Happy Spring! The Sky's The Limit!

There are a number of side roads I can amble in to work on in the morning. On this morning, the first day of spring, I decided to come in on Rock Road. And boy, did I hit the  jackpot! What a right decision!

I was tooling along in my Mazda, and I looked up to see a huge, beautiful blue and green hot air balloon above the tree line. As it floated right above me, I pulled the car over, hopped out, and snapped a few photos.

Then I got back in the car and resumed my travels. But shortly afterward, I saw the chase vehicle, which is to say, the dude in the van (with The Sky's The Limit balloon company info printed colorfully on its side) who chases the balloon and helps pack it back up when they're done. So I knew the balloon was coming down SOON.

I drove till I could find a safe place to turn around, and then I came right back. I discovered the balloon had landed in a farm field near Rock Road. I pulled the car over again and watched, as the balloon made a last few hops, heading drunkenly for the tree line, before it came to a complete stop.

The balloon's arrival did not go unnoticed by the local bird population. As soon as I pulled over and hopped out the second time, a huge owl flew up the tree line, looking very startled by that large and colorful balloon!

My husband and my oldest sister and I once went on a balloon trip in eastern PA -  I wrote about that marvelous experience here. I admit that watching this balloon made me wistful to go back up into the skies. Someday we must do that again!

On this day, we all enjoyed the show (except, possibly, for the owl), and I have to say it was a delightful way to celebrate spring. Up up and away, in such a beautiful balloon!

The song to accompany this image is ELO, with Mr. Blue Sky.