Gunpowder, boat exhaust, meat on the grill--
--sand grit in the potato salad. "When will the fireworks START, Daddy?" the kids ask. Hundreds of pleasure boaters idle in the current, waiting for the first salvo from Ft. Vancouver, the biggest fireworks show west of the Mississippi. Meanwhile the local yokels bide their time launching some pretty impressive private pyrotechnics, freshly purchased from the roadside artillery stands at the nearby Indian Reservation (hey, don't mess with tradition!).
The Fourth on the Columbia River signals the true start of summer. And the beachfront litter remains until the fall rains wash it all away. Maybe not this year, though--we've only just slid below flood stage. There's not much beach to litter up, as yet. This year, I'm laying low. KeyLimeSteve has the watch at Float Club, so I don't need to be there. My kids are off on their own, and I have a pack of dogs (including guest dogs Kippie and Gracie)--all hating fireworks. The vet tells me that Benadryl is a good tranquilizer to take the edge off their fear (one mg. per pound, administered once every 8 hours).
The Fourth is all about declarations of freedom, and I'm declaring my new Freedom Day tradition--holing up in the cool of the basement, priming the pups with doggie downers, and heading off my Puppy Porn Film Festival with "Old Yeller" and "Benji—Off the Leash!"
Gunpowder, boat exhaust, meat on the grill--
--sand grit in the potato salad. "When will the fireworks START, Daddy?" the kids ask. Hundreds of pleasure boaters idle in the current, waiting for the first salvo from Ft. Vancouver, the biggest fireworks show west of the Mississippi. Meanwhile the local yokels bide their time launching some pretty impressive private pyrotechnics, freshly purchased from the roadside artillery stands at the nearby Indian Reservation (hey, don't mess with tradition!).
The Fourth on the Columbia River signals the true start of summer. And the beachfront litter remains until the fall rains wash it all away. Maybe not this year, though--we've only just slid below flood stage. There's not much beach to litter up, as yet. This year, I'm laying low. KeyLimeSteve has the watch at Float Club, so I don't need to be there. My kids are off on their own, and I have a pack of dogs (including guest dogs Kippie and Gracie)--all hating fireworks. The vet tells me that Benadryl is a good tranquilizer to take the edge off their fear (one mg. per pound, administered once every 8 hours).
The Fourth is all about declarations of freedom, and I'm declaring my new Freedom Day tradition--holing up in the cool of the basement, priming the pups with doggie downers, and heading off my Puppy Porn Film Festival with "Old Yeller" and "Benji—Off the Leash!"