Rain and Valley Fever

Keith took this photo during the monsoon season.
It shows just how beautiful the Sonoran Desert is in the rain.

It has been rainy with gusty winds today--March's lion is roaring.  A rainy day in the Sonoran Desert is somewhat of a treat, although there are more rainy days than you might expect.  The rain saturates everything making colors more dramatic.  It always brings with it the dusty vanilla scent I love of creosote bushes.  The temperatures have dropped dramatically as well.  Our high today might be 48 degrees F.  But the real stunner is that Mother Nature, who sometimes seems to have a rather wry sense of humor, has scheduled snow for us late this afternoon, tonight, tomorrow morning, and maybe Monday night.  Since we live at 3,400 feet, when I get up tomorrow morning, there will likely be 1-6 inches of the white stuff.  The Sonoran Desert will look like a glittering, white-cloaked alien world.  It's not often that we see cactus capped by snow.  This winter storm has got to be one for the local recordbooks. Hey, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Richmond, and even Fargo are all enjoying spring-like temps higher than ours!

The snow won't last long, though.  Our highs for Monday and Tuesday might only reach the mid-50's, but by Wednesday we will be back to sun and the 70's.  And after that...well, I just hope Mother Nature has had her last laugh at our expense.

I'm starting to feel better from my cold, but some chest congestion still lingers.  I'm getting caught up on sleep in spades.  Acadia and Baxter have been great napping buddies!  Keith isn't showing any symptoms yet, thank goodness.  I really think this is a flare-up of Valley Fever.  I was diagnosed with it about six months after moving here.  The my doctor told me that if you live here, you'll get Valley Fever at some point, and that most of us "year-rounders" are walking around with it in a state of remission. The stuff is caused by a fungus that lives in southwestern soils.  When the soil is disturbed, spores from the fungus become airborne and end up infecting our lungs.  Infection can move on to joints, bones, the spinal cord and brain.  Animals can also "catch" Valley Fever.  For many people, the symptoms are mild--like a bad cold.  About 1/3 of people infected experience pneumonia-like symptoms that might be misdiagnosed as bacterial pneumonia.  Valley Fever is treated with an antifungal, and some people need to take the medication for the rest of their lives.  I haven't had a flare-up for two years.  You know, there always seems to be a snake in Pardise.   But I still love it here and don't want to live anywhere else.

Today, I saw first white-winged dove of the season.  Spring is here!

Acadia naps with me in bed.

Baxter likes to sleep in a chair in the bedroom.