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Monday, August 12, 2013

Aftermath of Yet Another Storm

Looking for higher ground
We had another quirky storm blow in between 5:30 and 6:00 yesterday afternoon.  It dumped quite a bit of moisture at our place, but it unloaded a lot more around Tortugas Mountain.  When Becca and I went hiking on the west side of the mountain this morning we spent a lot of time dodging mud.  It was, literally, all over the place, and sometimes made for difficult footing.  Of course, Becca sees no need to avoid mud.  In fact, I think she often seeks it out.
Many arroyos are still wet from the storm

Mud beginning to dry in a small arroyo

A mud bog on the trail around the mountain

Taking a break on wet ground

Ocotillos are still very green

Barrel Cactus beginning to bud

Closeup of unopened Barrel Cactus flowers

4 comments:

Scott said...

While there's definitely wetness in the arroyo and the mud flats, the rest of the desert looks like it absorbs most of the rain.

We had an absolutely torrential downpour during rush hour this morning (Tuesday) and the forecasters said we could get up to 2 inches of rain today, but the forecast for the rest of the week is for delightful temperatures, low humidity, and plenty of sunshine.

packrat said...

The desert is deceptive, Scott. It doesn't absorb as much moisture as one might think. While the top few inches of soil will appear dry it's often saturated just below--hence the high number of flash floods in desert areas.

Dr. K said...

I know I've written this a lot before, but I'll write it again: I love the smell of the desert when it rains.

packrat said...

You can write it as many times as you like, Dr. K.

:)

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