We finally had a good soaking rain. It has been over 3 months since we had any precipitation, and the whole place - the house, the yard, the whole city for that matter, had been covered in layers of dry gritty dust. There was a lifeless pallor over everything, keeping the color and vitality of the desert hidden from view.While everyone in the rest of the country gets hammered by storms, here's us:

Not that I'm asking for a hurricane (my heart goes out to everyone affected by Sandy), but a few drops here and there would be nice. Below is a lovely photo of what we Phoenicians call "the brown cloud," caused by ozone: "Ozone is an invisible gas created when other pollutants in the air - such as those created by combustion- are heated by the sun." Just another day for us:

And then I'm sure this doesn't help the dust situation - summer dust storms known as Haboobs. (Yes that really is what they are called, and yes, they really do look this big and freaky)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrcVqtmugj8]

So when we hear we are getting rain after almost 4 months, we kinda freak out. All the weather people have their sleeves rolled up, the maps are flashing all over the place, and weather is the LEAD STORY.

What is just an average storm in any other part of the country is an event for us. I mean, it didn't just rain...it rained for two whole days!! 

I loved it.

Sat in my jammies drinking coffee all Saturday morning, then actually got my rain jacket out of the closet (yes, it had DUST on it!), and went out Christmas shopping.

In the rain!

It was kind of exciting. Everyone had jackets and/or hats, and some even had this fancy type of nylon water shield that they would hold over head. You see them a lot in British shows.

But the cool this was, everyone was in a good mood. And mellow. No grumpiness, obnoxious yapping or complaining...just cool, you know? The rainy day vibe.

The horses loved it, too. They stood out there, just soaking it in, and getting good and muddy.

And then I woke up Sunday morning, to

FOG.

Let's see what else we can find around the ol' place...

Thanks for hanging out with me on my foggy desert morning! I hope you are enjoying some crisp fresh air, wherever you are.