"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 113 ~ Glow!

The harvest moon brings not cooler weather, but cool events to Tucson (or Oracle, AZ, in this case).  One we attended last night called Glow.  It's an outdoor festival of light with artists and vendors and you walk around in the dark and look at the lighted art installations.

The act that I had heard about on Arizona Public Media radio was called Circus Amperean...people in special suits standing on a large tesla coil and shooting electricity out of their fingers, among other things.  They did not disappoint.

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 111 ~ This is an everyday view

Dropping my son off for soccer practice (in the 100 degree heat) this evening, I notice that the view across from the soccer fields is this.  A view of dirt and cactus and scrub and SUN.  

Crap.  I really live in the desert.  And it's 42 more days until Halloween.

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 110 ~ I.Rolled.My.Window.Down.

It was so "cool" this morning on my way to drop the kids at school, I rolled.my.window.down.  Yay Fall!  It takes until 8 am to turn on the A/C (instead of 6 am).

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 109 ~ Yes, Sun, Please Hide...

...because it's five days until Fall.  And we, in the "it's still 100 degrees" states are not feeling that fall feeling (although I DID make pumpkin bread today...I just had to pump the AC down to account for the oven being on)

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 107 ~ All That Remains...

...In our summer garden.

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 103 ~ A.M. Porch Weather

Ok, ok, so the high was 91 today (5 degrees cooler than average) and they are calling this a "Taste of Fall"  91 Degrees!!!  I will concede, the mornings have a teensy nip in the air.  It's coffee-on-the-back-porch weather again.

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 101 ~ Cactus Thru Rainy Windshield

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 100 ~ Rain Flowers.

This is a Texas Ranger.  It basically looks like a grey bush most of the time...except when it rains a good-dumping-rain like we had the other day (see Day 98. Hello, monsoon, hello).  Then, and only then, that grey bush transforms into a lovely lavender carpet of flowers...

** Oh, and today is Day 100 which some of you are thinking "oh thank GOD, she's done..." but no, 53 more days until Halloween (and THAT is when this project is over...2/3 thru.  Woot!

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 99 ~ Cactus Speak

Lonnie and I rode a bit on the Sweetwater Trails today on the west side of Tucson.  It was an incredible overcast morning.  I am hardly ever on the west side and I forgot all its saguaro beautiousness.  I guess it's the height of saguaros and the arms, but the minute I drove south on I-17 from Flagstaff waayyy back in August 1996, I felt like the saguaros were people.  Today, they were talking to me.  I *almost* put captions but I decided to let the pictures speak for themselves.  What are they saying to you???

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 98 ~ Hello, monsoon, hello...

I have so many pictures to choose from today as we had a rip roaring monsoon this afternoon!  Yee haw!  This one was my favorite though...

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 97 ~ Javelina

This is an artistic interpretation of the nasty beasts that live in this desert...it looks awfully authentic though and in light of recent Tucson news, I wouldn't want to meet a pack of 7 in my neighborhood!

Six different poses from this lovely lady...which one is your favorite???

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 96 ~ Agave

I think the photoblog is starting to wear on me...I had a dream last night that I took a picture of a huge strawberry hanging (it's a dream) in this country road and an old man drove up. I thought he was going to be mad that I just left my car in the middle of the road...yup, he was mad and took his gun and shot at my feet, twice.  Hmmm.

Here's a perfect agave cactus.  No shooting was involved in creating this picture.

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 95 ~ Soccer Storm

I hope all of my numerous and plentiful followers aren't getting sick of storm and cloud pictures...but really, the expectation of the storm, the watching the storm, the wondering "is it going to rain?" consumes the good part of the afternoon this time of year.  The other thing consuming our brain is knowing the monsoon WILL end soon (and thus I capture every picture I can) and then it's just dry and hot...all the way until Halloween (which, I happen to know is 58 days away!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 94 ~ Monsoon over Globe, AZ

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 93 ~ Glorious.

I couldn't pick just one picture for today.  In fact, I really wanted to do a huge collage.  It was a glorious day of boys going fishing, girls reading in hammocks, walking through a meadow full of wildflowers, girls fishing with thunder cracking all around, crayfish being caught on shore and finally JUST after dinner was cooked open an open flame,  a  stupendous rainstorm that had us all huddled happily (and with food) under the quick up shade perfectly tarped to keep out the rain.  And once that rain stopped...a walk to see an incredible sunset over the lake.  

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 92 ~ Soggy Campsite (Big Lake, AZ)

"100 Degrees until Halloween" Day 91 ~ Clouds and Cactus

Cactus against a totally grey sky.  Not something we often see here...and I am not complaining!

This weekend you will get a diversion from rainy sky pictures (I hope) as we head to Big Lake in Northern AZ for some camping and marshmallows and fishing (and eating fish, we hope).  Stay tuned and have a great holiday weekend!!

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 90 ~ Desert Morning?

This was the view from my driveway this morning.  Although this DOES happen every once in a while  it's always odd not to wake up to bright sun and even stranger to wake up to black cloud cover.

"100 Degrees Until Halloween" Day 89 ~ Light Thru the Storm

The monsoon LOOKED cool but here on the East side...no rain.