Something exciting about crackling storm

This has been a real monsoon summer, the first since I've lived in Yuma. Traveling to Tucson recently, the desert was green, with flowers blooming and grass growing.

Thunder, lightning, rain and wind have been common in the last several weeks, and we certainly didn't need all the damage caused by the recent storms. But I have to say I love a good old-fashioned thunderstorm; it reminds me of home.

The startling crack of thunder is a force of nature that reminds us there is something we cannot control. Lightning, beautiful but deadly, paints the sky in an unpredictable pattern. And the rain, soft or pounding, cleans the dust off our landscape, at least temporarily. If a colorful rainbow follows the storm, that's a bonus.

The cleanup is not nearly as fun as the thunderstorm, but I'll still take it over a regular wind and dust storm any day.