Fireman's Parade

Each year we go to the fireman's parade in the town in which my in laws live. The girls always enjoy it, and I find it refreshing to see lots of people in one place enjoying a parade reminiscent of days gone by. Of course my favorite part of the parade is the bagpipes. To my surprise, there were two groups of pipers!

Here are both groups...































































As we were watching the parade, I caught a glimpse of a wagging tale on the opposite side of the street. The tail did not seem to belong to a dog or cat, so my curiosity was piqued. I found, after further investigation, that the tail belongs to Chunky...












Chunky, it turns out, is a typical male...he sleeps in the bed, lays on the couch watching TV, and sits on demand for food. His owner tells me he is a happy pig and his tail wags nonstop. As I stooped to take his picture, he came right over thinking I had food. Not typically a fan of pigs, I found something about this little guy irresistible. I hope he enjoyed the parade.












This man has got to be one of the best band leaders ever! He is very animated as well as skilled and I always enjoy his performances. Unfortunately, my very frustrating camera would not allow me to take more than 3 pictures of him and this is the best one. My MIL had some that looked as though they would be good. Perhaps I'll post a better one of him from her pictures.


















I can't even imagine getting on this thing, let alone riding it...












Second only to bagpipes, I also like Fife and Drum groups.












This character was sitting on top of one of the firetrucks from the noisiest group in the parade. They were even sounding their sirens as they passed the judges booth. Apparently they were not interested in winning...perhaps they were shooting for noisiest! Once the guy on top of the truck realized I was aiming my camera at him, he decided to pose.












I like old firetrucks, but decided not to bore everyone with the multiple pictures I took of them, so here is just one.












Finally, the Shriners in their mini cars are always fun to watch. I thought this picture was fun since so much of the picture is out of focus due to the motion.













Shortly before the parade started, it looked as though it might rain upon us. Then, as the parade began, the beautiful blue sky showed itself and the air was cool enough to be quite comfortable. It was a truly lovely evening.