Out in the desert across from our house. We've had a lot of rain, it's not usually this green.

Cave Creek, 2019.

Just coming out of El Encanto in Cave Creek on Saturday and treated to the sky on fire. Sunsets in Arizona are magical.

The Superstition Mountains are really rather majestic in person.

It's that time of the year where for a brief few hours the windows can remain open.  It's nice sipping coffee outside with the sound of birds instead of neighbors air conditioners humming.  And breathe.

This rolled in late afternoon.  The sky was completely black 20 mins later.  So what to do but sip some red wine and look to the heavens to see how it unfolds.

No rain or thunder this time.

Springtime in Arizona. The Palo Verde tree in my front garden is blossoming nicely.

Now, I can't say what it is, but something that grows here my body doesn't like. I managed to avoid allergies growing up (or hay fever as it was known in England). But my eyes and nose run like mad in the spring here. And as I get older it seems to get slightly worse. Thankfully there are pills for all this that work like magic.

Let's talk about concerts in Arizona. Or lack thereof. As the fifth largest city in America, Phoenix does get visited very often by bands. But usually they're the super popular ones, with lots of resources and backing. So what seems to happen more often than not is a band I love announce "a US tour" when really it's nothing of the sort. They'll play in New York, Boston, and then in LA and San Fransisco.

The rest of us get to watch as they flyover on their way to California.

Waves to the plane carrying the band I love.

In the last few weeks two bands from my youth that I never had the chance to see live announced US "tours". And have a guess what States are being visited? There's no way you'll guess New York and California..

Killing Joke are playing their 40th anniversary gigs. And for the first time in *mumble* years The The are playing live. But they're not visiting any of the flyover states. Which is a real bummer as I would love to see both of them.

As I type this the rain is beginning to fall. It's a cool, grey, overcast kind of day. The best kind in the desert. The smell of that rain though, love it.

Phoenix, 2017.

Late summer evenings. Fear not Phoenicians, it's September now, and relief is but a month or two away. Still 110° today mind.