Monsoon mania

Lots of rain in a short period of time...

Still crazy after all these years...

Crazy for living in a desert. One would think that having spent a lot of time in other people's deserts I would have had enough, but no, ol' Phos. At least in this desert I am not trying to kill people or visa-versa. Truth be told I couldn't stand the cold again -- my ice fishing days are far behind me. I miss the fishing part but not sitting on a pickle bucket in the middle of a frozen lake with nothing between the wind and the shore except me. Hard to beat the fish though, they don't get much fresher than the ones frozen right out of the ice fishing hole. Sometimes they'd come back to life in the sink when I went to clean them. Good trout and splake.

Anyhoo, hotter than a $2 pistol today so no chance of ice, unless we get hit with some hail, something not beyond the realm of possibility during the monsoons. Lots of clouds, in fact we're surrounded. Whether we get any rain is another story. Times it looks promising and we get nothing here in the West valley, other times one figures there isn't a chance in hell and we get hit. Go figure.

Still not to hot to fire up the grill for some hot links...


And as always I have my helpers...

This ain't hell, but you can see it from here...

Temps are supposed to get up to 120 this weekend making it one hot 4th of July. The extreme heat has to make me wonder about our forefather's, the pioneers. Ambling across the land in covered wagons, hardships, Indian attacks (actually the Indians were doing them a favor trying to warn them off), disease and heartbreak, then they come upon a scene such as the one in the picture above. The fact someone said, "Looks good to me," says a lot about our ancestors lack of intelligence. One could give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they arrived in winter when it is cool, but water is mighty scarce in these parts and the view should indicate to most rational beings that this is not a good place to inhabit in any season.

Maybe it's a little harsh calling the settlers morons, after all I know better and yet here I am. It is just as hot, but unlike Conestoga wagons, my vehicle has air conditioning as does my dwelling, which is not made of sod or mud and sticks (instead the builders used chicken wire and bird-shit). There is water to be had, though we are thieving it from the poor assholes downstream and fighting with California and Nevada over the Colorado river water rights. Arizona is in the midst of a record drought, which in my opinion won't abate anytime soon. Whether one is a Global Warming fan or not, it is readily apparent that there is climatic change afoot and hot and dry is the future forecast for sunny Arizona.

And the imbecilic settlers? Oh, their progeny is still here, and the pioneers legacy can be seen in the vacant slack jawed expression on the faces of all the NASCAR fans at the Phoenix International Race way, or the pickup trucks jacked eight feet off the ground with Clem and Bubba tossing beer cans out the window as they drive along. Intelligence is fleeting, but hillbilly is forever.

Rain Tomorrow

Tonight, if the weather asshole isn't lying we're in for some rain tomorrow. Rather rare here in the desert, so most folks welcome it -- I know the grass will. The hill folk down to the NASCAR race will get a bit wet, but it won't hurt for them to have a second bath this month. Too bad it isn't "soap day" at the track.

El Mirage

Some pictures from the older part of town...

Good Evening

Rain Today

Thought I would just sit back and let the sky tell the story.

Another Sunday Goin' Down

Looks as though there’s something brewing. The large ring around the moon tonight indicates a change in the Wx. Checking the forecast for the upcoming week reveals plummeting temps (for here that is) and rain as early as Tuesday. The rain is welcome, but hold the frost. My oleanders took a big hit, fortunately they are tough and will spring back. Of course the weed my neighbors planted on their side of the wall is fine and will continue to creep over onto my side.

Kind of an uneventful day, which is ok. The only constructive bit I accomplished was to clean out the fridge – boldly go where no man has gone in search of new life forms. I didn’t find any revolting mold creature this time, so I have that going for me, which is nice. I think NASA could run experiments in there to dry run the next Mars probe’s ability to detect different kinds of life, say broccoli based instead of the typical carbon based life you’d expect.

Took an evening off from the kitchen and hit the Chen Wok. It was delicious, as usual. It looks as though the owner has put the entire family to work – sort of a “My Big Fat Chinese Restaurant” thing going on, though there wasn’t a seating hostess that looked like a Bea Arthur body double on the premises.

The picture of the moon was kind of disappointing; there is actually a larger ring that is too faint for my camera to pick up.