Rain Dances and Such

Its funny today was a beautiful sunny 95 degree day, and I found myself a little sad, missing the rain I am so accustomed to at this time of year. In Arizona where I used to live, the end of July to the the beginning of August was known as the "monsoon" season.

It was the only time in my desert home when it truly rained. "Rained" is a pathetic understatement, it poured. We are talking streets flooding, moats in front of your house, for a couple of weeks you almost feel like you live in Venice Italy.

I loved the warm summer rain the monsoon brought for many reasons. It allowed for exceptional puddle jumping. It made the earth smell wonderful afterwards! To this day one of my favorite scents is the smell after it rains, especially when rain has found fresh soil. Some years the monsoon would arrive later and when school began there were many times when we were allowed "late days". Another thing that I loved about the monsoon was that it always awakened life in the desert. One example that I remember very vividly from my childhood were the (as Iyan the little boy I watch would put it) humongous Sonoran Desert Toads that would only really appear during the rainy season. These toads were enormous! To prove it I even looked them up, at average they are 7 inches long and often are bigger! They are the biggest toads in North America! I remember when I was little I would used to chase them and try and catch them believing that some were actually princes trapped in toad bodies. The monsoon also brought many wild flowers after.

However the number one reason why I loved and love the monsoon were the incredible thunderstorms it brought every year. Days of lighting dancing through the sky! I remember when I was little I would take out all of my stuffed animals, beanie babies, and other toys, pull out a chair on our back porch and watch the storms.

Well it is late, I believe I have rambled long enough for tonight. I wonder how the Monsoon is this year, I hope it is as wonderful as I remember it being. Maybe some other little kid is taking their stuffed animals out and watching it right now. It is the season. In any case if some one is I envy them.