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tinfoilhat

Here there be Dragons

tinfoilhat
11 years ago

When the mornings begin to turn cool I often hear the sound of dragons roaring and glimpse their fiery breath. My mind fills with thoughts of noble knights, fair maidens with heaving bosoms, and the once and future king. Then reality intrudes and I must return and feed my animals.

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Balloon in a bottle tree

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Taken this morning at about 7:45.

Comments (16)

  • concretenprimroses
    11 years ago

    Reality check point is a riot, love it! Your bottle tree is also great. what kind of wire did you use? We have to tear down our old garage this fall or lose our home insurance (talk about reality intruding!), so I need to do something with all my saved blue bottles. I would love to hang them in the trees like that.
    Kathy

  • Marlene Kindred
    11 years ago

    First of all, what a beautiful clear blue sky you had so early this morning! LOVE the balloon and your reality check point is too funny! Your bottle tree is the prettiest I've seen...I like them hanging in the tree....I suppose you create your own hangers for them? Of course you do, you talented person you.

  • tinfoilhat
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I used wire similar to the wire going from your house to pole. I cut it in I think 43" pieces for beer and soda size bottles and then stripped the insulation off it. There are 5-6 aluminum wires and one galvanized steel wire inside. I'm guessing they are 10-12 gauge.
    Fold a wire in half without kinking center and lay neck in center, bring both wires together on opposite side and give them a couple of twists to secure bottle tightly. Then take wire up diagonally on each side of bottle till they meet again 180 degrees from first twist and give this a couple of twists too. Continue up to bottom of bottle this way 2-3 times and make your last connection about an 1/2 below bottom and twist wires together all the way to ends. You can bend this tail anyway you want to get bottle to hang straight and have hook or circle on end to hang it.
    I also took wire and bent hook on end, inserted it in mouth of bottle and just spiraled it up bottle and formed hook on end.
    I've had these up for a few months and I'm waiting to see how they do in our heat and high winds before I finish tree. They have made it through the summer heat and winds over 50 mph. Matter of fact the bottles have done better than my tree. It twisted and lean over a couple feet in the X- Mas tree type holder I built for it. So far only 1 of 100 plus bottles has come off and a few of the spiral wraps on the heavier wine bottle have slipped a little. I'm going to finish when it cools down a little more and I'll post a picture of whole tree when I'm done.

  • Calamity_J
    11 years ago

    I have a couple of dead trees in my yard(Someone...not mentioning any names...may have been a little too crazy with that darn weedwacker....)so have been trying to decide whether I should dig em out (too lazy) or decorate them somehow...I Think a bottle tree like this and some clematis vines, maybe a climbing rose too, would look great! I was gonna ask for another pic but will now be patient(mental)(

  • tinfoilhat
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    To Calamity (especially Calamity) and all you other Garden Junk Obsessed (you know who you are)

    Oy vey! Talk about be garden junk being an obsession. I have a hot air balloon roaring and belching flame land almost in the backyard and all you see is a bottle tree? That is either more common than I thought or it's time for "Therapist in a Box".
    My sister sent me one a few years ago and he helped so much I highly recommend it for you. (:D

    Here is a link that might be useful: Therapist In a Box

  • maumau27girls
    11 years ago

    beautiful!!!!!!!

  • Calamity_J
    11 years ago

    Hey Hey Hey! My post got cut off...I was trying to say, my hubby and I are the perfect couple...he's a psych nurse...and I'm crazy!! lol! Now that you have explained the pics...I get it!ha! I wasn't connecting the pic with the hot air balloon till now, the belching thing threw me off...(Note to self: order a few of those Therapy in a Box for Christmas gifts...)

  • tinfoilhat
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    They used to fly the balloons on the east side of Tucson. About 10 years ago or so the moved out here in the valley NW of Tucson. I was laying in bed one winter morning waiting for the sun to clear the mountains and warm things up when I heard a strange sound. The 2nd time I heard it my first thought really was, "Here there be dragons." It's what I think every time I hear them.
    I hope that clears things up a little.

    Calamity,
    My wife was a nurse in a psych ward at a Veteran's Hospital till it drove her crazy and I'm a crazy veteran that wears a tinfoil hat, not sure what kind of couple that makes us.
    And NO!! that's not how we met.

  • beachplant
    11 years ago

    they met at the tinfoil hat making class.

    Love the sign!
    Tally HO!

  • jeannespines
    11 years ago

    Wow! Cool pics! Now that is something to see in your backyrd!!...glad you shared some of that 'hot air' w/us here! Once in a while I think we're being invaded when I see a low-flying 'bicycle w/an engine' flying over!!! The bottle tree looks 'grand!'..right down to it's bare bones! TFS, tinfoil! Jeanne S.

  • tinfoilhat
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    There was a dragon chasing the cows on the lease land this morning but I got a shot at him and down he came.

    {{gwi:194263}}

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    Taken this morning at 8:30.

  • tinfoilhat
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Where this balloon landed is sugar flood silt and the chase team buried the truck and trailer trying to get to the balloon. I went out and pulled the truck out and then went in with trailer to retrieve balloon and basket.
    Most of my life it has seemed liked no good deed goes unpunished but Kevin of Tucson Balloon Rides turned that around this morning. He gave me a card for a comped balloon ride. That is a stand up guy.

  • jeannespines
    11 years ago

    Whooo.hooooo!!! 'a good deed ...rewarded!' Awesome! Great pics, too! Up close & personal w/that fiery dragon! I'm glad that fiery dragon didn't chase the 'good knight!' Jeanne S.

  • red_savage1
    11 years ago

    Lol. The title of your post captured my interest. What a delightful view. How fun to have a "dragon" land on your property, even though it did need help to depart. Your bottle tree reminded me of one my grandmother had in her front yard, many many years ago.

  • jlily
    11 years ago

    LOVE the hot air baloon-always been "crazy about them-the colors and designs" Also love your sign and your beautiful bottle tree. TYFS Jlily

  • beachplant
    11 years ago

    Good job!

    Tally Ho!

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