Here Comes The Rain! (Maybe)

*The boys examine the lizard and the dead cockroaches like only a boy would.


* Fly humaburd, fly!

Today we woke up to the most amazing sight. It was something that we hadn't seen in quite some time. We looked at it with the excited wonderment just as one might a fresh fallen snow. What could this miraculous sight be that would hold us so transfixed with awe? Well, it was a sky filled with gray clouds! You see we haven't seen this since we've been here. Even though it has sprinkled a few times, we haven't seen skies like this since we left the South. Much to our disappointment it didn't rain this morning. The blue skies broke through the clouds as the sun seemed to melt them away. But, we do hold out hope. There is a twenty percent chance this afternoon and evening! The weather is changing ever so slightly. You can feel the humidity in the air. Now, it's nothing compared to back home, but it's higher than it's ever been since I've been here. I think it is like twenty-nine percent. You almost can smell it.





I guess the wildlife can feel a change as well because we have been experiencing some strange and interesting things. Last night I looked out on our back patio and saw something on the wall. I thought, "What is that? A leaf." Then I noticed another a little ways down. OH NO! It was the biggest, hugest, ugliest cock roach I've ever seen. I don't know where he came from, but I thought I was going to Die!!!!!! Rusty went out and threw his flip flop at them and killed them instantly. EWWWW! This morning Mae came in my room and whispered loudly in my face that a lizard was stuck in our sliding glass door. As I stumbled over to the door putting my glasses on, I realized that the little sucker had somehow gotten between the screen door and the glass door. (Thank goodness Rusty hadn't left for work yet or we would have had a dead lizard between our doors.) The children were so excited about the big bugs, the lizard, and the clouds in the sky, you would have thought Santa Clause had made an early visit. Then Will started saying "HUMABURD, HUMABURD!!!!" I looked out to where he was pointing to our little feeder and saw three hummingbirds buzzing around it and drinking the nectar. We just stopped and watched them. As soon as they would fly away another would come. It was so fun to watch.





I guess the animals are as excited as we are about the upcoming Monsoons. I know they are able to feel it if I can. This excitement about something so simple is another way God has blessed our lives here. He has made us realize how precious, and yes, exciting something like a little rain can be.

Dust Devils

Today we went into Tucson to get John Russel's allergy shot. We go this back way that takes you through the outskirts of town. On the way home we saw two very large dust devils. We have seen them before, but these were very tall and thin and the clear sunny day set them off against the blue sky. They were tight and seemed to be spinning pretty fast. The second one even had that eerie curve to it that tornadoes get. I've read that they aren't usually dangerous, but on rare occasions they can get rather large and spin pretty fast which can in turn cause damage. What an interesting natural phenomenon to see. They say they even have them on Mars! There is nothing like a spinning dust cloud to set this Tennessee girl on edge.

As we traveled down the road I kept expecting to either run into them or pass them on the side of the road. They were further away than they looked and were very tall. As we finally did pass them you could see the dirt and the few pieces of debris that had gotten caught up in the rotation spinning high in the air. The second one seemed to be spinning so fast that it got this shiny transparent look to it as it bent and twisted in the sky. As we rode on towards home these strange devils seemed to dissipate as fast as they began, leaving a huge dust cloud in the sky. I also read that they last only a minute or so. What an interesting thing to observe. How powerful and remarkable nature can be.

We all enjoyed the performance the dust devils put on for us today. I'm sure we will see many more while we are here. Isn't it interesting that something that some people see quite frequently can be so fascinating to others. I guess that's God once again telling me to slow down, open my eyes and look at this amazing show He is putting on for us!

*This picture is from the internet of a dust devil in Iraq. I wanted to post it so you could see what I was talking about.