There's a special season in the Sonoran Desert each year called "The Monsoon". It's a portion of the summer where it rains for about 20 minutes around 4 pm every day (hopefully). People get a little crazy in the time preceding "the monsoon". There is worry it will never rain, that the earth will dry up, the animals will die, and we will be forced to eat cactus forever (until they dry up, too).
We are in quite a horrible drought over the past few years, and it's getting concerning. A lot of people from other parts of the country find this statement silly. They say, "Well, don't you live in a desert? Isn't it supposed to never rain?"
This is not true. Deserts can go a long while without water, but it still needs it. Without water, there is no life. (Duh). Yes, there are desert regions where it is all sand. But Tucson is not like that. We actually have a great deal of vegetation, gardening, and there are even farmers in Arizona!
And yesterday, we finally hit the jackpot! We got 3 hours of life-sustaining, wet rain. (I can still hear my plants singing) It was heavenly! Here are a few things about "rain in the desert" Non-Tucsonans may not be aware of:
We are in quite a horrible drought over the past few years, and it's getting concerning. A lot of people from other parts of the country find this statement silly. They say, "Well, don't you live in a desert? Isn't it supposed to never rain?"
This is not true. Deserts can go a long while without water, but it still needs it. Without water, there is no life. (Duh). Yes, there are desert regions where it is all sand. But Tucson is not like that. We actually have a great deal of vegetation, gardening, and there are even farmers in Arizona!
And yesterday, we finally hit the jackpot! We got 3 hours of life-sustaining, wet rain. (I can still hear my plants singing) It was heavenly! Here are a few things about "rain in the desert" Non-Tucsonans may not be aware of:
- Tucson is rated as having some of the best "lightening shows" in the country. The lightening here is incredible!
- "Desert People" don't drive when there is precipitation. The most subtle rain, and all you see is brake lights all around! Working in the ER on a rainy day, you always knew it was going to be a "MVC kind of day" (motor vehicle crash). Seriously.
- "Desert People" get very excited about the rain, and then it comes, and then they bitch for it to go away. (This makes me hostile). They complain "Now I can't have my BBQ!" or "Now I can't hang out in my pool this evening!" "This is making my hair frizzy!". Hello, people, you get 330 days of ZERO precipitation/year. Suck it up, princess.
- "Desert People" treat rain like North Dakota treats a snowstorm. Some simply don't go out in it. They will say things like, "Be care out there! It's coming down pretty hard!" or "Well, I guess we will have to cancel our dinner plans! It's raining tonight!" Seriously.
Comments
I bet the earth was a happy camper with all that moisture! And I bet your plants were doing a Happy Dance!