July 4 Drought Prediction

Indiana is experiencing a pretty severe drought right now.  I've tried to do my part by getting my car washed, but what rain we've had has been short and localized (of course that rain was on the day that I washed my car - you're welcome!).  The grass is brown and dying in our yard.  I really worry about the farms.  Expect food prices to be ridiculous this winter if we don't get some rain soon.

Yesterday a grass fire about 5 miles away caused one interstate and one highway to be shut down for half an hour because the smoke was limiting drivers' visibility.  This sort of thing is common out west, it's virtually unheard of here.

There was a partial burn ban (basically they said, "We really recommend that you don't set anything on fire right now, but we aren't going to fine you if you do...") earlier this month, and it got upgraded to a full burn ban (no bonfires, no trash fires, no fires, and please don't pitch your lit cigarette butts out the car window either, genius) a week or two ago.

Unfortunately, as if we needed further proof that the Indiana legislature enjoys a long history of insanity, Indiana has a law (IC 22-11-14-10.5) preventing counties and towns from banning fireworks on certain dates (around July 4 and New Years).

Somebody already fought for your right to par-tay.

I've never understood the appeal of fireworks.  I think I'm too Scottish.  In my opinion, you might as well stand in the yard and set twenty dollar bills on fire.  But we have several neighbors who love fireworks, and we've returned home many a July 4 to a traumatized dog and a ton of debris in our yard. 


I can't decide if we should stay home this year and keep one hand on the garden hose; or if we should put everything irreplaceable in the car, double our insurance coverage, and go to the municipal fireworks.


I predict that unless we get some rain Hoosiers with fireworks will cause dozens of fires this July 4, and will do millions of dollars worth of property damage.