Balloons on stamps and over the Stroud valleys.

One thing that visitors to Open Studios like is visiting artists' homes as well as looking at the wide variety of art on show.  Like many of us who live in Stroud, we have the advantage of living in a wonderful area of the country and my own studio, attached to our house,  benefits from a wonderful view.

Yesterday morning, in preparation for the last week-end of this year's Open Studios, I got up early, woken by bird song and another fairly familiar sound, that of an air balloon inflating nearby! Looking out of the window I saw a brightly coloured balloon drifting gracefully across the valley in front of our house,  and then another, and another, and another!

 I grabbed my camera, flung the windows wide open and settled in to a chair to enjoy the spectacle!

Over the period of about an hour I watched them drift by, seeing  twelve following each other at one time.

I won't promise visitors here that they will see the air balloons, as it's often early in the morning that they are launched, but the scenery will always be here to admire!

Can't help thinking this would make a wonderful subject for a stamp collage.  Air balloons have indeed appeared on many stamps over the years and form a subject for thematic collectors. The USA have also recently issued this colourful set.