Dry Monsoon

Temperatures have been hovering around 110 degrees in the afternoons.  We are trying to have a monsoon but it has been a dry year.  The clouds rolled in this afternoon.  The sky got darker.  The wind kicked up and was gusting vigorously.  A few drops fell but the wind dried them quickly.  Then the rainbow formed.  For a while, there was a double rainbow, but the outer second rainbow was faint.  I stood out in the gusting wind, and the few sprinkles of rain the wind blew in, to watch the rainbow.  The sky turned red.  It was almost biblical.  The red sky was within the rainbow.  That passed.  The show went on for the better part of an hour. 

The dog was a bit nervous about the wind.  He couldn't understand why I was standing in the rain, what little there was of it.  Rain is so rare here we sometimes stand in the rain just to experience and enjoy it.  The box turtle came out for the rain, as she does.  The gusty wind blew away the monsoon insects.  It was a perfect time, although we could use some more rain.

Hope you see a rainbow.
Sincerely,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. c(2011)

Heat Sink

Summer has hit the point of entropy*.  Nothing much is happening.  Everything is hot.  The water is hot.  The air is hot.  The breeze is hot.  The nights are hot.  The mornings are hot.

Whoever can get out of town is away.  No one wants to come down to the desert to visit in the summer.  The traffic is sometimes noticeably light.  That is nice.

It has been a dry summer.  Maybe the monsoon will be back this week.  We could use some more summer rain.  In the Southwest Desert a dry summer generally means a dry year.

*Entropy may be defined as a measure of the amount of energy in a physical system not available to do work.  You don't want to do much in this part of the summer.  There is yard work to do -- clearing out dead brush, dead leaves, and dead cacti.  Trim the oleander.  There are house chores.  The kitchen floor can stand a mopping.  The car could use a washing, but the wind will blow dust on it soon enough so I will wait until the end of summer to wash the car. 

I'm still eating that raw food.  Why waste energy cooking?  I got a dozen ripe peaches, peeled them, cut them into pieces, and froze them.  I took about two cups of the barely frozen peach pieces, added just enough water to blend them in the blender and created a sweet, thick, sherbert-like peach dessert.  It was cold and smooth.  That was the most interesting part of today.  For some nice, clean, and easy smoothie recipes check this link http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344 and get the FREE recipes e-Book.        

Sometimes I see a lone coyote when I take the dog for a walk.  Sometimes I see a hawk looking for prey.  There are rabbits, quail, doves, and little lizards.  Sometimes clouds roll in.  But, like the song says, "the skies are not cloudy all day."

Entropically yours,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c) 2011