Rain in the Desert

My desert hasn't had a serious rain in about six years. That must be why the newscasters got so excited about the 0.50 inch that misted its way toward the dusty earth yesterday morning. I slept in for ten minutes, so I missed it. And 0.50 inch doesn't leave enough evidence to convince a former Northwesterner that "rain" actually occurred.

I did see a bit of a rainbow from my backyard. Seattle had plenty of moisture in the air for rainbows, but often not enough sun to make them show up. My desert has plenty of sunshine, but not much moisture in the air. In either place, when the right amount of both ingredients show up at the same time, the result is magical. I stood on my little step ladder and aimed my iPhone camera over the north wall at the stub of a rainbow hanging beneath the dramatic clouds. I was rather pleased with the results.

Then I noticed the buildings in the lower left corner of the picture. It's the new high school. I've never actually stood on a step ladder to see much of the world beyond my little wall (being short makes it easy to pretend there's no one here but me.) I drove to the school a couple of weeks ago to offer to volunteer in the office. I have to drive south for about 1/2 mile to get out of my complex, then back north to the school. That's enough to totally disorient a person with no sense of direction. I was surprised at what the picture showed me--that the school is only a couple of blocks from me. (That explains why the PA system sounds like it's in my backyard when they have football games.)

I should do the Meerkat thing more often; who knows what I might learn about the street behind me!