Happy 4th of July!!!

While we weren’t able to have the big blowout we were hoping to have for the 4th, we were able have some family over, mostly because they were kind enough to bring over most of the food!! And of course, after months of drought, we woke up to RAIN!!

A big bummer, but it cleared up by about 7pm, just in time for the fireworks. Now, in Florida, fireworks are illegal for private displays unless you are using them to scare away birds for “agricultural purposes.” Now, I have noticed a lot of birds in the garden lately. It must be a huge problem because they were selling fireworks on every street corner. On the 4th the problem must have totally got out of control because the entire neighborhood decided to scare away the birds that night. First we'll smoke 'em out:
Actually it was very cool. My monster would set off a firework and then the neighbor then another neighbor. Everyone at each party would drunkenly cheer and it would become a competition to see who could shoot off the best fireworks and who could cheer the loudest. Add to that that we were only a few miles from the cities display so we can see and hear those through the trees and the countless other yards setting off their own shows. The result is near constant explosions for several hours. If you closed your eyes, you really could imagine some Revolutionary war battles going on.
My husband lit all of the fireworks in front of the butterfly garden. I'll be picking out debris for weeks. These are some he lit:

Here is a glipse of the big, city fireworks behind the trees.

The kids enjoyed the sparklers.


Interestingly, I don’t think this picture is blurry. It is exactly how it looked to me that night. What was in that punch, anyway?
The pool garden (that big blue spot is the pool) looks amazing lit up at night. I'll have to work on taking sober pictures in the evening.

Let just say the birds were scared shitless.