Gifts of the Monsoon Season in Arizona

Monsoon season in southern Arizona brings the most appreciated gift of rain, providing temporary respite from the searing summer heat.  But the rain also brings with it many secondary gifts, like breathtaking monsoon sunsets...

and rain-coaxed blooms...

and others, a little more rare and surprising, as you will see at the end of this post.  

After two nights and one afternoon of rain last week, the local Texas Sage decided to make a showy debut with its vibrant purple blossoms.  I captured the blooms' progression over three days with my iPhone.  One bush was just beginning to show blooms on August 31:

Here is the same bush the next day:

And here is the bush on September 2, 2012:

Aren't those blooms amazing?  They bring a smile to my face each time I pull into my driveway.  But the delightful, unexpected monsoon gift was the rare discovery of this Sonoran Desert Toad this afternoon:

Because they usually only emerge during the monsoon season after rain to mate and lay eggs in puddles, people could go a lifetime without seeing one of these, especially those people living in more developed areas. This is the first Sonoran Desert Toad I've ever seen, and I've lived here 17 years.  My daughter rescued it from a swimming pool, we created a little puddle with peat moss for it and hope it will go about its business happily in our back yard.  My children wanted to keep it as a pet, but a little research revealed it is poisonous, so outside it will stay.

As we enjoy a relaxing Labor Day weekend, we will treasure these amazing monsoon gifts of the desert, and will continue to treasure them, right until they dry up, fall down or hop away.