The rains started coming in scattered sections early in the weekend. We had a short but intense shower on Friday at 5:40pm which lasted 20 minutes. It soaked the back yard, but it wasn't enough to refresh the flora, nor help me pull weeds. Susan and I had walked the dogs at 3pm and lamented how the San Pedro River is already drying up.
On Saturday we walked the river again and noticed more water collecting in the debris area, most likely from rain that fell in Mexico because Susan reported no rain over her home.
On Sunday I did a sunrise (5:57am) walk with five dogs (Sadie stayed home all weekend). Temperatures were 20 degrees cooler than they had been all month when temperatures were in the 90s. The big event was spending three hours at the dog park in the early afternoon. I realize that that was too long for the pups as in the end they were overstimulated and getting grumpy. While there was a lull in how many dogs there were and the pups rested while I chatted with one lone retiree with a three-year-old overweight English Golden named Max, they were getting impatient with the other dogs because they didn't get their afternoon nap. Even Hansel snapped at a pup that had arrived just before 3pm. One woman, who claimed to be a former dog trainer, told me I needed to work on Gretel's barking "before that barking becomes aggression." I knew I had to take the dogs home as the dog park was no longer fun for them. They slept as soon as they came home at 3:30pm. I will keep future visits to the dog park to no more than an hour.
Weather was forecasted to bring thunderstorms, but that translated into drizzle and then showers all day. It rained more intensely overnight, when on Monday I woke up to the sweet smell of sage and creosote.
Monday is when we finally got a good rain that went on most of the day. I didn't walk the dogs at sunrise since the sky was densely covered and grey, but I agreed to meet with Susan at 10:20am for a quick 2-mile lap around the field by the river before the big rain came. A large storm cell was moving north from Mexico and now over Douglas. This time I took all the dogs, including Sadie, who was well-rested and walking nicely. Patrick (owner of the Casa de San Pedro B&B) and Bob the Rancher were working on sawing the river snags when we came by with all the dogs. The snags had created a big debris pile that was causing a back-up of river water. The pups were on leashes and they still barked at the men.
The river was not rushing nor muddy and the trail was mostly dry, which means Mexico hadn't gotten much rain. The sky was a dark grey and there was rain already over Fort Huachuca and Sierra Vista. The dark grey made the yellow ragwort more intensely yellow. We took the chance to walk the two miles before the rain, but instead got caught in the rain that started out as cloud drizzle. We finished soaked by the increasing showers and I had to change my clothes when I got home. The dogs didn't seem to mind getting wet.
The showers finally stopped at noon but then returned at 3pm and then at 7am. By the end of the day I realized that the grass in the backyard was finally green.
And today was our last cloudy day. Triple digits are expected back by Friday. I took Sweetie, Zeke and the pups on a short sunrise walk (Minnie came for the ride, then waited for us by the Honda). There were low clouds over the river and in the higher mountains, but they dissipated after sunrise. I didn't walk Garden Canyon because of the rain forecasted by 10am. That rain never came, but I got a lot of weed pulling done.
I met Susan at 11:45am with all six dogs for another lap along the river. By now it was 81F, so 12 degrees warmer than yesterday. Today the river was running well and muddy, but not rushing. Clouds were again forming but no rain today. We were all feeling the heat in the end. Sure hope this isn't the end of the monsoon!
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