So recently the kids (young adults) have noticed how excited people get here about clouds forming.
Well, it IS the celebrated Monsoon season here in the Valley of the Sun. Growing up in Southern California clouds were a daily fact for them. Morning fog, burn off.......head to the beach if you can. Here, it is all beach, (which is the logic I tried to use when we moved here........."It's ALL sandy beach here Mary, just no ocean"....she still isn't buying.........) Again, all beach and all sun.
After a few weeks of blazing hot "dry" heat, we desert rats look forward to our summer storms. As the clouds begin building up around the perimeter of the valley we hope and pray they blow over our area of town. Mostly we get huffs and puffs and a lot of wind, lightning and thunder. But on occasion we are blessed with a downpour. The backyard looks like spring has returned with just one evening of rain! All the trees and plants perked up and birds and butterflies are flitting through the yard. Yesterday a turkey vulture blocked the sun as it came passing by looking for good eats even. This morning the temperature felt like the high 70's with a breeze! Glorious! I quickly jumped at the chance to be in the yard figuring it may be September or October when it feels like this again. Back to the storms, I admit I even have the National Weather Service Radar Website as a favorite on my computer so I can watch the summer storms form and which direction they are headed! Afternoon storms are wonderful, if you aren't in traffic.......but the night skies as they light up are amazing. Layers upon layers of multicolored light shows. It really is beautiful.
I love being back in the desert, which comes with a great appreciation for rain showers, but the jewels of the desert skies are the clouds!
