With just a few days left in July, Tucson has already received 5.71 inches of rain, making this the fourth-wettest July. I have recorded 7 inches on our patio in the Catalina Foothills. This amount of rain will help Southern Arizona recover from the ongoing drought, improving from a D4-exceptional drought to a D3-extreme drought (National Weather Service). There are indications that monsoon activity will start uo again toward the end of the week.
Giant Saguaros off of State Highway 77 — Image by kenne
At first glance, you may not notice how thin the giant Saguaros are. Saguaros can survive in drought conditions for over one hundred years by taking on a lot of water during the two rainy seasons each year in the Sonoran Desert. They can expand, take on hundreds of gallons of water, then contract as they use the stored water during the hot-dry time of the year. Unfortunately, the combined total rainfall from last summer’s monsoon and winter rains was less than half the average amount. As a result, many of the older and diseased saguaros are now dying.
As we enter this year’s monsoon season, we hope for plenty of rain to fatten up the symbol of our desert.
“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast….a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here.”
“Nearly all agaves, along with most bromeliads such as pineapple, are somewhat peculiar in their flowering habit. They grow vegetatively for many years (though not the hundred years that gave rise to the common name of century plant) without producing a single flower, and then when they get the urge to reproduce, they send forth an enormous stalk with hundreds and hundreds of them. These plants that flower and set seed only once in their lives are called monocarpic.” — Source: Succulent Gardens
Another Year of Few Wildflowers In The Sonoran Desert — Image by kenne
Spring wildflowers in the Sonoran desert depend on fall and winter rains. When there are little to no rains, as has been the last few years, then there are few wildflowers in the spring. The above image is in the Molino Basin, where in non-drought years, there are plenty of wildflowers to photograph. This year there are only a few patches to be found.
“Life exists only at this very moment, and in this moment it is infinite and eternal, for the present moment is infinitely small; before we can measure it, it has gone, and yet it exists forever….”
Homeless; – Down by the muddy Mississippi Skinny as a rail, Sleeping under the old Eads bridge Feeling low, dirty, and frail – Homeless; – With less than two coins In both pockets, Empty eyes Look through sunken sockets – Homeless; – So many people walk right on by I wonder how many care, They all keep moving Even though they stare – Homeless; – Lost a job Lost a home, Lost a family Lost all hope – Homeless; – Where will I go from here What should I do, I’m so thankful when the weather’s fair And the skies are blue – Homeless; – Don’t know the day nor season And, yea, it sure gets cold at night, I’ve got an old sleeping bag I’ll be alright – Homeless; – There’s so many of us out here Without a home, Even so I feel so very alone – Homeless; – It’s a tough situation Not pretty, just true, And at any time It could happen to you – Homeless; – Hey buddy… Could you spare a dime, And say a prayer for us … sometime – – I’m just homeless, not less human…
“It is precisely because we resist the darkness in ourselves that we miss the depths of the loveliness, beauty, brilliance, creativity, and joy that lie at our core.”