Stormy Sheebie

Friends and Kitties!

Sheebie here.

One of the things I love best about desert weather is monsoon season.  Because your line of sight goes all the way to the horizon (or the mountains, whichever comes first) the opportunity to watch thunderstorms is just awesome.  I snapped a few photos at work a couple of weeks ago on two different nights.  They're phone photos so not the best quality, but I think you'll get the idea...

This first shot was taken from the roof of the ozone building at the plant directly adjacent to Lake Mead.  The storm that's off in the distance is about 50 miles (80 km) away, over the Spring Mountains.

This one was taken the next night from the plant in Henderson.  The rain has completely obscured The Strip and the Spring Mountains beyond, about 35 miles away.  We had a real gully washer that evening at my house, over a third of an inch in thirty minutes...the water was roaring down the streets and according to Scott, the cats were under the beds!

The rain rarely lasts long though; it moved out in time for sunset.

Gorgeous, right?

Happy Saturday and Caturday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

Sheebie Sees Some Sights

Friends and Kitties!

Sheebie here.

I was going through my phone photos and I picked out a few good* ones to show you.

This was taken along a part of the wash that is currently being revegetated.  I decided to ride the gravel road instead of the bike trail for a new perspective.  The pipes on the banks are for reclaimed water irrigation, and the foliage are all native plants.  You can see the dams in the background slowing the water down, allowing a series of ponds to form. The bird in the pond nearest me is a Great Blue Heron--I saw (I think) seven of them!  Imagine, waterbirds in the Mojave Desert--there is a truly diverse biome here in the Las Vegas valley.

(The building in the far background is Sam Boyd Stadium.)

Scott and I were out and about and he realized he had on two different shoes!

Stylin'.

See the bumps and scrapes on his shins?  He's as bad as a six-year-old.

A nest in a cholla cactus at work.  It didn't have any feathers or poop in it so it was likely just a practice nest.

This was taken in late July, during Monsoon season, again at work.  It was pouring in the Spring Mountains forty miles off and sunny in Henderson.  

I love the vistas out here.

Driving home the other afternoon I saw a lady out walking with her miniature pony!  Of course I pulled over to talk and get a couple pictures.  His name was Buddy, and he was the friendliest little soul--walked right up to the car window and peered in--he had to snuffle me, and nibble my fingers, too!  The crew had a field day sniffing the horse spit on my hands when I got home.  

There's more, but I'll save those for another day...The next couple of weeks for me are going to be exciting, yet strange, what with my schedule changing.  My intentions are to keep up a regular posting schedule--everything else is up for grabs, though!  No promises.  I can't wait to awaken naturally, without the effing alarm clock.  Two more days.  wheeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

Happy Sunday--Have a Great Week!

XX  Sheebie  XX

*good, as in interesting, not visual masterpieces.

SNOW!

Kitties!

You might think that since we live in the desert it's sunny and hot all the time.

But you would be wrong.

It gets quite cold in the winter, with some really blustery wind, too; sometimes 40-50 miles per hour!  Most days it's above freezing but the nights are a different story...we had to drain our hose line so it wouldn't burst.

Our desert, the Mohave, is very dry with only about four inches of rain a year, on average.  Rain means clouds so we have overcast days...in fact the past week has been gloomy with drizzle off and on all over the valley.  Las Vegas is a big bowl with mountains all aroud it, and we live just over the mountains on the southeast side.  We have our own little microclimate due to the constant breeze down the wash where our house is, and our proximity to Lake Mead.  We're always warmer than in the valley.  And sometimes we get WEIRD precipitation.

Like SNOW!

These pictures are from the "Blizzard" of 2008.  December 17th, in fact!  We had almost 6 inches of snow in an afternoon. 

Looking northwest towards the Strip, the Spring Mountains are covered with snow down to the valley!

Sweet Pea watching her first snow.

The back yard.

The front yard...

...and later!  The snow kept falling.

The palm trees were weighted down.

Mommy built a Snow Cat!

Looking out across the desert wash in front of our house, the morning after the snow.

It was all melted in a couple of days, and the moisture helped the desert bloom beautifully in the Spring.

So there you have it kitties, snow in the desert.


Happy Sunday!

XX  Lounge Kats