Mountain storm and solitude~Nature Notes~080411

We had another monsoon storm in our desert and local mountains yesterday.  I heard a loud "BOOM!" and there was thunder right over our house, which is in the desert.  I looked up at our local mountains, the Santa Rosa mountains, and could see a downpour, so off I went!  This one wasn't as bad as the one the previous afternoon, when I wasn't sure if I'd make it off the mountain!  This was a nice, even rain, not coming in sideways.  And, rivers of water weren't coming off the mountain cliffs either.  I put down the car windows, turned off the air conditioner, and just drank in all the delicious, wet, earthy smells.  Ahhhhhhhh!!!!! And, I also soaked up the solitude.  There were very few cars on the road.  I turned onto one of the dirt roads which is well maintained because it goes to a private mountain community.  Lightning was flashing nearby and thunder was bellowing.  It grew darker and darker, yet I enjoyed every minute.  I finally just stopped and LISTENED to the sounds around me...blue jays were squawking, the wind was blowing through the trees, and I could hear the raindrops splatting on the car.  And, the solitude!  Desert solitude?  No...mountain solitude.  Just me and the mountains and the rain and wind and blue jays....aaahhhh...sheer bliss!  Nature Notes for August 4, 2011. To visit Nature Notes, please go to:  http://ramblingwoods.com/