tracey carol * behind the lens: Knee High

My husband is not a native Southerner; he is a Southerner by marriage. Where he comes from, the farmer's say, "Knee high by the fourth of July." And when they do, they are referring to the height of their corn. Now, my mind has to ask, "Whose knees?" It's clearly obvious from the shot above that the only knees even remotely close to the top of our corn are the ones belonging to my 6'4" husband! And we even planted our corn late in the planting season.

Fourth of July - my country's birthday. In honor of the celebration, I've provided a little trivia quiz. (Hint: don't expect to get an "A.")

1. According to legend, which of the following women sewed together the first American flag?

a) Dolly Madison

b) Martha Washington

c) Eleanor Roosevelt

d) Betsy Ross

2. After losing New York City to the British, which river did George Washington and his men cross on Christmas Day in 1776 in a prelude to a surprise attack on the Hessian garrison?

a) Hudson River

b) Potomac River

c) Connecticut River

d) Delaware River

3. Which of the following European powers did not fight on the side of the colonists in the Revolutionary War?

a) Spain

b) France

c) The Netherlands

d) Germany

4. Which of the following did not sign the Declaration of Independence?

a) Samuel Adams

b) Benjamin Franklin

c) John Hancock

d) George Washington

5. Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?

a) Benjamin Franklin

b) George Washington

c) Thomas Jefferson

d) John Adams

6. Who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner?

a) John Philip Sousa

b) Francis Scott Key

c) Katharine Lee Bates

d) Samuel Francis Smith

7. Which of the following was not one of the thirteen original colonies?

a) Georgia

b) Virginia

c) Vermont

d) Massachusetts

8. The Second Continental Congress met in which city to draft The Declaration of Independence?

a) Boston, MA

b) New York, NY

c) Baltimore, MD

d) Philadelphia, PA

9. What happened on July 4, 1776?

a) The first battle of the Revolutionary War was fought.

b) The Second Continental Congress declared independence from Britain.

c) The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress.

d) The Declaration of Independence was signed.

10. The "midnight ride" of which American patriot was later immortalized by poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

a) John Hancock

b) Samuel Adams

c) Joseph Warren

d) Paul Revere

11. In 1773, which of the following was thrown into Boston Harbor as a protest against taxes?

a) Coffee

b) Tea

c) Tobacco

d) Cotton

My country is 236 years old today. That's an incredibly long time for the principles of this country to still hold true. I've been thinking back to our founding fathers and the work they did and the foundations they laid for my life, my liberty, and my pursuit of happiness and one question keeps coming to my mind, "Do you think Thomas Jefferson's corn was knee high by the fourth of July?"