Hotter than hell and lighter than air

At the Hot Air Balloon festival in Gonzales, LA, a pilot pumps a flaming plume into his eagle-shape airship to give it lift into a lightless sky.  The event, at the Lamar Dixon arena was a great hit for kids and us older kids.  It was my first time to see the Moon Glow of hot air balloons

Egrets fight for landing rights

This shot from Lacassine, Louisiana, reminds me that crowded skies are not just a human problem. The herons (Cattle Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Blue Herons and more) come to this spot each night for some camaraderie. They start showing up about an hour and a half before sunset and quickly the supply of available branches approaches zero. This incoming feather ball seems to be saying, "clear the way for landing or we all end up on the ground!" 

This was the sunset by the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge the other night as I was driving to Beaumont, TX.  The sky was a giant maelstrom of sorts. It was very distracting.