Monsoon

It starts with the clouds.  They are high and numerous and cumulus and they move rapidly.  Some are higher and some are denser but they're all up there, competing for the same space, and when they crash into one another there's a very big bang.

It's fun to watch the thunder happen.  

The lightning strikes are horizontal and vertical and ginormous.  Were I a person with patience I'd sit outside with the camera on the tripod and wait for the most propitious moment to click.  I'm not, so you must use your imagination.  

After the clouds comes the wind.  It comes from the east as well as the west, with gusts from the south moving the plant detritus in wonderful patterns, leaving piles of mulch conveniently under the the trees that dropped the pods.  

I planned to include a picture of that right here,  but now it's raining. 

This is not the rain you see back East, or in Chicago, or in Marin.  This is firehose stuff, drops going crosswise and then straight into your window, ferociously, announcing their presence with authority.  It often only lasts for a few, intense minutes.  The sky will clear, the sun will come out, the wildlife will creep out of their hidey holes and begin to prey upon one another.  The air will smell of creosote (you either love it or you hate it) and the ions make your arm hair stand on end.

It's letting up as I type.  The first ... the hungriest?? ... lizard just emerged.  But there's another cloud system gathering over Mt. Lemmon, and those usually head our way.  It's going to be a loud and bright night.