This is Monsoon Season: SE winds bring moisture-laden Tropical air and the rains, when they come, fall violently,with lightning crashing all around us, knocking out power, flooding the streets and making a big mess. As I was about to go to bed last night, I noticed the trees outside were rocking violently. The wind began blowing so strong that things started crashing to the ground outside, and I had to go onto the roof to close the hatch over the bathroom. I was a bit late: I still had to sweep the floor in the morning for all the sand and grit that had blown in, and that was from the roof.
I checked the internet weather and discovered a huge mass of cloud to the south and coming this way. I was hoping for a monsoon rain: heavy rain, lots of lightning. But so far all we got was wind, shaking the windows, blowing grit in through the gaps and under the doors. The dogs were pretty nervous about the whole event, but I couldn’t sit with them because my eyes would get all full of grit. So I had to content myself with watching from inside. The flashes of light in the sky told of an advancing thunderstorm, and when I started to hear the rumble, I knew it was within about 15 miles. Alas the rain, the lightning spectacle that is so much fun to watch from the safety of home, never arrived. It was another teaser.
Meanwhile, the desert is still dry and leafless, and we stay in to avoid the extreme heat and humidity, awaiting the glory that the summer rains bring.