So it was a bit of a shock when dh & I moved to the suburbs -- where the backyards are small and the houses densely packed together -- and discovered our neighbours liked to set off their own fireworks displays in the street outside our house and in their backyards on the Victoria Day & (especially) Canada Day long weekends. A little too close for comfort, perhaps, particularly it was dry or a bit windy...
But fireworks were still a special Victoria Day/Canada Day thing. Until recently. We had fireworks going off on the street behind our house on the August long weekend -- which woke me up just as I was drifting off to sleep. :p And fireworks again Saturday night and last night -- BOOM! BOOM!! like a cannon -- which had me levitating about a foot off the couch. No doubt there will be more tonight.
Maybe I'm turning into a grumpy old lady, but since when did fireworks become an "every long weekend (especially in the summer)" kind of thing??
You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here.
We live in a quiet, rural area of New Hampshire, but there's a NASCAR type racetrack a few miles away. Every Friday night over the summer, they have a fireworks display, accompanied by music over a loud speaker. It might not be so bad if we could actually see them, but the trees in the neighborhood block our view. I feel your pain. *grin*
ReplyDeleteIt hasn't everywhere. This sounds terrible. Here, it is illegal within city limits to set off your own fireworks even on the 4th. It still happens, of course, but to a lesser extent than it would. Fireworks at any other time are unheard of.
ReplyDeleteI can see how that would be startling! I freak out when there are loud booms, immediately thinking that maybe something has exploded or has been bombed, beyond a roman candle in a coffee can or whatever. We have a lovely tradition of fireworks on July 4th in my neighborhood, in the street and then my neighbor's backyard, with lots of hoses and water at the ready. But other long weekends are fireworks-less. I think one good firework-y weekend is lovely, it keeps it special. I hope you survive the booms and it's not too dry and tinderlike where you are! I can't imagine fireworks now, when it hasn't rained in weeks and weeks and weeks.
ReplyDeleteNo, you aren't turning into a grumpy old lady. That would annoy me a lot as well. Our neighbours directly behind us do the same thing. They set off fireworks in their backyard which here is illegal to do in any residential area, not to mention how the loud noise frightens all the animals in the neighbourhood particularly dogs in yards.
ReplyDeleteLuckily, they've only kept it to New Year's Day, Birthdays and Christmas but I'm really tempted to call the police next time they do it. Maybe I'm the one turning into a grumpy old woman!
I was absolutely stunned when we moved to the T.Dot and discovered people set off fireworks on Victoria Day. The part of Ontario where I grew up never had that (maybe because it was very close to Quebec?).
ReplyDeleteNothing for Labour Day here thus far. I do find it annoying, but everyone is good at stopping by 11 p.m., so at least they're obeying the bylaws.
In our neighborhood there seems to be a contest between several groups of neighbors to see who has the biggest....fireworks. I'm tolerant until about 11pm and then I turn into a grumpy old lady. Thankfully they seem to limit their fireworks to the week surrounding July 4th, or at least they have for several years now.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I don't think you're turning into a grumpy old lady. Or an alternative hypothesis is that I am too....
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up (when you were growing up, but on the other side of the world), we had fireworks once a year at Guy Fawkes. We could let the fireworks off in our garden (on the farm), and not bother anyone. These days, fireworks sales are restricted to just a few days before Guy Fawkes Day (5 November), but people do seem to buy them and stockpile, so that they can let off fireworks at New Years Eve too. Wellington is windy, and our house is wooden, on stilts, and surrounded by trees, so I'm always a little nervous when people are letting them off around us. Still, living on a hill, we get a great view across the valley of everyone letting off their own fireworks over the course of an evening.
ReplyDeleteLiving in the city now, there are of course big fireworks displays in the harbour on these two days, to discourage people buying their own. But fortunately, we don't really have the problem you have. So ... maybe it's good that summer is almost over?
Around here there's about the same number of fireworks as I had growing up. I do notice them more now, though, when I used to try to put kids to bed during loud nights, or when it's late.
ReplyDeleteOh dear...over here firework use is restricted only for New Year's eve and even then there's a time limit to when it can be lit (and where depending on the size). I can imagine being annoyed when they keep on doing that in such a close proximity.
ReplyDeleteYES! I commented about it this year. It feels like we saw them once per year when we were growing up on July 4th, so it was very special. But we saw fireworks 4 or 5 times this summer alone.
ReplyDeleteNow that you mention it, I find the same thing here. It's like TV. You used to have to depend on the station to see your favorite show. You tuned in when it was on -- or you missed it until summer re-runs.
ReplyDeleteNow you can watch anything anytime. Similar with fireworks. People are used to having things on demand. #mytheory
Lori, exactly! I am not sure fireworks are for sale year round here... as Mali said above about NZ, I think they are generally sold in the days & weeks leading up to Victoria Day & Canada Day, generally by licensed dealers who set up shop in trailers parked in shopping mall parking lots. But I suppose people stock up & use them whenever they feel like it...!
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