A Synaesthesia Worth Waiting For

Here in Tucson, the arrival of the Monsoon storms -- yes, the term is technically correct, since they come with a shift in the prevailing winds -- is eagerly awaited. They came frustratingly late this year. We could see them in the distance, but the winds and rains steered clear until tonight. Because I live next to a catchment basin, designed to hold the sometimes massive rainfall and prevent flooding lower down, big storms come with a special bonus: the inimitable cacaphony of toads' suddenly torn from their subterranean slumber in order to call out in search of a mate.

That's the main sound you hear in this clip. If you wait for it, there's also an impressive night-turned-to-day burst of lightning that shows "our mountain" -- as we call the south western terminus of Pusch Ridge-- looming over our otherwise unremarkable subdivision. Right now I have the front door open so that the cats and I can take their fill of the sounds and smells through the screen door. Moments like this are why living in the Sonoran Desert is ultimately much more compelling than it seems during the monotony of sunny days that defines the majority of the year.