WOODSTOCK — A hot-air balloon’s visit to Woodstock Orchards has produced an apple-picking dispute with two competing accounts of what happened near the trees.
The orchard says fruit was taken without permission and trees were damaged during an October 10 encounter. CT Voyager Balloons acknowledges its pilot picked one apple but denies causing damage, according to Boston.com’s October 14 report.
The operator told Boston.com that a wind shift carried the flight over the orchard. Its account says the pilot offered to pay, returned the apple and later attempted an apology. The company characterized the episode as a misunderstanding.
Woodstock Orchards described the encounter as a second unwanted incident and emphasized the work and expense involved in maintaining its crop. The company offered a different account of an earlier flyover, saying apples had been offered to passengers then. Those accounts do not establish permission for the October 10 picking.
Boston.com reported that Connecticut State Police had received no calls for service at the orchard. That reporting does not establish an arrest, charge or criminal investigation.
The Citizen Chronicle’s October 12 account identifies Woodstock Orchards as a family business established in 1958 at 494 Route 169. It reported that the orchard had spoken with the balloon operator and wanted the conduct to stop.
The accompanying photograph shows a CT Voyager Balloons basket near trees. A photograph alone does not establish whether trees were damaged. Eastern CT News has not independently resolved that disagreement or interviewed either business.