"Once in a blue moon..."

The phrase has come to mean "not happening frequently, a rare event" because the blue moon refers to a full moon that comes twice in a month or the fourth moon in a quarter (usually there are only three). You can read more about it here.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_moon
While the color of the moon is rarely actually blue, just it's usual cheesy color, if there has been some heavy particulate matter in the sky it might cause a color variation.

We had the rare chance to see a 'blooming' balloon as the moon was rising. I went and took pictures.

Morningstar Balloon Company beginning to inflate.

There was little wind, which was a good thing, and not too many folks actually were aware of it; guess it was mostly by invitation and if you were a FB fan of someone who knew about it, you got 'invited.'

I've only seen balloons inflated on television shows, never on site. It was interesting to watch it go from a sliver of silky materials to a fully inflated balloon with a fire below.

There was an idea that I might offer up a balloon ride to my Beloved for his 65th birthday, but he stuck a pin in that one... "Not interested in doing that - at all!" he said quite definitively. Turns out he has a fear of heights. So that would hardly be an enjoyable birthday experience. Instead we will take off for Victoria, B.C. on his motorcycle, weather permitting, and spend some time tooling about the island.

My dear friend, Jenna, is engaged to one of the handlers and photographers of the event, so that was how I learned about it. As the sun was setting, I drove over to the airport in Sequim, finding about 25 people there.

I particularly liked that I caught the four crew members with the moon
behind them as they were starting to fire up and lift off....

There was a lovely scent of new-mown hay from the cutting that was just finished along with the lively energy of lots of children who had been brought down to see the balloon... kids and balloons seems so perfectly logical, doesn't it?

Lighting up the balloon for all the viewers and the
photographers who were there to capture the moment.

I meant to get my Canon charged up for this evening, but I fell asleep after dinner and so I ended up using a monopod with my Sony and my Samsung phone... all these photos are with the Sony, but I actually got a rather sharp one with the phone, too.

The temperature was dropping with the sun so it seemed the captain was having to get more heat in the balloon to keep it up. I was close enough to hear her commands and hear the strain on the ropes that were keeping them from disappearing into the night sky.

As the sun went one way and the moon the other, the bats came out to play, too. Probably some tasty tidbits stirred up by the mower...

Don't know if the bats got caught in this shot, but they were zooming
about as I was taking it.

Dry days, hot ones, and fortunately the nights do not carry the heat most of the time. As I am writing this, it's down to 60 degrees F. outside and I will sleep well.

The blooming balloon and the blue moon... fun after dark in Sequim, WA.