We're All Ears July:: Flight of Fancy

[Photo credit :: ellehem :: Unsplash]

These pictures are some of the photos from Unsplash that are offered as our inspiration for July's We're All Ears.  The theme is flight of fancy.  I find ballooning an exciting means to enjoy vast vistas.

[Photo credit :: Daniela Cuevas :: Unsplash]

There are many other aspects of ballooning that people enjoy. Ballooning offers exceptional quiet (except when the propane burners are firing) and the lack of a feeling of movement. Since the balloon moves with the direction of the winds, the passengers feel absolutely no wind, except for brief periods during the flight when the balloon climbs or descends into air currents of different direction or speed.

[Photo credit :: Manik Rathee :: Unsplash]

Brothers Joseph Michel and Jacques Etienne Montgolfier were inventors of the first hot air balloon. They used the smoke from a fire to blow hot air into a silk bag. The silk bag was attached to a basket. The hot air then rose and allowed the balloon to be lighter-than-air.

What inspires me about these flights of fancy? I love the shape and colors of the balloons. I created this pair of earrings to pay tribute to the shape of the hot air balloon and basket.

Hot Air Balloon Earrings by BayMoonDesign

My other pair of earrings is a salute to the earlier attempts to fly--way before hot air balloons. For many centuries prior to ballooning, humans tried to fly just like the birds and studied the flight of birds. Wings made of feathers or light weight wood have been attached to arms to test their ability to fly. The results were often disastrous as the muscles of the human arms are not like a birds and cannot move with the strength of a bird. Leonardo da Vinci made the first real study to flight in the 1480's. He had over 100 drawings that illustrated his theory on flight and mechanical flight. The drawings showed the wings and tails of birds as well as ideas for man carrying machines, and devices for testing the wings.

Long Yellow Wing Earrings by BayMoonDesign

These wing earrings are a salute to mother nature's great invention--wings. These yellow earrings have natural bronze wing charms that are beautifully detailed. I added cultured yellow sea glass to them. These are long earrings-- 2 inches long from the top of the ear wires. The wing earrings are available for purchase HERE.

I confess a fear of heights, but I do think I would love to travel in a hot air balloon over a grand vista like the Grand Canyon or Sedona.  Does ballooning inspire you enough to give it a try?