Arizona has an interesting range of weather. Today the forecast was for “blowing dust” due to high winds. Here, dust is a form of precipitation, like rain or snow in other parts of the world. The wind whips it off the ground and into the air where it hangs and spreads for miles.

The effect is interesting the first time. The mountains that ring the Tucson metro area grew hazy and indistinct today, and walking around we felt the delicate pelting of sand on our shins. I opened my mouth too wide while walking into the wind and found my tongue coated with dust. It’s sort of a desert equivalent of having snow flurries blowing into your face.

In the summer a “monsoon” season comes. This means thunderstorms rolling in from the west, filling all the dry riverbeds and washes with surging brown water, which disappears within a few days. All over this town there are “riverside” parks with no water, and bridges that cross nothing but rocks and sand. They come to life in the monsoon season, when Tucson goes from having very little water to more than it can handle.

We have resolved to slow down on the house-hunting. In the past week it has been consuming every spare moment. Now that we’re getting up to speed on the local market and neighborhoods, we’re feeling like we should slow down and put more of our spare time into exploring the attractions of southern Arizona. There’s still so much more for us to see and do in this area.

Today is Eleanor’s 23rd birthday. Ooops, that’s a typo. Well, you know what I mean.