I had a neighbor drop in today. Literally. I kid you not, a little before 8:00 AM this morning, a hot air ballon landed on my property where the art barn is being built. The dogs went nuts, I went nuts, and barefoot and in a pink robe, I ran up the hill to make sure I was really seeing what I thought I was seeing (and thinking maybe indeed I had too much Boz Scaggs wine the night before).
The guys in the hot air balloon upon seeing me: “Ahoy there!”
Me, scratching my (bed) head: “Um…ahoy?”
Them: “You don’t mind if we land in your yard, do you? You have a nice flat area at the top of your hill. We will radio in a truck, fold up the balloon, and be on our merry way.”
Me, groggy, needing a lot more coffee: “Um, yeah, I guess that would be ok.You may want to watch out for nails and stuff. It’s a construction site.”
And so they radioed in their colleague in the truck, and when he arrived, he helped pull them to the ideal landing location. (Notice guy pulling hard on the rope on the lower left.)
Almost there…
Landed.
Then they laid down a huge blue tarp to later put the deflated balloon on.
And began deflating the balloon to fold and put on the truck.
Once folded, they left. It only took about five minutes and I got their business card. Nice guys.
And that is how I woke up today.
Some day I will get used to this kind of thing.
Maybe…
Pokey,
What a joyous morning! My husband and I celebrated our 40th Anniversary going up in one, and before we jumped in, we needed to sign a waver saying if we landed and were arrested for being on private we wouldn’t hold the balloon pilot responsible. With such a glorious adventure awaiting, of course we signed the waver.
Pokey, I am so happy for you. Your life is so exciting. I met you in Houston when quilting Arts was brand new and kept up with your happenings. Your morning adventure will be one of those unforgettable days.
We had them over our house in Littleton, CO – they really make lots of noise… Bet most people would not believe the noise.
Now that was worth pondering…..yikes!
Being in Napa you never know what “Hottie” may land in your back yard!!
There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home!
What absolute fun!
Really enjoying your posts way down under in New Zealand..
I see balloon rides as part of the stay at your place. Or maybe let it be known that they can all land there always. Might be fun!
How cool! Very eventful morning.
So this is Napa! Wine, Balloons, and Art Barns. Sounds like a great adventure to me!
Wow what a great way to wake up. My mother would have loved seeing a balloon land on her property. 🙂
I agree with Hilary Frye. Wine, Ballons & Art Barns. Oh my! Sounds good to me.
What a way to wake up! We had a helicopter land in our huge front yard one day and it turned out to be a friend of ours and he took us up for a ride. It was great fun!
Such fun! My husband used to own a hot air balloon and the air is usually only still enough to fly early in the morning or in the evening. We had a lot of interesting landings and surprised not only the landowners and dogs, but cows, horses and deer too. Many times the balloon pilot will have champagne to celebrate the end of the flight so don’t forget to ask next time if they’re offering any (or maybe Mimosas if it’s morning)! Best wishes for all your new adventures.
They didn’t bring donuts and coffee? How rude!! LOL!
I think I’d have negotiated a future balloon ride before I’d have agreed to give permission to land! How cool!
My, you have some interesting things flying over your houses. . .
How exciting! Your first fly by/drop in.
I wonder if the dogs thought ‘that ball is to big to play with !’ . I’d probably bark too. Next time you respond ‘Ahoy, did you bring the cawfee?’