Heard several firetrucks go past the house early this morning and they woke me up from a fairly deep sleep. This is a pretty rare happening for this quite neighborhood, there are not all that many houses out this far and along our road. Strangely, the firetrucks returned in a few minutes going the other way, still with their sirens blaring. That makes me think they were having trouble finding the right house.
When we first moved here we found that by law we have to display our house number so that it is visible from the road at all times of day or night. The number cannot be obstructed by bushes or flowers, and if the numbers are on wall address plaques, they must be lighted numbers or you must keep a light on them all through the night.
Now folks, that is just plain common sense, and as most houses have a rural route mail box at the end of their driveways, you would think this is not a problem. But evidently it was a serious enough problem that my good neighbors decided that it had to be a law. We have a mailbox at the end of the driveway, plus added address plaques and numbers to the front porch and the side door. We keep the porch light on all night anyway, so finding our house should be easy for anyone who might be looking.
I really think that home address plaques add an important element of style to your home, just as the exterior lights and window shutters add color and style. I love the rustic farm house style, with white painted numbers and a black, wrought iron background.