We were sitting on the deck last night, enjoying an adult beverage made from grapes, light conversation, and the 70 degree weather. Then we heard it. I’ve struggled to put into words what the sound is, but more or less: “wshhhhhhhhhhhhhh…..sh-sh-sh…..wshhhhhhhhhhhhhh”

I’m talking about the balloons.

Like Canadian geese and terror warnings, the balloons come and go according to a schedule I can’t seem to determine. They were on the attack last night, though, with one of them practically strafing our house!

The first one was high up and almost directly overhead. That’s the roofline of our house in the extreme bottom right corner of the picture. I believe he was providing reconnaissance for the mission, staying above the range of small arms and radioing coordinates to other balloons.

Then the primary assault. This picture is from the front yard and is very close. You can almost make out the faces of the enemy. The problem with balloon attacks is the wind. There’s not much steering you can do, so thankfully we survived undamaged (physically, at least) as this one passed just to the north of us.

Last, there was this guy. I believe he was trying to maintain cover behind the trees using stealth, but balloons are only stealthy until they cool off. Then it’s “wshhhhhhhhhhhhhh…..sh-sh-sh…..wshhhhhhhhhhhhhh” and you got ‘em.

Rereading this entry, it’s possible I’ve been conditioned to fear that anything out of the ordinary is an evil do’er trying to do me harm and take away my freedom. It may have just been tourists out for a ride.