monsoon madness!

This summer has been unlike the last three I've experienced here in the Sonoran Desert. Is it El Nino or La Nina that is causing the cooler temps and scattered storms? Or is it simply global climate change?

May was wonderfully cool and June was hot but cooled off mid month when the early monsoon rains began. The monsoons have not been violent as in past years--these rains have been soft, soaking. I know the plants love it. I have heard the coyotes just recently again--I surmise they've been busy with their pups and hunting closer to home. The rabbit population where I live has expanded in their absence. The javelinas are less noticeable but still cleaning up our compost pile--I hope to see some babies sometime soon.

My Bufo toad disappeared at the end of last year. I'm not sure how long they live. We have another smaller one now but I haven't determined where he hides during the day. It amazes me how they live at all.

Thunder is beginning now and we may have another storm this afternoon. I'm always up for it, especially when the winds whistle through the palo verde trees, scattering dried leaves and cleaning off our patio.

And the clouds have been nothing short of amazing--animals drifting slowly by and changing from dragon to bear to fish as we watch. This is the scene on my walk this morning.

I like this time of year when traffic thins and restaurants are less crowded. There is a camaraderie with those of us who tough it out during the heat of the summer months. Life goes on at a slower pace.

Summer and monsoons

I haven't written for a while, I guess it's because I've been finishing up my desert story about a shape-shifting coyote! Those of you who enjoy this blog may also enjoy this story that is set here in the Sonoran desert.

 Summer has been very different this year, with less heat and less crazy storms. We've had some good rains but they've mostly come in a soft soaking manner instead of the wild winds that threw around our patio furniture last year. I have to say I've missed the lightning and thunder and the hurricane force winds that swirled around our house, but then again I think all the plants have been VERY happy with how much water they've soaked into their thirsty roots.

Every year we notice differences in what blooms and when, and the kinds of animals and birds who frequent our environs. This year the bats had been oddly absent. I have no idea why although I plan to look into it. The coyotes have yet to roam by with their babies. Still in their dens I suppose. Javelina haven't come to the compost in two months, or if they have, I haven't seen them. I hear the roadrunners and see them in our yard from time to time. I learned about their sad puppy sound when calling a mate and now I'm instantly aware of them. I have seen no snakes and oddly, I miss them. I've been  told that August is the month they are on the move. I've seen one Bufo toad this year--he was hiding under the lip of our house in a cool damp spot during the heat of the day. I fed him a black beetle. But the next day he had moved on.

Wildflowers are in full bloom after the rains, the desert poppies and the blue morning glories mingling to make a beautiful blue and orange patchwork behind our house. The two devil's claw plants that suddenly sprang up in our yard were eaten immediately by rabbits, but I have high hopes for another batch. I pick up their fragrance every so often when I'm hiking the trails behind our house.

I've been enjoying the solitude of this time of year, the lack of traffic and people. Yes, it's hot sometimes--too hot to walk if I don't get out early, but it's still magical. With the clouds the sunsets have been spectacular, and the warm mornings make it possible to sit outside with a cup of coffee in my P.J.'s. And the warm nights offer a time to view the stars. So far I haven't grown tired of the ever-changing light on the mountains, the shifting colors that drift slowly across the sky in the evening. Sometimes I feel like the beauty of what I'm seeing couldn't possibly be real!

Summer approaches the Sonoran desert

The weather has been very windy these past weeks, following an incredibly dry winter that made records! I haven't seen a Gila monster, Javelina or coyote in a very long time, although the coyotes have been active at night. The wind has broken our outside table and a chair and broken off several plants. Can't say I enjoy it--had thought the winds were only this bad during monsoon season.

Walking in the desert I've been astounded by how nature survives these weather changes...just today I saw many blooms on the purple

Chollas, and several wildflowers that were still going strong. This is without a good rain since the beginning of December! And the wind has been  hellacious, sucking any residual moisture right out of the ground.

 The Saguaro's bloomed at least a month early this year, but the white winged doves who come for the blooms have been oddly sparse. When I asked a man at 'Native Seed Search' about this, he told me that the native tribes gear the blooming of the Saguaro's with the ceremony to bring the rains.

Since these incredible cactus usually bloom in late May or early June, it takes until late June or early July for the fruit to ripen. They harvest the fruit and make the wine and then they have their ceremony. He said he wasn't sure if this early bloom meant earlier rains or if it was just an affect of global climate change. It will be interesting to find out.

I've seen only one rattlesnake so far this year, and that one seemed oblivious of me or my dog, lying immobile in the middle of the narrow wash I was walking in. I jumped over him and continued. I miss the snakes, not the rattlers, per se, although I do like them, but the King snakes and the Gopher snakes. The year we moved here they were around, but now they're not. We even had a Gila monster that first year! Perhaps human activity and dogs and cats caused them to change their habits.

We are planning a trip in early June up to cooler climes in the Pacific Northwest, but it will be hard for me to leave. There is something magical about this place even when the temperatures soar. I don't want to miss any of the strange and wondrous insect invasions or the baby quail coming to our feeder...(they've been here but I have yet to see them) But as my friend in New Mexico said: "The best thing about living in the desert is going away and coming back."

Spring!!!!

Spring seems to have sprung! Walking through the desert I've been astounded to see leaves bursting out on the trees, all the Ocotillo's in full leaf...this is after examining them for the past month or so for buds. That is not what happens here--instead of bursting buds the trees go from looking completely dead to leaves within a day or two. Wildflowers, in various colors and sizes, dot the landscape like bright gems. The angle of the sun has changed--I can see the goddess in the mountain once again.

We've had the same old javelina several nights in a row and sometimes he's still here in the early morning. He finished off the block of seeds I put out for the quail and doves--I could hear him gnawing on it. Of course with the full moon other animals have been coming around as well--this morning I heard a gunshot from our neighbor who called a few minutes later to tell me it was a warning shot to scare off a scruffy mountain lion. I wondered why our cat and dog were so subdued this morning and no birds at the feeders! He said that right after the lion he saw a beautiful coyote coming across our land to the north...I've seen this male before and he's truly a magnificent specimen.

The way our house is situated we have missed the bobcat and mountain lion sightings and because of the wall around our back yard we don't always see the roadrunners. But the cat and dog are safe there and they know it. A few nights ago a pack of coyotes were very close to the house and Buddha managed to howl, which they answered. I couldn't see them, which was frustrating. It sounded like an enormous group but from what I've read they throw their voices. During these past few months their calls have changed, turning into more haunting high-pitched cries mixed in with the normal yipping that goes on. I have  deduced that the babies from last year are now traveling in the pack and making these different sounds. It's really funny how they all shut up at once, as though the leader holds up a paw signaling quiet.

Along with the Costas, Annas and Black-chinned, we've had several new species of hummingbirds coming to the feeders--don't know if they're traveling through or summer residents. They've been hard to identify. Quail are pairing up. But unfortunately they won't be able to nest in our yard again since we've redone it, taking out the planter boxes AND we now have a cat that hunts.

We will enjoy the gorgeous weather until it grows too hot and then I plan to take a trip up to the Pacific northwest, getting out of here for the month of June which is purported to be the hottest one!