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This is a photo of our miniature dwarf banana tree. Sabrina and Braxton purchased some mini (dwarf) tropical trees and we got a banana tree at the same time. This one was the worst off from the bunch, and we really didn't think that it would survive, truth be known, the pomegranate tree didn't survive, so we didn't have much faith in this ones prosperity. We transplanted it into a much larger pot and then brought it outside (where it is nice and humid) and it has actually started to grow. I don't pretend to know much about herbaculture, but it looks like it is healthy. Time will tell if it actually produces any bananas or not, but we are going to try to allow it the time necessary to do so.


As we woke up this morning, our pile of trash looked like many others around -- and showed remnants of the 4th of July passing into history. This holiday is one in which pyrotechnics are found in abundance and we decided to take part in the bright and noisy pass time as well.


Due to local laws (Monticello city ordinances prohibit fireworks from being discharged within the city boundaries) so we decided to head down to the Saline River and find a nice spot and let them go. Well we ended up driving around for the better part of 2 hours to actually find a spot of ground that wasn't inhabited by people, and finally settled upon a nice hill by the road where the forest was flourishing. Although the pictures don't do the events any justice (and show the smoke rather well) it was a fun event.


Being an outsider (at least to the fireworks community) there were many choices of explosives that I was not familiar with. We managed to procure an assortment of what looked to be a nice cross section, and were pleased with the displays that were provided. When we started the evening it was not yet dark, although the sun had set, but by the time we had finished, it was very dark.


Terra managed to capture some of the fireworks in various stages of deployment, and some actually produced the same (or very similar) sound of a model rocket being launched. These were the ones that were propelled upward and then exploded in various colors being displayed. As the evening wore on, it also became obvious why Arizona has chosen to outlaw all of the fireworks that we were playing with. With as dry as the climate is (and also the brush) it is very easy to see a wildfire starting anytime so much as a stray spark finds a piece of dry grass.


Ethen and Kyle enjoyed the event and were nice and tired by the time that we concluded. All three were sound asleep by the time that we reached our house again. We actually decided to launch off the majority of the display on the 3rd rather than the 4th as to avoid the rush of other people, and then on the 4th we just went outside and watched our neighbors display their own shows.


It is interesting to note that in photos such as these that they boys actually look harmless, when anyone who has spent any time with them knows how much chaos they can spread around in a very short time frame.


Prior to the fireworks display, we took a drive down to Crossett, AR and visited their local zoo. This zoo was free to the public, and some of the animals were "tame" enough to allow visitors close enough access to pet them. Rachel enjoyed seeing all of the "dogs" and didn't want to leave (even through we were all soaking wet thanks to the humidity).


This zoo had many of the animals that you would find at any zoo, but it also had animals that you would find on a typical farm. Even an alligator and an alligator snapping turtle lived with in the walls as well.


Any animals that you could pet and play with was Rachel's favorite "dog". She is quite taken with the animals of any breed, and really enjoys them. She is not as timid around them as the boys are or were, but really likes to follow them. I don't know why, maybe because they are different from anything that she has experienced.


My personal favorite was the camel. This camel was the single hump variety and looks taller than the double hump camels that Margie took photos of in Mongolia. They do look like they are shedding half of their hair - I guess that is a camel trait. I have not seen one that looks like it has been well groomed.


In other news, I have managed to make my trailer legal once again. I know that it still has an Arizona plate on it, but now it has a steel plate that holds on the license plate rather than the plastic one that keeps breaking in two. After a test run with the trailer, I think that I will make it such that the license plate has some give to it and isn't rigid.


Also I have managed to obtain the needed steel to be able to build a gate for the trailer. As I have mentioned earlier, this gate will be a three position gate rather than the normal two position gates that are normally used on trailers. This will hopefully make more sense once it is completed and I can post photos of it here. The hard part will be to find power for my welder. This is a rental house, and I don't want to give them any copper that they don't already have, so I will make an extension cord that plugs into the dryer outlet, and then the welder can plug into it as well. Nothing is ever easy...

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