other parts of Pennsylvania. Then they go home and the town easily slips back into normal quiet days. Well, that is until the Blueberry Festival next month. You ought to see the crowd then!
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