It's summer!
Finally!

(kinda, at least: the calendar says so, the weather seems to be slowly adjusting)

Anyway: we can start looking out for hot-air-balloons again. An ultimate summer-feeling.

Photograph by Zila Longenecker, available through Etsy

I remember a time back when I was 7-ish, when a hot air balloon had to land in a field not far from our house. My parents allowed me to get out of bed for the occasion, and to even go out to the field -in my nightgown- to see the landing of the gigantic balloon.
The mixture of embarrassment for being out in nothing but a nightgown and the excitement of the balloon coming down, makes it one of my most vivid childhood-memories.

And up to this day, when I see a hot-air balloon, I have to point it out to T, who in his enthusiasm will arch his neck in several directions while driving -all the time keeping one eye on the road of course- to get a glimpse of it before it disappears after trees or buildings.

I love the archetypical shape and colours of hot-air balloons of the olden-days. Don't care so much for the flying advertisement-banners you -unfortunately- encounter mostly nowadays.

As always, the US does it bigger.
Below are some images from balloon-festivals all over the US.

All photographs taken at Balloon festivals in the USA

If I were to see one of those balloons flying in the wild, I would just tell T to park te car.