Before Sunrise...

 

Murphy and I were up before the sun this morning.  Quiet out there...

The sky with the sun still below the east horizon...

 The weather weasels are calling for overcast and a 30% chance of rain; the percentages go up as we roll into the weekend.

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Nekkid...

The difference between "naked" and "nekkid": naked means you are unclothed; nekkid means you are unclothed and up to something.  I am talking now about our yard, or as I often refer to it: the courtyard, because the property is surrounded by a 6' block wall...

 I enjoy that area.  Under the gray covers is a patio couch, two chairs, a coffee table, and an end-table.  It is a very comfortable place to sit in the morning.  Towards the center rear is the tall table and chairs - a good place to sit to keep an eye on Murphy as he wanders around the yard.  Just left of center is the Eco-Spa hot tub, my favorite place to be in the evening to look at stars and planes heading in and out of Sky Harbor Airport.  To the far left is the "stuff garden"... Joan has plants, lights, and yard decor there; it is colorful during the day and a variety of solar lights at night.

"What about the nekkid?" you ask.  Thanks for asking.  There are generally 3 patio umbrellas set up strategically to give shade to the seating areas and just generally keep the area cooler.  During this hot summer, we have had a pop-up kiosk over the hot tub to keep it shaded.  Even though it is well insulated, the summer sun in the desert is brutal.  All that shade stuff has been put away.  The courtyard looks nekkid - and something is up.

Two of the three umbrellas (10' diameter) are on weighted bases that have wheels.  The other one is slightly larger and a base that doesn't move (easily).  No mention of this upcoming weather being a wind event, but after the haboob this summer that ripped our first kiosk over the hot tub to shreds, we aren't taking any chances.  All that stuff has been moved into the Tuff Shed.

While the calendar says we have moved from summer to fall, we would still be using those shade makers.  Except for the fact that Arizona is going to see some tropic-influenced rain over the next 5 or 6 days.  And we will be getting away for a week or so over Joan's birthday next week.  We are technically past monsoon season.  The rain we received two weeks ago was more in a day than is usual for the entire 6 to 8 weeks of monsoon season.  That same kind of precipitation is what the weather weasels are calling for, with the heaviest predicted to be happening on Saturday (our planned departure day).