“the foam-flowers endure when the rose-blossoms wither, / And men that love lightly may die—but we?”

[larryhammer]

This summer has been long, thanks to pandemic, and glorious, thanks to a much wetter than average monsoon season — as in, July was the wettest month ever on record, [edited with correction] enough combined with the rain since to make this the second wettest monsoon recorded. Guys, this desert is LUSH. The mountains, in the early morning light of the drive to school, look like moss-covered rocks. Every spare patch of ground (including our yard) has weeds and grasses and more mesquite seedlings than I can shake a weed-whacker at.

Eaglet describes school as a butterflytopia — flitters and moths sometimes cover the pavement outside their classroom, which faces the community garden. (No indoor hallways — all rooms open to covered passageways. Yes, this has made COVID mitigations a lot easier. And no, we hardly ever get snow.)

Pity it’s been too hot and sticky to get out and appreciate it much, or as much as it deserves. :-(

---L.

Subject quote from A Forsaken Garden, Algernon Swinburne.

Comments

[ranunculus]

Glad somebody is getting rain...
And that it is making things beautiful.

[larryhammer]

After several years of drought, we are delight.

[rebeccmeister]

One always seems to come with the other, doesn't it? (rain + hot/sticky) :^)

I've been seeing photos from friends in the time since I left. Wet monsoon years are always so magical! I hope that at least some of the rains have helped soak in and replenish the aquifers. Arizona has been so much more fortunate this year compared to California.

[larryhammer]

I hope so too -- I haven't tracked down any reports on aquifer levels to confirm, though.

[cmcmck]

We've had a grim and dismal Summer right through.

The Romani in me is desperate for sunshine!

[larryhammer]

:-(

[sovay]

Eaglet describes school as a butterflytopia — flitters and moths sometimes cover the pavement outside their classroom, which faces the community garden.

That sounds lovely.

[larryhammer]

It does -- parents aren't allowed on campus (thanks, pandemic) so I haven't seen it myself.

[sartorias]

I saw how beautiful the desert looked, with puddles and streams, in early August!

So different from dust-choked here. We had two inches of rain Jan-Feb. Two. And of course none since, just the heat and humidity.

[larryhammer]

That sounds like our weather last year...