Small Town 4th of July

I have not liked having the 4th of July on a Wednesday and I can also say I haven't been fond of this historic heat wave Mother Nature has bestowed on us.  Nope.  Neither one has been good and I LOVE the 4th of July.

This year the fire works were on the Saturday night before the 4th.  With the new law in Michigan allowing the sale of fireworks and us being so lucky has to have one of those big tents installed to sell them in town...well lets just say we've been listening to fireworks blasting off at 10 pm every night for about a week straight now.  Maybe it's good the weather has been so hot and we've had the A/C blasting - I can't hear quite so many of them.

So on a hot Saturday night we hit the beach to watch the fireworks.  Actually it was just me and Equestrian Girl - the boys were in Midland to race.  The lake was crowded with boats and swimmers as the sun set.  It was too hot to carry the camera so this was the only picture I took with my phone.

The parade was actually ON the 4th of July which made me feel better but again, so flipping hot I couldn't bring the camera.  It's black and absorbs heat, right?  This umbrella brigade was a new addition.  One had an equipment malfunction.

This is a few of the horses from the Washtenaw Sheriff's mounted division.  I had hoped to see our friend Eugene but I don't this his big Clyde mare is quite ready for parades.  Just as well, they had to be roasting in those dark uniforms.  I found it interesting that they all wore tail bags this year.  I don't think they did that last year....I'll have to go back and check my pictures!