It's raining! It's raining!

Oh thank you Diane!
What a pleasure it was to read your post.
I'm glad to have reminded you of spring & rain in the desert. It sounds enchanting & It also sounds like you miss it very much! (A trip back, soon, maybe ..?)

Yes, it is truly wondrous, the changes that a good soak can bring. ( I loved your description of the desert animals mating like mad, while the going was good!)

I, too, can remember dancing in the street after a particularly long, hot summer drought: I was an Art student at college & we were all beginning to suffer the debilitating effects of the prolonged heat. Well, when the rain finally escaped from the sky, after endless hopeful signs & much anticipation, we we beside ourselves with sheer, beautiful joy! We danced, hugged each other, & just had to stand IN it! Thank YOU for reminding me of that time.

I'm in the semi-arid northwest corner of New Mexico, Msolga. Before the rains came in September we had had no rain this year, and precious little last year. It was only a problem because the snowpack in the mountains was also very light last winter. The smaller of our two rivers ran dry in March and didn't start flowing again till September. Not a flash flood, but it went from dry to spring-time normal over night.

Hello, roger

I was wondering where "NM" was! New Mexico, I see ...
(Is that Georgia O'Keefe country?)
Let me share your delight at the drought-breaking rains. Wonderful, isn't it? Hope you get some more!

WaaaaahhhhH!!!!!

Still no serious rain here - and bushfires around again. We've had plenty of cloud and mist - but where's the bloody rain! We're about to face water restrictions, too. Plants are wilting under the heat, but.....

Olga, Glad you've had some rain there - but send some up north a bit!

Msloga rain is alway welcome in Texas too. A nice break from the sun and I love the smell of the rain. Then after it rains the tress are all dusted off and look so pristine. And yes Ms. O'Keefe lived and painted in NM.

Georgia O'Keefe used to live about midway between Roswell and Ruidoso, NM. Somehow, I associate the area more with Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War. The artists tend to hang out in Taos and Sante Fe. If the names mean nothing, don't worry about it. Most US cities you will have heard of have more people than the entire state of New Mexico.

Most people with a cursory knowledge of the southwestern United States expect sand dunes. My area leans more to rock, sandy clay, sage brush, pinion pine, and ceder, with the elevation running from 5000ft and up.

Roger I have a friend that graduated UNM and when he applied for jobs in the mid-west and east coast they always asked for his green card.

margo

The cloud & mist here happened before today's deluge ... a series of sticky, muggy, overcast days .... followed by today, when all hell broke loose! Chaos everywhere ... flooding, accidents & emergency services run of their feet (or wheels).

I can sympathise with you all in & around Sydney .... It must be awful right now being in one of the fire-prone areas, just crossing your fingers that the worst doesn't happen ... And it's so EARLY for bush fires!
I'm therfore sharing Misti & Pheonix's rain dances with you. Hope they do the trick!

msolga,

Glad you got some rain. Can you hear all of nature sighing with relief?

Snow is predicted here (NYC) for tomorrow. It's a bit early, but I love snow, so I'll take it any time I can get it.

I hope you haven't seen the last of the rain.

JoanD

Nothing like the smell of a parched garden that's just received it's first big drink in ages! I just couldn't get enough this morning. Gosh, is Texas experiencing a drought, too! Is there any place, anywhere that isn't?

Roger

I'm by no means an expert on New Mexico, but I know a little, especially from Georgia's late paintings & by reading a biography of her life. It sounds a very striking place, visually ... And I can just imagine the light! : Painters' heaven!

Whoops!

That unreadable word was LIGHT !

(Hey, that's the first time I've used colour & bold script here! & Pheonix taught me how to use smilies only this morning .... Is that progress, or what??? )

Whoops again!
Sorry, Phoenix!

Yes, Roberta, nature is absolutely SWOONING with relief! But we need a lot more rain, though. Storage levels are very low indeed. Summer is not looking good.

Hey, snow in NYC! I know how much you love it! Tell us about it when it happens ... If you have the time, of course!

Ehbeth
Have you read The Stone Diaries? It is about
Canada, a work of fiction, but the topic of
growing flowers in Canada's brief timespan
sounds wonderful in it. Actually, it is quite a
book. How long is your growing season?

Hey - it rained here too - but I missed the storm which was fantastic - I was not aware Melbourne had such a drought going, we had heaps of wonderful rain here too.

babs - The Stone Diaries was the first book I picked for the book club i was part of. Carol Shields writes books that are very canajun. There are so many things in them that are part of my life experience. A wonderful writer and playwright.

We're in Zone 6 (maybe 6A) here, so we've got the same kind of growing season as places such as New York. A tiny bit shorter. The problem (if it is a problem) is that during the off-season it is much colder and snowier. Not a problem if you like cold and snow.

In The Stone Diaries Carol Shields was writing, in part, about life in the Prairies - further North, with more temperature extremes.

I always liked how in Camelot, the rain only came at night while people were sleeping... but then, I'm from the state with, I think, the rainiest spot. Luckily, that's on the far side of the Olympic peninsula, a ways away from here.

There is a point, if you're from here, and you're out in it and standing there with water pouring over you and everyone and everything is SO wet, and you feel like you're practically in the bath...feet standing in a puddle... well, really it becomes laughable. We're known to burst out laughing at its absurdity. Standing in the rain, water up to your ankles, rain so heavy you can't see 25 feet. Luckily this does not happen often!

It can be awful if you're camping! That's why they say a blue tarp is the state flag.

Anyway, glad you've got rain there, Msolga, and Roger, you too. I think drought is frightening. It is kind of you to think about the birds and wildlife needing a drink.

In Tuscon there was a B&B that had a small pool and an even smaller intermittent "waterfall." I watched one morning as it happened to come on. Several beautiful Aztec doves fluttered down from nowhere. It was like a feast for them. A feast of clean fresh water.

How true, Joanne. New Mexico Magazine used to have (and maybe still does) a feature called "One of our Fifty is missing." These stories are not rare.

PHOENIX where did you get that lovely rain dance?
Do you know where to find everything?

babsatamelia- Very easy. (Should I be giving away my secrets?). I went to www.google.com Clicked on "images". Typed in "rain dance". Then I just looked around until I saw something suitable!