Well, it is down to 95 degrees now with mostly cloudy sky
due to our monsoon. Yes, this is the
season for our cooling rains, called Monsoons, – in our hottest months of
summer. This is what allows the desert
to sustain itself. We get huge thunder
followed by a major downpour of rain – for a brief time. It seems like only 5
minutes, but is probably longer. It is enough to cause the washes to gush,
flowing heavily and rapidly… flooding low parts of many streets. There are signs saying: “Do not drive through
if flooded.” Now, strangers and newbies
to the area are very puzzled by this.
Myself included. What are we
supposed to do if we are on the road and it floods?? Correct answer is: Just sit tight and wait!
Some people don’t believe it can be that bad and think they can go right
through. If this happens, and they need
rescuing, they will find themselves on the news and will receive a fine as
well. It is a law not to go through
flooded streets… they call it “the Stupid Motorist Law”!! I plan to keep my face out of the news!
Meanwhile, the cactus
are displaying their beautiful, colorful blooms again… such incredible
flowers! And the prickly pear cactus
that are outside my window were getting shriveled up and falling over due to
lack of rain prior to the monsoons. Yes,
this is the same cactus the javelinas were munching just weeks ago. They are
standing tall now, and sending out new growth, as well as fruit. The saguaros have bloomed their white
trumpet-like flowers and left behind their fruit, attracting numerous varieties
of birds. The fruit splits open revealing
a bright scarlet taste-delight for the birds. Now, my prickly pear fruit comes
in a mauve or a green color. Bunnies and
ground squirrels also partake in this scrumptious byproduct.
Haboobs are a new phenomenon to us. One happened last week in the county to the
north of us. I received a loud warning
on my phone advising not to drive as there is a huge dust storm in the
vicinity. Ron was on his way home from
work at the time, and since he listens to Sirius XFM, it was up to me to save
his life! Thank goodness for cell
phones. It did not reach him, and he
drove on in safely. Whew! http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/15106197/another-haboob-damages. This is a video of the Haboob, which is an
extra-wide humongous dust storm. On the
News they alert us that if a haboob comes upon you while driving, you are
supposed to pull off the road in a safe place, turn OFF your lights, and set
your emergency brake, and wait till it’s over.
Speaking of javelinas, we had a herd of them, about 8, come
for dinner three days in a row. After
polishing off one particular plant in both front planters, they moved on to our
prickly pear cactus, which had a fence around it when we moved here…for this
very reason. They almost destroyed the
other one that was fenced in. They just
walk over the fence and eat away! It has
3 new sprouts which I am going to harvest and plant out in our back yard, where
javelinas and deer cannot get in.
Speaking of deer, they were here 3 of them, walking along the driveway 3
days in a row. They are kind of rare here, mostly staying in the higher
elevation.
And last night we hosted a Fabo dinner and a movie. I bring this up because when our friends left, there was a tarantula on our front doorstep.
I have to tell you about our movie night. The idea came up when I told them about my friend MaryAnne who recently watched “Bottle Shock” outside via a blow-up screen. Very apropos since she lives in Napa! Jon thought it was a great idea to have a movie night, and since Catherine gave me the movie several years ago (after I raved about it!) we invited Jill and Rodney who had not seen the film, along with Jon to our house for din. We missed Catherine who was in the Bay Area. I made pizzas, 2 baked in the oven and Ron baked one in the bar-b-que. All were delish! Afterward we had popcorn and watched “Bottle Shock.” Of course we had a bottle of Chateau Montelena as we watched as California won the blind taste test of French verus California wines in 1976. Chateau Montelena won for the white category, and Stag’s Leap won for the red, putting Napa Valley on the map as notable and viable wine producers in the world. Another blind taste test in Paris in 2006 resulted in California wines as the top 2 again! Hurray for Napa!!
PeJu of the Desert.....
