Desert Rain

It rained this evening and I stuck my head under the eaves and let the drops hit my head and shoulders. It felt so good, so cool and the smell of the rain in the earth was so cleansing. There is a special quality to desert rain that lets you see and smell it before it arrives. I've been told it's more the smell of the earth being moistened than the actual rain but it's not quite the same anywhere else I've ever been. California and Florida rain smells like the ocean, Philly rain is flat and senseless, all the joy coming from the sound. Only desert rain has that old familiar smell.