Yesterday

I like the 4th of July in Pleasant Grove.  It is always appropriately hot and sunny and I love how patriotic everyone is around here.  People love the flag.  There's a group that fly a 30' x 60' flag in the canyon by our house.  It is beautiful!  They illuminate it at night and we not only see the bright flag from our front yard, but we see the big shadow cast by the flag as well.

 Sunday night a group of 100 people walked the flag up the street.

Yesterday morning we had a 4th of July neighborhood breakfast.  It was also a ward breakfast because they are pretty much the same thing.  We enjoyed our time and I liked seeing everyone in their red, white and blue.

Adam and I went to the grocery store for our last minute dinner needs and I've never been there when it was so busy!  Employees were stocking shelves as fast as the hordes of (patriotically dressed) people could grab things.  I heard lots of people greeting each other by name and times like that remind me that Pleasant Grove is kind of like a small town in that way.  It also made me happy that everyone we saw at the store was getting ready for a party.  No wonder everyone seemed to be in a good mood.

My good mood was crushed when we got home and we saw the squirrels on the deck!  I know we have lots of animals in our yard.  They are destructive and we have to be aware of what we plant because they will eat it.  I'm OK with that.

I'm not OK with squirrels on the deck, standing on their hind legs, eating my tomatoes!  War was declared.  I grabbed my broom to chase away the squirrels and I knocked over a table and broke some of the glass top and I broke part of my broom and the squirrels got away just fine and within a few minutes, they were back.

So I did what any sane person would do and I texted Ammon and told him to bring his BB gun.  I would have had him bring a more powerful firearm--because he has them--but the city is sort of particular about things like that.

I think this qualifies as self defense though.  Tomato defense?

We had an enjoyable time with Ammon and Melanee.  We went on the deck at dusk and enjoyed the show.  In our old neighborhood, I always felt like I was in a war zone and this is exponentially better.  I love watching blooms of light bursting all over the valley.  It's beautiful.

I'm grateful to pause and celebrate America.  I just want the squirrels to be warned about the constitution we follow.  Especially a certain amendment.

Stay out of my tomatoes!  (Mark is on squirrel patrol and he just completed the rifle shooting merit badge at scout camp.  You have been warned.)