July Four, a bore

Well, this certainly was a less-than-glorious Fourth of July. Not necessarily bad, but certainly subdued. We missed St. Patrick's Day festivities and Easter church services, and this time we missed community fireworks and parades. The same will go for Pioneer Day. Will trick-or-treating be cancelled in October?

Last week, I had a sore throat, which is now listed as one of the COVID symptoms. Since that was the only one I had, I suspected it wasn't the virus, but just to be safe, I stayed away from North Canyon, since social distancing is harder there. But then, after a few days, I looked in my throat and saw that I had two canker sores on my uvula.

I was relieved it was just canker sores! But I also was in pain. It made it very difficult to swallow anything but water, and I would wake up in the middle of the night with my throat stinging. Thankfully they're better now.

Anyway, once I discovered my trouble, I felt comfortable going back to North Canyon after a nine-day hiatus.

This mushroom was just sitting upside down on the trail.

 I was delighted to see sego lilies there! They are gone from the lower elevations, but this was the first time I had ever seen them in North Canyon, probably because I usually don't go there in the summer because there are some exposed parts. They're mostly a June plant, so I was happy to see them in July.

COVID-19 doesn't only kill people, it also kills businesses, as I have learned that some of my favorite local places have shut down. So it renewed my commitment to patronizing small businesses that sell seasonal treats.

Cutler's Cookies (I was allowed to have the raspberry lemonade flavor)

Pizza Pie Cafe

Sweet Rolled Tacos

RubySnap

Sweet Rolled Tacos, again, this time with my niece and two nephews.

We usually go to North Salt Lake's July 3 fireworks. We haven't missed a year since 2013, but of course they were cancelled this year. So we bought some fountain fireworks and took them to my sister's house. We made homemade ice cream to make it a more memorable occasion. When I was a kid, we could light fireworks at our house, but now they are forbidden. I like fireworks for the tradition, but I wouldn't be overly sad if they outlawed personal fireworks. I really think they need to outlaw aerials, which have only been legal since 2011. In my Pioneer Day research, I have learned that personal fireworks in Utah were banned in 1939. I asked my parents when they were made legal again, and they said they were always legal that they can remember. But then I found that in 1977, they were still illegal, but the laws weren't enforced. I haven't yet found when they made them legal again, but apparently the fireworks ban didn't do much.

On the Fourth, I knew the trails would be busy, so I stayed away. I made several items for my family's Fourth of July meals: red, white, and blue pancakes, cherry blueberry salsa, lemonade, and cherry crisp. We had a barbecue, and in the evening we lit the rest of the fireworks. It was relatively boring, especially since we couldn't stay up late.

Today was a sad day. On March 21, my brother's family arrived here for the quarantine. My brother went back to California in May, but his family stayed. Now, after three and a half months, my sister-in-law decided it was time to go back. So this morning we got up super early to accompany them as far as Elko, Nevada, so my sister-in-law didn't have to drive the whole way by herself. I drove their van between Wells and Elko. She's eager to be home, but I don't think my nephews are. They get better internet and more space here. Video games are the center of their life, but I'm glad we can be part of their life when they're not playing. I'm hoping they will find their tiny apartment too confined and will come back.

It's going to be boring and quiet around here. It's just me, my parents, and Jimmy. I adore Jimmy, but the conversations are pretty one sided.

Now that the Fourth of July is over, it is the Pioneer Day season, which I have only formally been celebrating since 2015. I still haven't worked out exactly the ways it's the same or different than the Fourth of July—even though, at this point, I might very well be the world's expert on the holiday. I have drafted a twenty-two-page, single-spaced academic article on its history, but I have a few more sources to check before I can submit it to a journal. And I can't check those sources until the Church History Library opens again.