Screaming Locusts! Monsoon Nears




Something you learn in the Southwest US is that there are certain signs of coming monsoon season. I listen every day for the sound of locusts screaming. Today, the locusts screamed! That means the humidity is going up and monsoon season is about to begin. How far did the humidity go up? From about 4% to 14% but when it's 110 outside, you seriously feel it. The dewpoint will need to stay about 55 for about 3 days in a row for us to produce any rain here.



Another way to know if it's going to rain is the creosote scent. With enough moisture and impending rain, creosote bushes release a smell that's somewhere between pine trees and good old fashioned bar soap.

Once the rains come, the sage bushes blossom and crazy desert frogs erupt from pools of water, having waited in a dormant state for a reason to exist again.



I am such a rain lover that the first monsoon rain of the season, I dance naked in the rain and give thanks.

Comments

  1. "Screaming Locusts!" sounds like a cool name for a band, and "Today, the Locusts Screamed!" could be a science fiction or horror novel! :)

    How do the neighbours feel about the naked dancing? If you've got straight male neighbours, I'll bet they'll be giving thanks for the rain too! ;)

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  2. I face the desert on my patio, so the prarie dogs and bunnies are the only thing to witness it. Well, the upstairs neighbors might get an eyeful if they're on their patio. This pagan rain dance might be more than an eyeful.

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  3. Dance sis, dance! I would LOVE to have humidity at 14%! This morning, at 11:03am, here in Columbia, SC it's at 47% and it's a a nice 79 degrees. However, this is a mild temp compared to what it has been and what it will be in the coming days! Thanks to TS Debby! It's like breathing water here during the summer! It also doesn't help that Columbia geographically sits in a "hole" along three rivers. Phew! Time to break out the tubes and hit the water!

    Bandhura (Tara)

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