Perfect surprise monsoon!

Just before daylight this morning, my son and I headed to the oasis to service feeders and do some watering . We were surprised to see a few showers at a couple of places along the way, as none were forecast. Our hope was that the oasis would at least have wet ground when we got there. From what we could see it didn't look too promising.

When we arrived around 8:00 AM a few sprinkles fell but we went about getting ready to set up the hoses to water. A little lightning flashed, but not close to us. Nothing to indicate a monsoon. And I've seen enough monsoons to know when one is impending. I thought. And we almost never ever get a monsoon in the early morning unless we're in the direct path of a hurricane, with many days notice and anticipation... usually all for nothing. In short, I can't remember ever getting an early morning monsoon. 

We noticed a bear had visited, so took a few minutes to look for damage and tracks when suddenly we started being pelted by hail.

We dove into the viewing blind, but it afforded no protection. Soon hail and rain deluged us. We got drenched, but couldn't stop laughing! It was hilarious in its freakishness!

I tried recording with my camera as I shivered. Totally forgot to set the brightness in the excitement, so the videos are too dark. I can't find a way to brighten them without buying some programs online, so here they are, for what they're worth.

In minutes everything was full and running over. The big tank was full before we were even able to walk over to watch it fill.

It was an incredible experience. So glad I'd gotten to share it with Lee. He'd never been present there during a monsoon before. Within an hour, the skies were cloudless, with temperatures fast on the rise.

As for the bear visit, we assume it got zapped by the feeder. Nothing to indicate the feeder had been messed with. There were some broken branches not far from the feeder that probably happened in the aftermath of the zapping. Bark was ripped off a pine tree, but no real damage.

So I'm a most happy camper! Hated that my son had to get back to town, but I'll go back in a few days and focus on photographing the dragonflies that are sure to show up.