Balloon Out Back

When I first moved to Albuquerque I was frequently found tracking and photographing the balloons during the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.

That has tapered off in recent years.  I like sleeping in on the weekends and the balloons go up early.

This morning I heard a balloon around 7:30 AM.  I got up, looked around and didn't see anything.  About 15-20 minutes later, I heard the balloon again.  I walked outside and there, in the park behind the house, was a balloon setting up prior to flight.  My guess is, they decided to avoid the crowds and early hours of the ascension field.

Inflated and almost ready for takeoff.

And, up into the air.

They weren't the only ones looking for later hours and less of a crowd.

Early morning in the Albuquerque metro area during Balloon Fiesta.

Papillon

Holiday's End

It is sure going to be tough going back to work tomorrow.  I freely admit, sloth is my favorite of the (alleged) seven deadly sin.  I've gotten a lot of books read and lots of sleep time.  I'm sure gonna miss it.

In typical Albuquerque metro fashion, the end of the weekend was sent off via balloons.  At least a half dozen were up and cruising this morning.

And another one.

I wasn't sure if this balloon was officially landed or if they were changing passengers.  It was chilly out this morning and I didn't hang around long enough to find out.

Ah, well.  Back to work tomorrow.

Papillon

New Year's - 2015

Last night was spent quietly enjoying some champagne and snacks.  It was funny, even though I had the TV countdown on, I really didn't need it.  When midnight rolled around, there was lots of noisemakers and fireworks in the neighborhood.

This morning I woke up to cloudy skies and a light dusting of snow.

Fortunately, it was cold enough when it started to snow that there wasn't any ice, just some dry snow.

Later on, the clouds went away for the most part and the sun emerged.  As can be expected here in the Albuquerque metro area, folks celebrated by launching a couple of balloons from the park out back.  Balloons normally go up in the morning, so I was startled when I heard the propane whoosh around 2:00 PM.

The above two balloons seem to be a joint effort.

About half an hour later, I heard another whoosh.  Et, voila!

I'm not sure if the bumble bee color scheme balloon was with the first two or if it showed up independently.

Typical Albuquerque metro celebrating of the holiday.

Happy New Year!
Papillon

A Weekend - Gone Too Quickly

On Friday morning I was awakened by a hot air balloon.

My suspicion is that they were taking advantage of the weather.  Friday was a lovely day.  Sunny and cool but not cold.

For the past several days, the local weather people have been sounding the alarm.  The front that had dumped a whole bunch of rain on California was headed our way.  Weather warnings!  Weather warnings!  This will hit on Saturday PM.

With this is mind, I did all my errands on Saturday because they were forecasting possible snow for the whole metro area and I wasn't sure what the roads would be like on Sunday.

Sure enough, the rain started around 7:30PM.  From the puddles remaining today, we must have gotten a significant amount of rain.  However, it wasn't the violent downpour the weathercasters had made it sound like we'd be getting.  It was more of an extended gentle rain. 

This morning I woke up to sunny skies.  It was chilly, made more so by a sharp wind.  It sounds like the wind has died down, but it's still quite chilly.

Having said all that, the metro area did get snow.  This picture shows why I don't live in the Sandia mountains east of town.  I try to avoid situations that involve me shoveling snow.

I'm still missing Oscar.  It's been a week and 3 days.  I miss seeing him curled up asleep in my recliner.  I even find myself missing him at 8 PM.  He had to have one vaso-dilator pill a day and that was the time I usually gave it to him.  Missing you, you silly furball.

Papillon