The monsoons have arrived here, and we had cool rainy weather all weekend. There were a couple big evening thunderstorms, and thankfully, some long sustained rains. The breezes were cool and delicious.

We have been eating well and enjoying lots of yummy summer veggies this week. After Friday harvest, we had a Mediterranean feast (flat bread, hummus, baba ganoush and olives), followed up by a peach pie I made with the peaches we got in Willcox.

Sunday morning we went for a nice walk and saw a bunch of new bugs that the wet weather has brought out. These little ones are especially interesting.

[Note: I couldn’t figure out what this bug was, so I contacted a bug specialist at the University of Arizona. A very nice woman (on leave, no less) wrote back with this: “You’re so lucky!  This is not actually a bug (insect), but a velvet mite (related to spiders).  Most of the year they live hidden away, but just at the start of the monsoon season they emerge briefly in great numbers to reproduce.  They are not harmful to humans, and I think they look charming, like tiny sofa cushions.”]

Other wildlife sightings this week have included mule deer (in our front someday patio area — we watched them from bed this morning) and the cutest little baby quail, all parading around in a row.

On the house front, we’ve ordered the final stucco coat and hope to start on that next week. We’ve also moved into the big bedroom and just love it!