Wednesday, August 08, 2012

After The Storm

During the summer in Southern Arizona, we get what they call monsoon rains; afternoon storms involving wind, lightening, thunder, and of course, tons of rain. So much rain that roads get washed out, riverbeds that are dry during the entire year start flowing with such force that people are warned to not go through them, no matter how small they may seem, and there is a slight cooling down of the stifling summer heat.

This picture of the truck was taken just after the rain stopped, when everything was still wet, the stones in the driveway and the branches on the trees glistening in the sun. The desert has a strong distinctive smell after it rains; it's the smell of the creosote bush. I think it's a very unpleasant odor, but my mother loves it. It's like wet dirt - not mud, just moist dirt - but not quite. It makes my nose scrunch up.

It's really hard to put your finger on what it smells like, and it's not uncommon to hear someone who's not familiar with it say, "What's that smell?" after it rains. It's the only place I've ever been where I can recall not enjoying the way the air smells after a rainstorm.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2011:
A Constellation Minus The Celestial Bodies
2010: Opulence. I Hyaz It.
2009: Flipping It At The Bird
2008: Eddie Flippin’ Friday
2007: Hope Collapses
2006: You Do The Math
2005: 14,410 Feet Of Beauty

2 comments:

Belledog said...

Beautiful photo.

Interesting about the desert after a rain. Creosote bush, you say.

Will you see a bunch of wildflowers after the big rains? Or is that just in spring?

The Daily Rant said...

We don't get wildflowers after the rains. The desert only blooms in the spring and for a very short time. The rest of the year it's basically brown. LOL