A Common Shepherdess

Cactus in bloom Grapefruit Orange blossoms Pomegranates Figs Grapes

In the last couple of weeks we have had more opportunities to do more nature study. We took a trip to the Hassayampa River Preserve . (Yes, there are rivers in Arizona!) It actually rained on us most of the morning. The only animals we got to see were some ducks. The Hassayampa River is a year-round river. It doesn't just flow after a heavy rainfall. We went with a group of other homeschool families following the Ambleside curriculum. A few days later we took a trip to the zoo. A zoo isn't the best place for a nature study since the animals aren't in their natural habitats. But it gives the kids a chance to get up close to animals they might not have a chance of seeing otherwise. Like stingrays and sharks: and some kind of vulture (I don't remember):

Yeah, this is what I like to see inside the front door when I come home. I'll be shaking out the bedsheets tonight. And, yes, that is a black widow. At least it was dead.

On Friday my husband took the day off. It is his normal day off but he usually works. (You can't make sales if you aren't there!) He wants to find a place to fly fish. I keep reminding him that we are in the middle of the desert but he is convinced there must be some secret fishing hole nearby. We drove up to Prescott. It was a pretty drive. A while back we had been as far as Peeple's Valley but a sudden thunderstorm and non-working windshield wipers forced us to turn around. There is a cool rock on the road between Wickenburg and Yarnell. It's funny to think someone saw this frog in the rocks and decided to paint it. It quite large! It was fun driving through the mountains and seeing our first glimpse of the tall ponderosa pines. It's been a long time since we've seen trees like that. I kept craning my neck to see down in the ravines but I couldn't see any running water. We drove into Prescott National Forest. We saw signs that said "Wolf C...

I think fall has finally come to the Valley of the Sun. Yesterday it was only 94 degrees. Yes, *only*! After supper the whole family went for a long walk. I think that is the first walk we've taken since spring. By Friday the high temperature might not even make it into the 90s. It is so beautiful! We are remembering why we like it here. This morning before we start school, the kids and I will walk over to a nearby park. I promised the kids we would go to the park as soon as the weather was cooler. This morning when we woke up the temperature was in the high 60s. We turned the A/C off and opened all the windows. Wow, I have missed this weather! And more walks mean I can drop a few pounds. Since the community pools have closed here during the week, there is nothing to do when it is hot but stay inside the motorhome. Not good for the waistline!

Rain! We have rain! The high today is supposed to be under 100 degrees! Could the end of summer be around the corner? The other day, my husband stepped outside early in the morning. He came right back in, lay down in front of the air conditioner and said, "I can't wait for summer to be over so we can remember why we like this place."

I love watching the clouds come and go across the valley. My husband and kids get tired of hearing, "Look at that cloud!" and "Wow! Look at those!" But aren't these clouds cool?

As I sit here typing, the rain is pouring down. Earlier this afternoon the kids and I had fun watching the giant, puffy white clouds in the sky and pointing out the shapes we saw. I told them, "They will just go around us like they've been doing for the past week." Well, I was wrong. Finally, a real thunderstorm! A big wind came through, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees and then the rain started. We were at the pool when the dark clouds began to fill the sky. We had only been there about 20 minutes. Then when the lightning started, the lifeguards closed the pool. The thunder has been booming non-stop. The monsoon season was officially called over the weekend. I guess that is what the rain was waiting for.

Monday night a haboob moved through east Phoenix. Haboob is a fancy way of saying dust storm. Actually a haboob is much bigger than the little dust storms we have seen. They occur when thunderstorms create strong downdrafts. These winds pick up dirt and start moving. Winds can reach as high as 60 mph and the storm can last as long as three hours. We are on the west side so we didn't see anything. Check out the BBC report on YouTube. It has some cool pictures. We've had a couple of small thunderstorms but the official monsoon has not started yet.

Last night we had a Bollywood moment. At the beginning of Lagaan there is a scene where the villagers see clouds appear on the horizon and break into song. (You can watch the opening song here .) Last night when the winds picked up and clouds started filling the sky, I wanted to sing and dance! After 24 straight days of above 100 degrees temperatures, I begin to understand a little how those villagers felt. (Of course, I'm thankful our very lives don't depend on whether or not the rain keeps our crops from dying.) I was cleaning up after dinner when my two middle kids rushed inside, yelling "Dust storm! Dust storm!" My husband and I went outside. Dust was blowing everywhere and dark clouds started filling the sky. "This is it!" we thought. "The monsoon is here!" My 3 yo daughter twirled around in her princess dress and my 6 yo son started throwing rocks into the air. "I want to hit the rain," he explained. "Because it...

The other day we took a drive on the outskirts of Surprise. Much of Surprise is still rural but the area is growing fast. The prediction is that Surprise will grow 10 times it's current population of 60,000 in the next 10 years. New homes are popping up everywhere. I love how the road splits around the saguaro cactus. I had to take a picture. It is illegal in Arizona to harm a saguaro in any way.

Even the locals say it's hot. This is what the forecast looks like for the next week: 99, 100, 102, 104, 100, 100, 100. (The locals also chuckle and say, "Oh, just wait!") 10 ways we have found to beat the heat: Cover roof windows and front windshield with insulated reflectors Block sunlight in the back with a cotton tarp Hang shade fabric from the awning Siesta! Remove the covering from the rooftop A/C so the cold air blasts straight down. None of those sissy vents for us. Chill by the sweet pool Relax under the misters attached to the awning (these are so awesome!) Probably most important is water, water, and more water Get a friend to dump a bucket of water over your head (Don't worry, she likes it!) When all else fails, hang out at WalMart

Yesterday we experienced our first Arizona dust storm. And our first 100+ degree day here in the Valley of the Sun. I was outside when I noticed the dark clouds in the eastern sky. My first thought was, "Great! Rain! It will cool off." Then I noticed in front of the dark clouds were lower light brown clouds. A few wind gusts came up and then it started. Suddenly the wind blew hard and the air was filled with dust. It seemed like a light fog had settled over our area. My kids were outside playing with a couple of neighbor kids when the storm hit. The older kids started screaming (in excitement rather than fear) but my 5 year old son started to cry. I think he wasn't sure what to do. I grabbed my son and my 3 year old daughter and put them inside the motorhome. They stood on chairs and watched out of the window as I tried to roll up our awning. Putting an awning up is hard to do when the wind is rocking the motorhome back and forth and jerking the awning up...

We went back to the White Tank Mountains today. Our oldest son kept asking me what the name White Tank means. I did a little research on the internet and came up with this explanation. A tank, here in the Southwest, means a depression in rock that contains collected rain water. Some of the tanks in this small mountain range are made from granite that has been weathered and bleached. Thus the name White Tank Mountains. Today we hiked the Waterfall Trail. (There is a waterfall at the end of the trail only after a heavy rain.) The trail is about 1 mile long. The first half of the trail is smooth and easy, stroller and wheelchair accessible. Here our second son is standing near a creosote bush (in the front with small yellow flowers) and what I think is a palo verde tree (right behind him). The smooth trail ends near several rocks covered with petroglyphs. Supposedly some of these carvings are 10,000 years old. (Click the pictures to see it enlarged.) The next section of trail is...