This is not our usual weather for sunny Arizona. How does 49 degrees feel like 33 degrees? I went outside today to take photos. It does feel cold. I wore my heaviest coat.
I struggled to come up with something to post, which is not like me. I realize it’s because after coming home from our Christmas Hawaiian trip, both my husband and I got sick. I’ve been down for several days. Not much has been happening in my life.
It was hubby’s birthday this week and we cancelled our birthday dinner plans with our friends from Palm Springs who moved one mile from us in Arizona. They called several times to see how we were feeling. Finally, the scoop was that they are taking their kids on a cruise soon and they don’t want to get sick. We decided to postpone the birthday dinner celebration. If we are contagious or aren’t contagious and they get sick in the next few days, what is the upside?
We did take out Chinese at the only decent Chinese restaurant around us and spared strangers from our coughing fits!
Here are some photos I took of our gray day:
The view out my office window. It’s difficult to see through the rain drops.
Our crocodile. It looks like he enjoys the weather.
Looking out the front door.
Our backyard aliens or geckos left by the previous home owners. I know they are geckos, but they look more like aliens to me.
The first year we were here, we had snow! This coyote was playing in the snow and ended up on our wall!
A coyote hanging out on our wall.
It is snowing in Sedona which is less than three hours away, but at a higher elevation.
What is your weather like today? Is it normal for this time of year?
The past few days have been stormy and wet! The rain doesn’t seem to stop. We were supposed to go to a friends’ house for dinner when my phone started blowing up with warnings.
Along with the scary words, a horrendous sound goes off.
I called our friends and questioned if we should cancel and stay home due to the phone warnings. However, we ended up going because it’s uphill a mile and there wouldn’t be any washes to drive through. The rain had stopped when we drove and the roads were drying up.
Unfortunately, the entire area was not that lucky. To date, four people lost their lives who were in their cars about an hour south of us. I don’t think these warnings should be taken lightly.
The roadrunner paid us a visit. He moves quickly and this was the only picture I managed to get.
House finch on the beavertail art.
A spotted a gilded flicker in the tree.
This house finch looks all fluffed up.
Have you had any weather warnings this early Fall? If so, what have they been about?
This is a photo I saw online from Monday afternoon at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Flights had to be diverted to Las Vegas and Los Angeles due to the haboob.
What’s a haboob?
A haboob is a type of intense dust storm carried by the wind of a weather front or thunderstorm. Haboobs occur regularly in dry land area regions throughout the world, and off-Earth. They can be dangerous.
Fortunately we missed this event. We are still at the beach enjoying beautiful weather. I received photos and videos from neighbors. The haboob hit Maricopa County south of Phoenix all the way up north to our neighborhood. We didn’t get the brunt of it, but I read the winds were up to 75 mph.
I also read that 67,000 homes lost power.
A haboob is a dust storm pushed by the wind produced by a weather front or thunderstorm and typically occurs in flat, arid areas. Heavy rain and wind followed Monday’s haboob, delaying flights at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and causing some damage to a terminal roof. https://weather.com/news/news/2025-08-26-phoenix-arizona-dust-storm-haboob
A couple years ago, my husband was driving on a freeway in Scottsdale when a haboob hit. He said he lost visibility and his car was being moved around. Talk about scary. I’m glad I was safe at home at the time. When it passed, he said there were trees littering the freeway.
In any case, I’m glad to be at the beach and that we missed the haboob. Mostly I’m glad we weren’t driving at the time. Also, the good news was the haboob was followed by much needed rain.
Have you heard of a haboob before?
What type of strange weather do you have where you live?
One thing I noticed about living in Arizona is the weather. We have more of it than in Palm Springs, where I used to live. How can you have MORE weather you might ask? There’s more variety. Look at yesterday. We woke up to rain while it was sunny and warm in Palm Springs. Then in the afternoon we had wind. The past few days we had lows of 28 degrees. Never had that in Palm Springs. We even get an occasional snow day. We had that once out of 30 years in Palm Springs. Plus, at our new home, there are monsoons and haboobs to mix it up.
When I first moved to the Palm Springs area, every morning I’d watch the weather forecast before getting dressed. My husband asked me what I was doing.
“Checking the weather,” I explained. In Seattle, I did that to know what to wear.
“Let me give you a hint,” he said. “Sunny and warm or sunny and hot.”
As a former Seattle-ite, I hated rain. After living in the desert for more than 30 years, I love every bit of rain we get.
There’s an area nearby us that doesn’t have water. The water pipes don’t make it there. Scottsdale was trucking in water to that unincorporated residential area. Can you imagine buying a home and running out of water within a few years? There was a big controversy when Scottsdale cut off supplying water. Residents were drilling wells, but instead of a few dozen yards deep, they were going down hundreds of feet with nothing. I read one horse rancher has a well 800 feet deep, and the water is only 100 feet above the bottom of his well.
Eventually Scottsdale settled with the area and they are supplying water again.
I wondered when we bought our home, why the address was Scottsdale, because it’s a little cutout north of Scottsdale and technically could be in another town. I don’t question it anymore, because I’m happy to have the water and city services Scottsdale provides. We did look at a few homes in unincorporated areas. I’m so glad we didn’t buy outside of city limits.
Palm Springs and the surrounding area is on an aquifer with supposedly unlimited water. Or at least a few-hundred years supply. They also have a number of settling ponds that capture rainfall which allows it to settle back into the aquifer.
I think one of the issues with water in the Phoenix area are the tech companies who have built facilities here.
Here’s a snippet I found about tech companies in the greater Phoenix area and water:
Water, one of the most important elements in the semiconductor manufacturing process, has always been a precious resource in Arizona. Its conservation and management have been a priority for generations, even predating statehood. More than any other state, Arizona understands the importance of long-term planning — it was the first to project its water supply 100 years into the future and remains one of the only states in the nation to do so. This proactive approach to water management ensures that any new developments have access to water for generations to come.
This commitment to transparency and resiliency in water management is vital for semiconductor manufacturers. Companies like Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company chose to grow in Greater Phoenix because it provides a strategic location, stable energy grid and skilled workforce, but these location decisions also rely on the availability and reliability of water. Arizona’s commitment to resilient water management and transparency in long-term planning gives companies confidence in the region’s future.
I woke up to thunder. The sky was dark and ominous. While writing my morning pages in my journal, there was a cloud burst and rain. My husband and I both ended up in the backyard. He left through the kitchen door, and I went out the bedroom slider, but we ended up together to experience rain.
It was a short-lived rainfall, but then there was that wonderful smell. There’s a word for it:
Petrichor: The distinctive scent which accompanies the first rain after a long warm dry spell.
I wrote about petrichor when I first discovered the word a few years ago. I wrote about it HERE
After a rain where we live there is a rich deep smell from creosote. Every region must have its own distinct petrichor, depending on plant life.
I took a look at what I wrote (link above) and what hit me was how many of the bloggers who I enjoyed reading and interacting with no longer are around. I clicked on their names and to read “page not found” or blogs with no new entries since 2021.
Do you find bloggers you followed have disappeared? Do you think it’s a coincidence it happened through the shutdown years?
Do you think that we should give our readers a warning if we stop blogging? Why or why not?
We’ve had two days of rain and now have ponds in our yard.
Today we were supposed to drive to Mexico. We’d planned this trip for a couple months. My family was appalled when I told them. Our friends here said we shouldn’t go. It’s too dangerous.
Our realtor who frequents the beach resort with his family said he had just been and it’s fine. The insurance guy who I called for the Mexico car insurance said it’s “Rubbish” to say it’s not safe.
Mexico is in the news a lot lately for two dead Americans, a kidnapped mother, missing Americans and drug cartels. I was a little nervous.
But then I got sick. My daughter asked me to test for Covid because my cough that’s keeping me up at night sounded exactly like hers when she had it. The test was most definitely positive.
My son sent me a link to Medical One and told me to get a zoom call appointment with a doctor. I did and I’ve been prescribed a few things to help with my cough and Covid. The doctor told me what to look for in the next few days and to call if I’m feeling worse. She also said to get an oximeter to test the oxygen in my bloodstream and what acceptable numbers were.
So, it’s a no go on Mexico.
Have you or family members had COVID? What were your symptoms like and how long did it last?
It’s cloudy and gray with a 90% chance of rain. It rained all night and should rain on and off the rest of the day.
I think I’m coming down with a bug. I haven’t been sick in a long time. But last night was rough. I was coughing, felt like I had a fever and someone split my brain with an axe. Not good.
I woke up hour after hour with relief. It’s 1 a.m. I have five more hours to sleep. It’s 2 a.m., four more hours. Finally, I pulled myself out of bed and took an Advil. I had moved into the casita so I wouldn’t keep my husband up all night. I was propped up on four pillows to help me breathe. I had the humidifier on and Olive was on my legs to give me comfort.
I had to get up early and drive my husband to surgery. It was a minor oral surgery thing, but he was having general anesthesia, so despite how I felt or what a lousy night’s sleep I had, I was on duty.
I packed a quilt, pillow, my laptop, Cheryl Oreglia’s book “Grow Damn It!” that I’ve almost finished. I had my journal to write my three pages. I was ready to hunker down in the car for hours. I didn’t want to sit in the waiting room coughing and sniffling.
I got two pages of my three written and my phone rang. The procedure was over. I’m talking 20 to 30 minutes!
I was kind of disappointed it was so quick. It was a let down after I was so prepared to sit for hours.
I drove him home and unpacked the car. Put him to bed. I’m ready for bed, too.
What procedures have you had or your spouse that went easier than expected?
Or, what has been worse than you thought it would be?
