The Big July 4th Tractor Parade!

It is an event that is anticipated with great glee by the locals. The farmers get together and ride their tractors, which are decorated with flags, all around our area. They typically begin around 10 in the morning on the Saturday closest to the 4th of July.

I grabbed my daysack, tossed my Moose, my Tiger, and my Anteater in, grabbed a bottle of water, my sunglasses, and a big hat, took my chair and my monopod, and set out for the parade.

Oh yes, the procession goes right past our driveway, but there's a place I like to walk to that has a slightly better view: I'm able to get numerous tractors in my shot, coming down the hill just below my favorite pond in the Barrens.

As I walked up, there was a party mood all around me. I ran into somebody I knew, a fellow walker. He nodded at my camera: "At least we know there'll be some good pictures." We laughed.

A guy was standing with his kids along the road at a house that I knew had just been sold. I quickly deduced these were the new peeps. "This your first tractor parade?" I asked with a smile. Well yes, it was, he replied; they've only lived here a week or two. I told him to enjoy it. Oh, and welcome to Stormstown!

Further up the hill, there was a pretty festive crew sitting in chairs on their lawn. I had my chair. They had their chairs. They looked just a little TOO happy. I could join them, they said; they pointed to a space in the shade. One of the guys joked about what beverage might be in the mug he held. "Not coffee?" I asked, laughing. Well, MAYBE. Maybe not!

There were two people handing out flags. Children played on the road. Neighbors greeted each other. Now we ALL had flags. We waved them in the air. Happy 4th! Happy 4th! Here's to the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And then a rumbling filled the road. HERE THEY COME!!! And then down came the tractors! It is always amazing to see these big machines up close; some of them are HUGE, but some are also TINY. They were covered in flags. I was waving my own flag madly, taking pictures.

Somebody was throwing candy. There were kids near me; they nabbed a bunch. I didn't get any. Rats, but well, okay. I'm an adult now. That shouldn't matter, should it?

There was a lull, a quietness, a little burp in the line of tractors. But I could still hear more coming, and indeed, there were still a bunch of tractors to see. Hooray! I waved my flag some more. I sweated. I took pictures. Tried to think cool thoughts.

And then it was over, and everybody started going back to where they came from. I folded up my chair, put my stuff back in my bag, and headed for home. Once I got there, I edited my pictures and put them up on our local neighborhood Facebook group, as did several other local picture-takers.

I laughed later when I came back to discover that one of the local ladies had posted a photo. Her son came home from the tractor parade and wanted to make his OWN. So he lined his tractors up in his living room. Maybe he'll dream of becoming a farmer someday.

In the comments, another lady revealed that her 4-year-old had spent the afternoon making a parade too, and throwing "candy" pine cones! I guess that means the big parade was a real HIT!

These are our local farmers, their children, and their grandchildren, and I won't forget their big smiles as they went past me, all of us waving our flags in the air. It was a good day, and a fun parade. Well done, and thanks, from this girl with a camera!

My soundtrack song is Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, with American Girl.