After 4 months of no rain, the desert is eager to soak up whatever falls from the sky. The drops are HUGE, and the storms last only 15 minutes or so as they quickly pass through. For the next two months, we can look forward to these spectacular displays of lightening and fierce downpours - along with swift flash floods in dangerous low road areas.
As exciting as it is to watch a storm advance with hanging rain curtains and light-and-sound show, what I find even more spectacular are the incredibly swift reactions of desert plants. There are ocotillo in the landscaping near where I park. One day the limbs were bare thorn-laden dead looking grey sticks. It rained during the night. The next morning as I walked by the nearest specimen, I was stunned to see 1-2" long bright green leaves the full length of the stalks. The ocotillo blossomed during the spring, so I'm. curious to see if they will again. Fascinating!
The other beauties right out my door are several varieties of cacti. Again, after the spring blooming season, I was surprised to see how quickly blossoms re-appeared following some rainy bursts over about a week.
This orange-blossoming cactus is in a pot on a neighbor's patio. She has a varied collection that will be fun to watch cycle through blooming periods.
This ocatillo photo is actually from spring, showing the flowers which only appear on the very ends of long (up to 12'!) stems that grow as a cluster from a single root. Most of the year they look totally dead (and dangerous - THORNS). The over-night transformation is stunning.
And humidity. Don't let anyone kid you, it is not ALWAYS a "dry heat"...
Gorgeous, gorgeous pictures!
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