It is easy to become complacent about the weather in the desert, day after day of clear blue skies and sunshine but the brief monsoon season is really what keeps this unique habitat alive year upon year.
The anticipation as the storm clouds start to build and the faint rumbles of thunder can be heard in the mountains is palpable. Every living thing seems to be holding its breath, waiting for that first huge, warm rain drop to fall.
And then it finally arrives after many days and sometimes weeks of false hopes. The deluge begins, the wonderful smell as fresh droplets hit warm, dry earth. The washes start to run, the cacti swell and the desert drinks long and deeply of the sweet, refreshing rain. Nature breathes a collective sigh of relief, satiated and washed clean.
