Rain in the Desert

 As you know, we are in Arizona.  When I say Arizona to friends in the Midwest or Northwest, most or them think, " Lawrence of Arabia riding his horse down a huge sand dune with a single saguaro cactus nearby.  Nothing is further from the truth.  There are four deserts in the US.  All very different.  All four of them are present in the state of Arizona.  The most prevalent and most beautiful desert in Arizona is the Sonoran.

    So rain, desert.  Do they sound like they go together?  Actually, they do.  The Sonoran Desert has five seasons.  Winter is the rainy season.  the second half of summer is also a rainy season.  It is the time for the "Monsoons", thunderstorms that blow in from the Gulf of California.  The winter rains are slow and nurturing.  The Monsoons are violent, loud, and often cause flash flooding downstream of the storm areas.

We have had three periods of winter rains, one in early December, one over Christmas weekend and one New Year's weekend.  Probably a total of 5 inches over the periods.  The wildflower display this spring is going to be awesome.

Queen Creek has been flowing since December 5th.  Heavey early in the month, dropping to almost a trickle and then building with the Christmas and New Year's rains.  It is good to see water flowing in it.  Notice how turbid the water is.  This was taken yesterday.  Today the flow has lessened, and the water has cleared.