from July 1, 2022

We were fortunate for photographs of our Texas Ranger before the second of our monsoons arrived. Fortunate the storm arrived too. This plant is one of the first we bought and planted after buying this home in 1999. It is xeriscape and a big part of why we wanted it. The flowers often dry into interesting shapes for arrangements in the fall. I think this is the most beautiful we have ever seen it.

The video of the monsoon is 36 seconds and the sound well worth having if you watch it. The storm was over us for about 3/4 of an hour and dumped 3/4" of rain in that time. It also blew a lot of those blossoms into the pool.

https://youtu.be/pWwTLh98aVk

Texas Ranger (the bees loved it too)

I didn't really set this up for July 4th though that's how it is turning out for timing. I love my country and do appreciate living here despite all we are going through right now. 

We don't do much to celebrate it although when I was a child, it was one of the family gathering holidays where fireworks were part of the event along with potlucks and cousin time. We used to hold a Roman Candle and pass it around from child to child, then one of the mothers read they had been known to explode. That year it was put in the ground and it did explode...

For us though it is seeing fireworks from others, hearing the bangs which began the night of July 2nd. Maybe the thunder with the monsoon was an even earlier big bang celebration. The desert sure appreciated it!

 

Monsoons and some more politics...

by Rain Trueax

The monsoon season started in early June but then disappeared until this week when it returned with the thunder, lightning, and sporadic rains. We got a good rain from one of the storms, but the one with the most lightning only gave us a little. Both had come at night. One brought strong winds but worse other places than here as in knocked out power for 600+ homes. That's a concern when the temps are over 105ºF and why we have a small generator and a room a/c unit. Knowing such things happen when you live on a farm tends  to make you be prepared.  The room a/c wouldn't do much for the whole house but would let us sleep at night :).

What I love about these storms is their energy. It's nice when they come with heavy rains but then desert dwellers know they have to be wary of the roads that dip into washes. Regularly people drown in such storms. I used one in my contemporary romance, Desert Inferno, as a threat to the hero and heroine as they were on foot in the desert wilderness. 

Here's what you can run into with these 'dry' washes in the monsoon season. Cañada del Oro Wash. It is worse this year after the horrific fire.

Ahead some political (maybe that's what it is or is it cultural???); so fair warning