July 3rd

The Fourth of July is a huge event in my town, especially on Main Street.  Many of us living on Main Street decorate in a big way for all the holidays, and the 4th of July is no exception.  

Since yesterday, the normal traffic sounds on Main Street have been augmented with the buzzing of multiple lawnmowers and the swish of brooms as we prepare to host the rest of the town for the annual parade.    

At our house, the front garden has been given a new layer of mulch, the weeds have been pulled, pea gravel has been put between the paving stones, the geraniums have been trimmed, and the sidewalk and porch have been swept and tidied.  We put up the bunting and flags this afternoon, and I'll be setting up the tea table this evening so we can have breakfast on the porch while watching the parade.  

I started mowing the lawn this morning, and Harvest finished up after lunch.  We mowed our neighbor's front lawn and terrace (the lawn area between the sidewalk and the street) as well as our own.  Mowing the terrace is important because in the next few hours, people will begin to put down their blankets and lawn chairs so they can have the best seats for the parade that will go down Main Street tomorrow morning.   If you look in the photo below, you can see the blanket and chairs of two very early birds who set up their seats before noon on the neighbor's terrace across the street.  Our terrace is currently unoccupied, but that won't last much longer.