Rain in the desert

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Here in the Sonoran Desert, where Phoenix, Arizona is, there are two rainy seasons. In the summer, we get thunderstorms, and in the winter we get gentle rain that I like to call *Christmas rains*.

The thunderstorms in the summer are very violent and harsh, whereas the Christmas rains are gentle. The temperature right now at 10:30 am here at The Tropical Paradise is 52 F (11 C), which is a bit chilly for man and beast (Macintosh, the good little wiener dog, doesn't like it) is just wonderful for the tropical plants. These nice soft Christmas rains really help to bring moisture deep into the soil, and they usually continue through January.

Now is the time to turn off the automatic watering, which will remain off until February.

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