A Patriotic Breakfast and a Small-Town Parade

How did you celebrate the Glorious Fourth?  We started it off in true red-white-and-blue style, with a blueberry-strawberry puffy pancake for breakfast:

The components - berries tossed in sugar,
about to be doused with a sweet eggy batter

The beautiful pancake, fresh out of the oven,
awaiting its shower of confectioner's sugar

Sausage and mushrooms add a savoury note

In my town we're lucky enough to have a Fourth of July parade most years. It's not fancy or impressive, but it draws people from all over the county. Kids love it because the parade entrants throw candy and toys to the crowd. Adults line the streets and set up folding chairs in any shady spot they can find. A good time is had by all.

Here are some highlights from today's parade:

Looking up Main Street, waiting for the action to begin...

Everyone stands and applauds as the flagbearers approach;

Then a giant American flag comes down the street and around the corner.

Old Army vehicles:  a Jeep, a Duck, and other relics of past action.

A long, long line of fire engines and trucks from all over the county;

The firemen love to spray the crowd with water.

A musical interlude, then ...

A collection of vintage cars.

And no Wisconsin parade would be complete without a contingent of
Harley riders with their Harley mamas.

Next, a collection of heavy equipment:  Mack trucks,
dump trucks,

And one very ginormous tractor on steroids.

Why, look ... someone in the crowd is wearing a
very attractive crochet bracelet!

Next comes a long line of tractors separated by manufacturer...

Farmall ...

John Deere ...

and Ford.

And to finish up, some horses.  Time to go home
and drink iced tea and wait for tonight's fireworks.

A happy Fourth of July to all!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~