Happy Belated 4th!

I hope all my American friends had a wonderful celebration of liberty yesterday whether you are currently on the homeland soil or far away.

I'm particularly thankful today for heroes like my brother-in-law who has made a career of naval service.

Of course, our offices were closed yesterday, so I'm just getting around to my usual Wednesday post. Indulge me as I bore you with what I did over my holiday.

Tuesday night I watched fireworks from a hilltop house perched overlooking a local lake park where the conservancy puts off a decently lights display. But I must say that the sunset and stars that night clearly rivaled the fireworks. If only I'd taken along my camera.

Yesterday I did the unpleasant job of cleaning out the garage and finally mopping away the salt and sludge deposits built up over the winter. There is definite liberty in a clean and organized space.

Another holiday success for me was in trapping 2 raccoons. Yes, I know it sounds redneck. I live in the country, and despite all the space around us these coons have been making our front yard their home, eating dog food and bird seed. Ohio labels these types of animals as nuisances that homeowners are allowed to destroy. Game wardens don't want people relocating them. So I won't tell you exactly what we did with our pathetic critters.

The highlight of the 4th for me was going with family to an old-fashioned general store where they make their own ice cream. Then we drove around the lake looking at houses and wondering about the stories of the people who live in them. There is quite an eclectic collection of elegant estate looking homes and rustic cabins with a mix of year-round and just holiday dwellers.

Now to get back in the groove of everyday work of exercising these liberties we enjoy through the freedom of the written word.