Desert does not smell like rain

Mtns open

For dozens of miles crossing the desert this morning, the air smelled to me vaguely like burning plastic, an odor backnote I found rather unpleasant. Miles.

Yellow desert shrub flower

The plants, however: unfazed. Unknown grey-green leaved low shrub with yellow fliers…

Yucca top

…and a towering yucca (I think).

Today’s title references one of my favorite books, Gary Paul Nabhan’s The Desert Smells Like Rain: A Naturalist in Papago Indian Country (1987). This desert perhaps should have smelled like rain today, as rain came through this area in the wee hours overnight. In fact, we think we’ve had rain at some point every day beginning on the 26th of December, for a run of 19 days so far. Tomorrow we may well not see rain, however.

One comment

  1. Pooh says:

    … and in the desert you can’t remember your name,
    It felt good to be out of the rain…

    “Welcome to the Hotel California”