It seems like they wait later every year. Back when the boys were young, the fireworks show would start shortly after nine-thirty, and we'd be home a little after ten.

Nowadays, they don't even start until well after ten. So we sit behind the movie theater (the wife says, "What, Rose is going to kick us out?") and watch the western sky darken and Venus settle down, as a few hardy or foolish 4WD vehicles make their way to the top of the hill overlooking town.

With the later starting times of the official show, the number and size of the illegal private launchings has increased.

Finally, at 10:21, the first big 'whump' is heard.

I have decided tonight I will experiment with all sorts of different manual settings on the camera. Some work, some do not.

Almost immediately we discover the wind is almost perfect, clouds of sulphurous fumes drifting down upon us.

Along with physical debris of the explosions, some clattering metallically off the kids' Prius, others still glowing hot.

The daughter-in-law, standing in a heavy denim coat behind me warns, "You'd better stomp out the embers by your foot."

I look down to see several bright orange coals in the tall grass, just inches from my toes. We're parked in a field of foot-tall grass. A fire would not be good. It takes several frantic stomps and nudges to get the fragments out, and then it is back to the show.

The daughter-in-law especially likes the tiny, loud ones, that shake you through your bones.

There are several new styles, like the fountains

curtains

and twisters.

Maybe half a dozen red hearts, too

which are all soon blown out of shape. We can only assume someone had a surplus of these left over from the wedding season, and added them to the Independence Day packages at a cut rate.

And then too soon, 18 minutes after it began, the grand finale.

And a brief moment of dark silence

before all the car horns start honking in approval. While the economy may not be doing well, this was probably the best and largest show yet. As the daughter-in-law comments on how great our show is compared to others she has seen in much larger communities, I point out...

We have some real pyromaniacs in our fire department.

As soon as the horns stop, and headlights come on, the illegal after show begins.

Oddly, traffic is light on our side, and we have an easy egress back to the interstate. While on the other side, vehicles are lined up, barely moving.

And it occurs to me... I never once tried using the "Fireworks" setting on the digital camera.

Maybe next year.