I am living in the Sonora Desert in Southern Arizona. I am not a native. In fact, my preference includes 4 seasons, dark rich earth, mountains, and water. I have watched carefully over the past few years at the patterns and influences the heat has on life here and my reaction to it.
Now don't get me wrong. The winters, as all the snowbirds will attest to, are GREAT here. There is no snow or unbearable cold temperatures to contend with. Every day in the winter is sunny. Fall, which includes October and November, and Spring, March and April, are also lovely and my actual favorites. It is May, June, July, August and September that I am talking about. They are the months that create the challenge.
This May has been unusually windy here. The temperature has been slowly creeping up into the high 90's. It is very, very dry. You have to put lotion on your skin several times a day because of the dryness, suntan lotion because of the sun and chap stick is a must for both reasons. To the natives way of thinking, we are just now heading into summer.
June is generally the most oppressive month. As the temperature continues to rise, the earth heats up more and more. It becomes too hot to comfortably spend time outside and staying inside is stuffy and "close" and almost claustrophobic.
In July the earth is hot enough for the monsoons to start. The sky will be dark and you can see rain falling out of the sky in one place and right next to that, it can be perfectly dry and sunny. This can be beautiful and is incredibly unusual.
Did I mention that July, August and September were hot? There can easily be a run of over a hundred degree days, one after the other. It doesn't seem quite as oppressive as June, though, because the monsoons cool things off.
During the summer, besides the heat, I have a difficult time dealing with watching out for rattle snakes, insects, scorpions, killer bees, tarantulas and Colorado river toads. Having to be diligent about staying away from these creatures every minute you are outside doesn't allow for relaxing and enjoy the outdoors. I don't like that!
The dry heat is very difficult on the body. The sun is very close here and even with "high" number suntan lotion, it is easy for the skin to burn. The high temperature is difficult to take and you can only be out in it for a little while comfortably before you have to go back inside.
I realize this might be sounding like I am complaining. Maybe I am a little. I can understand why people want to spend their winters down here and summers up north. But, if you happen to be in the desert for the entire year, you need to find some summertime indoor activities. I'm going to go now and curl up with a good book...
Now don't get me wrong. The winters, as all the snowbirds will attest to, are GREAT here. There is no snow or unbearable cold temperatures to contend with. Every day in the winter is sunny. Fall, which includes October and November, and Spring, March and April, are also lovely and my actual favorites. It is May, June, July, August and September that I am talking about. They are the months that create the challenge.
This May has been unusually windy here. The temperature has been slowly creeping up into the high 90's. It is very, very dry. You have to put lotion on your skin several times a day because of the dryness, suntan lotion because of the sun and chap stick is a must for both reasons. To the natives way of thinking, we are just now heading into summer.
June is generally the most oppressive month. As the temperature continues to rise, the earth heats up more and more. It becomes too hot to comfortably spend time outside and staying inside is stuffy and "close" and almost claustrophobic.
In July the earth is hot enough for the monsoons to start. The sky will be dark and you can see rain falling out of the sky in one place and right next to that, it can be perfectly dry and sunny. This can be beautiful and is incredibly unusual.
Did I mention that July, August and September were hot? There can easily be a run of over a hundred degree days, one after the other. It doesn't seem quite as oppressive as June, though, because the monsoons cool things off.
During the summer, besides the heat, I have a difficult time dealing with watching out for rattle snakes, insects, scorpions, killer bees, tarantulas and Colorado river toads. Having to be diligent about staying away from these creatures every minute you are outside doesn't allow for relaxing and enjoy the outdoors. I don't like that!
The dry heat is very difficult on the body. The sun is very close here and even with "high" number suntan lotion, it is easy for the skin to burn. The high temperature is difficult to take and you can only be out in it for a little while comfortably before you have to go back inside.
I realize this might be sounding like I am complaining. Maybe I am a little. I can understand why people want to spend their winters down here and summers up north. But, if you happen to be in the desert for the entire year, you need to find some summertime indoor activities. I'm going to go now and curl up with a good book...
