In an unsigned letter to the editor in The Huntley Farmside weekly newspaper, an angry farmer characterized hot-air balloonists as "arrogant, non-caring and bad-mouthed people" and concluded by calling their craft a "curse." With that printed declaration, the annual war between farmers and fliers of hot air balloon temecula was off and floating.

"The guys in Huntley just don't see balloons the way we do," said Linda Poulin of Crystal Lake, whose husband, Marc, dropped in on the Grismers at dinnertime a few weeks ago. "They get a lot of balloons there, and in the past some balloonists haven't handled things the right way. We try to avoid Huntley as much as possible."

Ray Johnson, chief of aviation education for the Illinois Department of Transportation and an avid balloonist in hot air balloon temecula, said the farmers of Huntley have a legitimate gripe.

"Balloons have been flying out of that port for 14 years, and they have a limited range of a 15-mile radius," he said. "It's a matter of saturation for that area. I think they have become a nuisance, just like too many boats on the Fox River."

Hot-air balloons, with their imposing stature and striking colors, inspire words of rapture from most of those who see them drifting by. But they bring gripes of wrath from local farmers who claim the balloons land without permission on their property, sometimes damaging crops or frightening livestock.

Chase crews following the balloons add to the problem by driving or tramping through fields to retrieve the downed balloon, farmers said. To farmers' further umbrage, the balloonists are protected from trespassing laws by the Illinois Special Purpose Aircraft Act, which recognizes a higher law: What goes up without a propeller, must come down wherever the wind takes it. "The law acknowledges that balloons and gliders cannot feasibly get back to an airport to land, and it protects them against criminal trespass," said Johnson. "But it does place responsibility on the balloonist to make amends for any damage he has done."

Because most balloonists carry $500 deductible flight insurance, farmers and fliers must negotiate on the spot for damages, Johnson said. Farmers argue that the balloonists are usually packed up and gone so quickly that they avoid paying for smashed soybean plants or crumpled corn rows. Nearly every farmer within drifting distance of the balloonport has a tale about a hot-air balloonist dropping, dragging or dumping on his field, damaging the crop.