You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Independence Day’ tag.
Happy Fourth of July! Our nation is going through a terrible patch (thanks to a combination of deeper structural problems, a criminal idiot for a president, and the novel coronavirus), however, in the past we have been able to bounce back from these sorts of disasters, reform the constitution, and get back on track. It is the most meaningful election I can remember this year and Ferrebeekeeper will have lots to say about that as we get closer to Fall!
For today though, let’s celebrate the finer aspects of America rather than the current (Republican-caused) governmental dysfunction. Independence Day in America is traditionally marked with ornamental novelty explosions AKA fireworks. I love fireworks, but I have already said all that I can think of to say about them in past blog posts. Fireworks are one of those things which are more fun in the real world than online or in pictures. They always look like sublime sea anemones made of radiant fire to me. That is as awesome as it sounds..in the vast July nighttime sky, however pictures of such a thing would look like little black and white cnidarians. Therefore, to celebrate this rough Fourth of July, let’s look at some actual cnidarians in patriotic shades of red, white, and blue. It is true that these pictures won’t set your topiary on fire or cause your house pet to cower under the bed, yet I think if you take a moment to really look at the sea anemones, you will be struck anew with their expressive otherworldly beauty. Then you can hold this undersea pulchritude in your heart and remember it this evening as you watch rockets detonate above you.
RED
WHITE
BLUE
Wow! Those are some good-looking and patriotic invertebrates. I can barely tell whether I am on the national coral reef (?) or on the national mall in Washington. I hope you are having a lovely day relaxing with your friends and family. Get some well-deserved R&R because when we get back from summer holiday we are going to have to roll up our sleeves and clean up this ghastly mess.
It’s no good hiding. Everyone is going to have to pitch in…
“Declaration of Independence” by John Trumbull
Independence Day Celebration in Centre Square, Philadelphia, a depiction of the celebrations of July 4th 1819, painted in 1819 by John Lewis Krimmel (a German-American immigrant painter active in Pennsylvania during the 1810’s.)
A Cartoon Depicting 4th of July Celebrations in 1837 (with Strong Beverages and Speechifyin’)
The Cover of Harper’s Magazine on the Fourth of July of 1865 (just after the Civil War ended)
1876 Picture of the Centennial Celebration of the Fourth of July. Beautifully engraved image titled,” The Glorious Day We Celebrate,” drawn by Thomas Worth from Harper ’s Weekly.
July 4th, 1905 in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota
Watching Fireworks on the Fourth: Coney Island, 1962
New York Harbor: Fourth of July, 1976
Army Camp Joyce Afghanistan with a historic American flag flown there on July 4th, 2007
Fireworks on the Hudson River, New York, New York, 2009
ferrebeekeeper 