A BRIEF SHOWER

What does it look like when the sky opens up?

Kind of like this.

The monsoon rains have definitely come to Arizona, as shown in the tragic story from this weekend when 9 people drowned in a flash flood that surprised them at a swimming hole where rain had not fallen.

The raging water, carrying trees and mud, came from where rain had fallen, miles away.

A 10th person is still missing.

Amazingly, this rainstorm I photographed earlier today, though headed right for us, never materialized in our area, though other parts of Prescott and Prescott Valley were drenched.

It's a good time of year to remind locals of the danger and to heed the advice: stay safe.

MO(U)RNING VISITOR

Judy has now passed the one-month mark since her accident.

She's reached the point now where she's frustrated at "how long" it's taking.

In spite of the fact that all the data says it takes 4 to 6 months.

We try to subtly remind her of that from time to time.

Meantime the back yard has been a busy spot with mockingbirds, the house finches, Say's phoebes, even a couple of huge pigeons paying visits to the bird bath.

And, of course, the mourning doves.

These (take your pick) bold or dopey birds will graze the gravel for bugs within a few feet of we seated humans.

I caught this one with his eyes closed about to take a dive into that inviting water.

They use their long tail feathers to balance themselves as they bend way over to get a drink.

In spite of their tenuous hold on the rim of the bowl and the level the water has evaporated down to, they never seem to fall into the water.

Except when they want to.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

As everyone (should) know(s), it is good to have good friends.

SWMBO received a package in the mail recently from our good friends Timmer and The Beaner to aid in her convalescence.

Inside was a live lucky bamboo plant.

But there was also something for me because I had missed her so much when she was having surgery and then healing in the rehabilitation hospital.

It was a (not live) panda!

I hadn't thought of a name until just now but with those dark eyes resembling a mask I think I'll call him "Bandit".

At any rate, my friends, thank you again.

Now let's get on to the Friday Funnies.

This week's theme is Signs of the Times.

And finally (or fahhhnnllyy . . .

Whew!  I don't know about you, Gentle Readers, but I'm just a wee bit more than worn out after all that hilarity.

So you can relax now and begin planning your exciting, fun-filled weekend.

Make it a good one.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

ARIZONA MONSOON SKIES

No extra charge for power lines.

K-F International

Contrary to what some of you may believe, the K-F in the title of this post does not stand for Kentucky Fried.

So for those of you looking for a cuisine oriented blog post, you'll have to look elsewhere today.

No the K F in this post stands for Kaiser-Frazer, which was a U.S. automobile manufacturing company that produced cars in the 1940's and 50's.

They looked like this.

You can read the history of the company here.

A group of aficionados of the cars formed a group called the Kaiser Frazer Owners Club International in 1959.

And this week their 59th National Convention is being held in our area.

A number of cars from across the nation are on display for the convo.

Including the Darrin, which was a fiberglass sports car that beat the Chevrolet Corvette to market by one month.

Car lovers will have a great time in Central Arizona this week.

MONDAY, MONDAY

Well it's not quite Monday here in Arizona but we're less than 3 hours away from it so . . .

THE WONDERFUL SEASON

The monsoon has officially arrived in Arizona!

Oh, I know, it's not a real big thing for most of you to see rain falling from the sky.

But when you live in the land of scorched earth and "but it's a dry heat" and temperatures above 100 for days in a row . . . that first rain of the summer monsoon is a very big deal.

I can remember our first evening in Phoenix back in early July of 1972.

We were in a small convenience store when everyone ran outside to enjoy a monsoon rain shower.

We thought they were crazy until we heard that it had been over 100 days since the last rain.

Now, many years later, we're the ones who dance in the rain.  

(Figuratively speaking.)

And we can open the house and let the blessed cool breeze blow through.

'Swonderful!