After months of no precipitation, it is an awesome sight to see rain clouds over the parched desert. Research Associate Becca and I even got sprinkled on this morning during our field work near Tortugas Mountain. It wasn't enough moisture to wet a lizard's whistle (pun intended, Liz), but it was rain, nevertheless. And a look across the desert to the Mesilla Valley revealed a wall of showers reaching the desert floor (see photo at left).
The heavy cloud cover also provided a welcome respite from the building heat. High temperature today was expected to be 67 F, about twenty degrees cooler than our normal high. By the way, the desert has the most beautiful fragrance after a rain, owing primarily to the scent creosote bushes exude after they are drenched.
1 comment:
I love the scent of rain in the desert. As a child in Tucson, I loved to experience the rains in the late summer. That scent, along with the cooing of doves, is a treasured memory.
Post a Comment