Rain at The Tropical Paradise

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There is a gentle rain falling right now on The Tropical Paradise. This type of rain, and at this time, is unusual for the Sonoran Desert, which is where Phoenix and Tucson are. Here we usually get rain at two times of the year, mid-summer and in the winter.

The mid-summer rains are violent, and usually include thunderstorms. The winter rains, which I call "Christmas rains" are soft and gentle, like the one that I am listening to right now. Since rain is so rare here in the desert, it tends to put people in a good mood, unlike back east, where it tends to depress people. Here it makes us smile!

Although the term "monsoon season" started as a joke on a Phoenix radio station, most people here take the term seriously. We just got over some very heavy thunderstorms here, including some very big hail. The rain in the desert usually comes down hard and fast. When I bought this house I made sure that the water drained properly, and I have been careful since then to be sure that it continues to go where it's supposed to go. Obviously, the yard slopes away from the house. The back yard area is the where water is retained. If there is too much water to be retained there, it flows along the side of the house and into the courtyard, which has a water retention area, too. When that fills up, there is a hole designed into the bottom on the wall in my courtyard that flows out to the street and into a neighborhood water detention area. The main water detention area for the larger neighborhood is a very large park nearby. The goal here is to get as much free water as possible, but not to let it become a problem for the house.

So, I am happy to see the rain!

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