Hot Air Balloon Landing!

Right in my backyard! I was on the phone with Chuck when I heard the unmistakable sound of a hot air balloon - really LOUD! It was right on top of the neighbor's house and coming in for a landing in the marsh behind my house. Here's what it looked like:

 

I had to run and get Gabe, the neighbor kid - you just can't miss this kind of thing!

 

Looks like there are five or six people in that little basket.

 

Scott from around the cul de sac came over, video cam running. In fact, the entire neighborhood turned out. This is pretty exciting stuff for us.

 

And this is what it looked like as they collapsed that giant balloon:

 

 

Then they flattened it, packed it into a big square bag, stuffed it and the basket into a little black trailer, and off they went to their next adventure. Or dinner, more likely.

 

Fun!



Soggy Sunday

This was my backyard Sunday:

Looks a little dampish.

There's a marsh behind my house, part of Kent's stormwater control. It drains pretty fast, but the water's not supposed to come up this far.

Those poor sunflowers, all keeled over. Bet the bees were pretty annoyed. Spent Monday morning tying the stalks to the fence to keep them upright in the soggy soil. Now the birds can get at them.  The goldfinches love the seeds. See the perimeter defense - that's why I have plenty of tomatoes this year.

 

Note the high water mark on the shed. Dry inside, thankfully.

A Couple Geauga County Fair Vignettes

I didn't spend a whole lot of time at the Fair this year - too hot, too humid, too blue (bad cholesterol numbers are bothering me a lot, because now, Something Must Be Done. No more toasted cheese, Heck, no more cheese. Seitan for supper. But I digress), but I didn't want to miss the veggie show and the round, gorgeous pumpkins.

Well, there were a few pumpkins, but the show was a shadow of its former self. Not even a giant punkin this year! How is that possible? Can it even be a real Fair without a giant pumpkin? No doubt, this summer's heat and drought did in the giant pumpkins.

 

Even the flower show entries were way down. Usually there are drifts of dahlias, mountains of marigolds and a riot of roses. Not this year. Next year will be better. Mother Nature balances things out over the long run.

Geauga County Fair Draft Horse Show

These are amazing animals. Love watching them, love feeling the earth shake as they pass, love the ornate harness.

My favorite shot, with a Kim Klassen texture:

 

Haflingers, sturdy blonde draft ponies:

This pair took first place in men's driving, single hitch draft ponies.

All four feet off the ground - that's a lot of tonnage to get airborne.

Line up of sparkling clean carts.

Another first place winner - look at the knee action.

Wonderful!

West Side Market/Tony Sweet Workshop

Good grief, I love the West Side Market early in the day. Not too crowded, everything smells good and the piles of foodstuffs are just gorgeous! These are from Saturday, August 4. Lovely in the morning, but man did it heat up as the day went on. I was quite the wilted petunia by the time we broke for lunch at the Market Garden Brewery. Great place for lunch - we were in the back room with a view of the kettles, too.

Heirlooms carrots, very different colors.

 

Love the bright colors in this umbrella - it belongs to the watermelon guy just outside the side door on the parking lot side.

 

Abundance...We're lucky to live in this time and place.