4th Of July 2026

 Happy 4th of July from the Big Cow in Virginia! I'm looking forward to seeing what you all have been up to this weekend. The Big Cow is ready to party! So are his friends, who will be on my next posts.

We will not be setting off fireworks this weekend because of this. Hopefully we can get together next week.

“A-Moo‑rica the beautiful, right here in the pasture.”

Glad All Over

 Our neighbor's Gladiolus are in full bloom. His entire yard is full of them!

Though they are very stunning, I have never liked them. This is because they are the #1 flower you see at funerals. So they remind me of death. Is there a flower you dislike for some reason?

“Gladiolus flowers are often associated with strength and courage, hence the name ‘sword lily.” Gladius is from the Latin word sword.”

Cheesy

 We made another visit to the locally Mennonite owned cheese shop, which is kind of like an old general store with a deli. The usual carriage was out front. Minus the horse.

O.K. maybe not eternity, but lots of good and unusual food.

They had this pretty 4th Of July wreath in front.

Look, birdseed shaped like crosses!

And cute birdhouses made from birdseed! 

The usual horrible dried pig's ears. The poor pigs!

Jewelry beads made from candy

Candy in miniature gas pumps. I don't understand this at all.

And lots of bee pollen!

"Bee pollen: the bees’ glitter."

Celebration In The City

 Here are some of the houses and decor for the 4th I am seeing around town.

I asked this squirrel to pose for me in front of a patriotic background. 

The houses

A patriotic mailbox

Spooky patriotic vehicle

The houses look like they’re waiting for fireworks to begin.

Stocked up & Star-Spangled

 The stores around here have been ready for the 4th of July for quite some time now. Here is our local soft serve ice-cream place.

A strange bake sale in front of Wal-Mart, where the only things on the table were tiny bags of chips. 

What the???

In the grocery store, these new flavors of Pringles were meant just for the fourth barbeques.

 

Fruit flavored sparkling waters! We picked up the strawberry and grape.

And almost any kind of red, white, & blue cakes and cookies that you would want.

“Stores stocking up like they’re getting dressed for a parade.”

Lettuce Be Thankful - The Answer

 Here is the answer to my mystery plant of yesterday. It is called Prickly Lettuce. I have never heard of it and didn't know lettuce could be tall!!

·       Modern lettuce was domesticated from Prickly Lettuce thousands of years ago.

·       When cut, it releases a sap called white latex. This sap was used in folk medicine as a mild sedative.

·       The young leaves can be eaten, but are bitter.

·       It produces yellow flowers that look like dandelions.

A Mystery Guessing Game

 There is a completely new plant in our side yard! One we have never seen before. It is so tall!

Here is Phil standing beside it to give you an idea of how tall it is.

So now, can you guess what it is? No fair Googling or asking AI!

I'll tell you in my next post.

Banners & Flowers

 We were in the parking lot of a shopping center and saw these banners. We drove over to check it out.

It was very festive, and there were raised plots of pretty flowers across the front.

What could it be? A garden center, or maybe a farmer's market. But no, it was a Mexican restaurant!! I never would have guessed.

“The whole place feels like a fiesta waiting to bloom.”

The Dragons

 Going inside the large new orthopedic building, we saw this on a check-in desk.

Little Dragons!

And each one had a note introducing himself and wishing the patients a good day.

The man at the desk said he bought them to help ease the stress of visiting the doctor, and to add some whimsy. And kids love them.

He also had this large resin rock-like thing that had flying dragons inside of it!

I checked out Amazon, and they sell some. This one is a girly-girl dragon!

“Dragons are the heartbeat of old mountains.”