WAITING FOR THE MONSOON

 Every gardener in this part of the Sonoran desert is waiting for the monsoon to arrive. The summer monsoon is one reason why this part of the Sonoran desert is an arborescent desert. A desert with many small trees and larger cactus who benefit from both the summer and winter rains. 

 

These plants too are waiting. When the rains come the saguaro will take up huge amounts of water the ribs expanding to accommodate all it can drink. Other fish hook and mammillaria cactus will fill up and many of them will have a fall bloom. Other plants will bloom for a second time. Every opportunity is taken for reproduction. 

Monsoon season is typically anywhere between mid June and mid September. Among the gardening world there is much talk about the signs that the monsoon is imminent. One heard it is when the dew point stays above 50% for a certain number of days. She couldn't remember how many days. There has been more humidity recently and the AC fallout pipe shows evidence of that. Another said it was when the ants start to bring soil up out of the ground. They are certainly doing that.

 There was talk about hearing the cicadas and seeing more tarantula hawks and cicada killers. Are those tarantula holes I see on the ground. They are perfectly spherical and with no debris around them and appear over night. It would make sense that they need to exit the ground before the rains came.

When they first appear the ground around them is untouched so clearly they are exit holes. This one has been walked over multiple times so there is some disturbance. 

Another indication is when the mesquite pods begin to fall. It's happening everywhere. The ground has become very crunchy.

 

I'm not sure that the palo verde beetle looks like but someone believed their appearance was an indication of the coming rains.

And yet another said it was because her tortoise is moving around. For another it was the appearance of toads.

One gardener noticed a few buds on her Texas sage. Now there is one I am familiar with. There was always an argument in Texas as to whether the bloom predicted rain or came as a result of. For me it was the latter. But I can see why they might be starting to  bloom because every morning this week I have come back from my walk dripping. That is noticeable. The air has more moisture which is being pulled in by the increasing desert heat. When suddenly you notice changes surely that is an indication that something is brewing. For us desert dwellers lets hope it foretells the monsoon rains are shortly to arrive and we will all take in that distinctive smell of perichlor.