It's Balloon Stampede Weekend - 50th Anniversary edition.

 Well it's Hot Air Balloon weekend here in Walla Walla, WA.

Sharing a few photos from today's launch.  - They weren't even sure if the balloons would go up due to winds. The Kids event, yesterday's launch and Night Glow were a (bust) but at least a few balloons went up today.  Maybe more tomorrow if the weather cooperates.

These were the first balloons I saw that had already drifted aways from our house.

This balloon will be featured again in another post.

I just had to share all the photos of the (Brain Balloon)!

Some of these went right past our house.  Some were shots taken as they rose above the trees from the park they were launched at.  

Below is an original shot of a picture I took and an edited version.

Now the edited version...

Let's face it this is a much prettier picture then the unedited version with the power lines and pole in the way.  Plus this one added in some cloud trails to compensate for where the power lines were.  

Most of my photos I tried to avoid the power lines but did include trees.

Another post will be coming with lots more balloon photos.  I hope you don't get bored seeing them.

Annual Lilac Post

Hello and Welcome! 

Today's post is (photo heavy) but I hope you enjoy it.

So every year I post photo's of the Lilac Tree that my mom had in her yard.  We heard it was called a (French Lilac) but I can't verify the exact type of tree it is. - The blooms though are much larger than the regular variety of Lilacs you usually see. I just looked this up and I believe hers was the Congo French Lilac.

Starting off in 2025 the tree did not look well at all.  It had very few blooms and I though we might loose it. - I finally consented to start trimming off dead branches and as you will see in this side-by-side comparison the tree is looking much better.

Click to enlarge photos.

There are still some branches that need trimming but we need to get a taller ladder to get to them.

So the next few photos are from when the tree first started budding out.

This next section will show the blooms as they start opening fuller and fuller. Yes there are lots of them.

And as usual we get a nasty rain storm just about the time the tree is in full bloom.  - I managed to snap a few photos this morning while it was just a light drizzle.

I hope you've enjoyed Lilac 2026 and hopefully the tree will flourish even more so that next year I can share the beauty of this tree again.

3D Art - A Gift from my brother.

 Hello & Welcome.  Once again it's been some time since I've posted here.  Today I want to share the latest set of 3 D Printed Art work that my wonderful brother, Roger recently sent me.

These Puss-in-boots inspired pieces are just so darn cute!

                       This one reminds me of one of our cats

                           How about a little jungle kitty!

                                               A soldier kitty

                                            Geometric kitties.

             Pearly dotted cat - Love the texture on this one.

This is one of my favorites from the ones he sent. - It's so sweet.

Also this last one is just humorous and made me laugh.

 He finds all kinds of stuff and prints them off.  I hope you've enjoyed seeing his work.