Rainbirds

This is a cicada--a rainbird in Mexico. A diviner of rain--usually 6 weeks from the first piercing "song". I heard my first rainbird the evening of April 1. Accordingly, only 1 more week until the rains come--hurray!! Of course, if the rains come next week they will be almost a month early as our usual rainy seasons starts between the 10th & 15th of June. We will be grateful for any rain at this point. I'm told there was a bit of a sprinkle while I was in South America in January. Otherwise, it's been rainless since the middle of October. Traditionally this area gets between 1/2-1 inch of rain a month during the dry season. This will be the second year with no rain during the dry season. The dust is high as are the temperatures--close to 90 most of the time and not getting below about 65 at night. Before the rains come the temps will be around 100.

The first two weeks of the rainy season will be miserable. The accumulated heat in the buildings and rocky soil will permeate the humid air and cause a very tropical feel. I can take the dry heat better than the humid heat the first part of June. Then everything will settle down, including the dust, until October when the rains stop and the cycle repeats itself.