"Oh, shoot," I said, equally displeased. "I'm not driving all the way to the far side of the city for a 20 minute fireworks display, and I'm not driving all the way to Redwood City which is even further away. What a drag. I guess we'll have to watch some on tv."

Turns out we didn't have to go any further than our front porch. Our new city is one of the few places in the Bay Area that legally sells fireworks. I think every household for miles put on their own pyrotechnic display. The noise and accompanying smoke was constant from about 8pm onwards. By 9pm we were able to watch three sets of neighbors setting off an array of Safe'n'Sane Fireworks(tm) in a fairly unsafe and insane way. The next street over had Roman candles, giant fireballs, and more firecrackers than a Chinese New Year's parade. Several people in the area had professional quality large fireworks, the kind you normally only see at a special event. We could see excellent displays from the upstairs window looking out back as well as sitting on our front steps. The air reverberated for hours with the booms, cracks, staccato pops, hisses, whirring, and shrieking of fireworks. It didn't quiet down until around midnight.

Our dog was miserable in the house, poor girl. She couldn't evade the scary, sudden bangs that remind her so much of the crack of a shotgun. She shifted from place to place until she finally settled at the top of the stairway away from all windows. The cats weren't bothered at all.

My day was fairly lazy, though not without accomplishments. The weather was beautiful right up until 6pm at which point the thick marine layer that spoiled the previous two days came back. When Dixie and I went for a walk around 1am the mist was so thick it felt like rain. Summer weather in the northern peninsula is thoroughly depressing. I can't get used to the damp chill and fogs when my body is demanding to wear shorts and revel in the heat. It's a bit rough adjusting to my new microclimate.

Oh, well, it's keeping the plants green and it works splendidly as fire prevention. A good thing, too, considering how windy it was and how many sparks were flying tonight. Next year we'll have to buy our own arsenal of fireworks. Got to keep up with the Joneses, you know.

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