What a Good Year Looks Like in the Desert

We live in the desert. Lots of mesquite. Rattlesnakes. Cactus. Coyotes. Dirt. Dry. Wind. Now don't get me wrong. We love it. We still miss the mountains and desert of West Texas, but we've been blessed here and even here, there is beauty. We have stunning sunsets and the sunrises are worth getting up for. The colors of the desert, when the light plays on the landscape, are not found in any paint store. Only God's color box is capable of producing the masterpieces that suddenly appear and take your breath away with regularity.

Yep. Desert.

But, this year is different. We've had over 17" of rain so far and the desert has transformed into a grassland. The cattle are more than belly-deep in tall grass that dances on the breeze:

Everything is in a mode that requires celebration. The ranchers have big grins on their faces.

The horses enjoy their daily swim in the dirt tank where they splash and act like kids and stand tummy deep in the thick grass in the evenings, catching the first breezes of autumn:

The birds congregate in the shallow places and drown out the quiet with their chattering and busy-ness:

 Gus cannot contain himself and must wriggle and wallow in the cool, damp earth after a good, soaking rain:

Only the colts look downtrodden. They are locked in the pens for a bit as they are presently in colt training and they are experiencing a dose of 'the grass is greener on the other side',which in this case, happens to be true:

When it rains we get puddles. Puddles make us happy. Puddles also make the weeds grow and now they are too high for me to mow:

I know that these years are few and far between so we're really thankful for each and every drop. Alas, even when it rains, DH can not just sit. However, yesterday he had to do just that. He took off after dinner and headed south in the tractor to work on a road with blue skies above.

20 minutes later, sprinkles appeared here at headquarters, followed by a good soaking. DH calls and laments that the tractor broke down and he is sitting in a river. Now, just to clarify - we don't have any rivers on the ranch. The water just accumulates faster than it can be absorbed and we have temporary canals...like in Venice. Just humor me, ok.

So he can't go anywhere and we decide to send DD out to bring Daddy home after the rain stops. Which is over and hour.

Poor DH. He does not wait well and although I'm sure he would have enjoyed a nap while waiting, the tractor is not exactly conducive to a good snooze.

I'm thinking they actually enjoyed mudding home:

On days like this, I can't help but want to be outdoors. Its a wonder I ever get anything done indoors because I would be content to just wander and take in the blessings of all this rain and when the sun begins to sink, I love the way the light plays across the land:

And darts across the pastures:

And settles into the horizon:

Nope. Doesn't resemble a desert much today, does it?