Ocotillo green

It gets still and humid sometimes while you watch the rain that's not headed your way, but it makes for a pretty photo, and you can see the green fluffy haze of ocotillo arms. The smell of rain was wonderful, and occasionally we heard thunder off in the distance.

Some of the ocotillo leaves are already starting to drop in places. Ocotillos can be so random--some leafed, some blooming, some dying, some bare--at nearly any time that isn't an extended drought; then their spiney arms are gray and bare. But right now, they're peaking green and looking fairly lush.


While we waited for the full moonrise last night I took lots of photos of a lovely sunset behind us:


I didn't take any shots of the full moonrise, though, because we were enjoying it au naturel (not naked, just without camera equipment!). It was beautiful--because it was cloudy, the moon glowed in shades of orange behind the mountains for a long time before it emerged. I do have some pretty good photos of moonrises from the past, but can't put my hand on them right now, so I'll post them later.