It’s too early (light) here yet to see if the dipshit neighbors are going to pay attention to all the fire danger warning signs this year in the middle of my heavily commercial-timbered rural neighborhood, but if they do, that’ll be something new.
I get along with my neighbors (mostly due to not being able to see any of them except when I leave my property and pass them on the road), but I detest any that are blowing off their fireworks and guns during wildfire season.
My puppy is just a little over a year old, so I don’t know how he’s going to react to a bunch of loud noise if it happens. Hopefully we won’t find out, but I’m not sanguine.
Well, we’re about fifteen minutes to midnight here. The fireworks have been pretty constant since before sundown (to be honest, some of the neighbors seemed to have some pretty good fireworks and no obvious fires were started). Fortunately, the celebratory gunfire in south Dallas has been far more subdued than it has been in recent years. Gotta take your wins where you can.
I haven’t heard a thing and it’s nearly full dark, so that’s very heartening.
I was just getting ready to step outside into the darkness to see if I could hear something. Then two of my motion sensor lights lit up and I saw a big cat sauntering along the driveway. This is the third time I’ve seen this animal. It’s as big as a small cougar but the tail is bobbed. Much too big to be a bobcat.
Based on my brief sightings, my best guess is it’s a Canada lynx that’s not where it ought to be. We have them in the eastern part of the state but their habitat is not supposed to be on the west side. Still, I can’t deny the fact of what I’ve now seen three times.
Anyway, back to fireworks mayhem in 2024: I guess the neighbors will respect the fire danger this year. My dog is sleeping undisturbed. Small mercies!
Are you suggesting that there’s now illegal immigration from the northern border?
I wouldn’t worry about it. This is obviously a scatterbrained lynx that has never heard of Donald Trump. I’m sure that when reality sets in, it will soon return to its home and native land.
When my Uncle John was a tot, some neighborhood dipstick tossed a lit firecracker at him. It landed on his jacket and in the process of brushing it off, fingers Index, Middle and Ring were blasted off his hand. No idea if the tosser faced any consequences.
It was pretty much a war zone last night in San Jose, despite the (very much publicized) county-wide ban on fireworks. A city-sponsored display in a park set off a brush fire along with other fires reported in various neighborhoods.
I’m mystified by the lack of pro-active (or even reactive) enforcement of the ban. In my area it seems the fireworks are being set off in the same places every year. How hard would it be to set up patrols where they know people are going to be firing stuff off?
Yeah, as loud as I can ever remember last night here in the western burbs of Chicago. My main thought was, “That’s a lot of people spending a lot of $$$!” Sign of a good economy?
I often wonder about police attitudes towards fireworks - as far as how they decide which laws to enforce. There is a middle school at the end of our block, and some folk were setting off mortars well before dark. Just kinda odd to think that cops would drive by the adjoining busy street, see and hear clearly illegal and ostensibly dangerous activity going on, yet choose not to do anything. Then go and write up a ticket for some minor traffic violation…
It has always impressed me that people setting of loud and bright fireworks in their backyards would be one of the easiest law-enforcement activities imaginable - at least in terms of identifying the violation and perpetrators.
A lot of enforcement in our area seems to depend on residential complaints (which I’ve never quite agreed with.) The fireworks didn’t really bother me - didn’t keep me awake ad didn’t bother my dog. But I wonder what they would have done - if anything - had I called in a complaint?
That’s very disappointing. My hope in promoting a ban on fireworks sale to individuals is that it would make enforcement much easier. What is now merely a noise complaint would become a report of a banned explosive.
Well, in Dallas, unless you’re a fireworks professional it’s illegal to possess, store or handle fireworks within the city. You don’t get arrested if you’re caught, but you do get a summons. So, it’s more than a noise complaint.
