Rain and Blooms

Tucson gets an average of 12 inches of rain per year, but each of the last four years have been shorter than that even. That is, by my estimate, as rare as holidays are. Normally the distribution consists of the majority falling during "monsoon season" (July and August), some falling in the winter, and a couple light showers in the spring. Thus, you can imagine my anticipation when I recently saw dark clouds hovering over the north and south sides of town.. "today just might be a surprise holiday!"
Well, in fact, the clouds strung us along for a couple days before anything happened. Which was still nice, since our temperatures have already been surpassing 100 F regularly. Finally the tease was over and we got some rain, and everyone had happy faces and felt some internal sunshine. So, this was our April shower... in May.
The spring has also brought blossom to one of our most common tree species here in the Sonoran desert: the Palo Verde.

Detail photos show that the Palo Verde is so named for it's completely green trunk and branches. Also, check out the spikage - these make this tree a nightmare for bicyclists in more ways than one.


Ordinarily the whole picture would be green, but for the summer these yellow guys are here to stay. But not really, because they actually blow off all over the whole world, and you discover them in your car, your hair, your mouth, and your nose especially. Those of us with allergies find ourselves getting cuddly with the Puffs box around now. This is where I would show you a micro closeup of the barbed pollen, but I think this better conveys the message (bats are a huge pollinator in the desert, this species exclusively eats Palo Verde pollen).