Lone palm tree and thunderheads

We woke up to a cloudy sky yesterday and by the afternoon, thunderheads were developing over our mountains to the south and also over the Colorado River.  We didn't get any rain, but from our house in Palm Desert, I could hear thunder rumbling through near our local mountains.  Today is even more cloudy and I'm hoping that by this afternoon we'll have a thunderstorm and some RAIN!!!   Photo taken at Desert Springs Marriott, Palm Desert.

Our thunderheads~

I awoke early this morning to a morning sky full of clouds.  It was a beautiful sunrise...pinks, oranges in the clouds...ahhhhhh....OUR monsoon season has finally arrived!!!  And, by noon, they were developing over our local mountains.  We have rain(!) forecast for the next two days ...(possibly...).  It's always a guess here in our desert.  Our monsoon storms come from the south, up over the Santa Rosa mountains from Mexico.  If I look out and see clouds over those mountains, and they are thunderheads, I'm pretty sure a summer storm is on its way.  And, that is happening this afternoon!  FINALLY!!!

Arizona thunderheads~SkyWatch Friday~072911

Looking north from Cave Creek, we saw these thunderheads developing one afternoon.  By early evening, the thunderstorm had rolled closer and we could see lightning and occasionally heard thunder.  We love going to Arizona during the monsoon season.  We didn't have any thunderstorms here in our desert last summer and this one isn't shaping up to be much of a monsoon season either.  SkyWatch Friday for July 29, 2011. To see other skywatchers, please go to:  http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Cave Creek, Arizona

We drove through Cave Creek last weekend.  Cave Creek has a lot of shops and restaurants and it is a little community northeast of Scottsdale.  There was a huge thunderstorm out that way Saturday night, after we returned to the hotel, so we sat out on the patio and watched it.

Snake on the road ***WARNING*** snake pics

On our way over to Bartlett Lake last weekend, I spotted a snake by the side of the road. I cautiously got out of the car, but since it was upside down, I knew it was dead. Yup. Dead as a doorknob...I could see where it had been run over (below the head...) and since it was out in the hot sun anyway, I knew it was a goner. I do believe it is a diamondback rattlesnake, older than the one I ATTEMPTED to save up on Highway 74 (see: http://deserthorses.blogspot.com/2011/04/rattlesnakemikey-this-is-for-you-041711.html), but it was indeed a rattlesnake. I'm thankful that I've never run into a rattlesnake while out on my morning hikes. The diamondback rattlesnake is one of the most poisonous ones here in our desert and I seem to find them along the roads, either dead or nearly so...

Cactus spines~OUCH~Cactus Monday~072411

I found this cactus out by the pool this morning and took these photos of it. We had a tremendous thunderstorm over here in Arizona last night~rain, thunder, lightning! At one point, I screamed, it was so loud! And, this morning, everything is sparkling and everything smells...moist! The quail were out feeding, rabbits were feeding, and I went for a long walk at the hotel! Cactus Monday for July 24, 2011. To visit Cactus Monday, please go to: http://painteddaisies.blogspot.com/

Water at play~SOOC Sunday~July 24, 2011

Hubby and I are over in Scottsdale, AZ, enjoying a change of scenery this weekend. Our villa room is right above the pool and since hubby was slow getting started this morning, I took my camera down to the pool area and took these photos. It was about 9:00 and was already humid (there's a spectacular thunderstorm off to the north, near Payson, AZ tonight). The kids and families were soon out, enjoying the water features. SOOC Sunday for July 24, 2011. Doesn't this look like FUN? These are at Desert Ridge Villas, in Scottsdale, Arizona. To visit SOOC Sunday, please go to: http://www.murrieta365.com/

Return to Arizona

We're heading back to Arizona this weekend. I can only take 109 clear, cloudless days for so long. I need a change of scenery, so off we go! The horses are getting their feet trimmed tomorrow and the vet will be out to look at Cali's eyes (she gets a fly infestation every summer) and after that is done, we'll be heading over to Arizona. I took these photos at the Salt River this past spring, when we went for a 3 day weekend at that time. This is the part of the river where many people rent rafts and go down the river, as you can see. It sure looked like fun!

Favorite road, Lone Pine~Scenic Sunday~071711

No matter how many times we travel to the Sierra, we always manage to take this road outside of Lone Pine, CA. There is a huge ranch along it and cattle sometimes are grazing along the road. It's a one lane road and sometimes we have to pull over to let other cars or trucks pass. We always enjoy stopping here and looking up at the Sierra. Scenic Sunday for July 17, 2011. Please go to: http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

Thunderheads over Sierra~SkyWatch Friday~071511

Thunderheads over the sierra near Mt. Whitney and Lone Pine. Actually, we stopped at the Manzanar National Monument to snap this photo on our way home over the July 4th weekend. The clouds were from tropical storm Arlene, which was an Atlantic storm, not one of our summer Pacific monsoons. SkyWatch Friday for July 15, 2011. To see other skies, please visit SkyWatch Friday at http://skyley.blogspot.com/