After The Rain

 August 4, 2025

   Someone said this is the hottest summer on record. Frankly, they all seem interminable, but. . .

Daily Whip Out: "After The Rain"

This is the time of year when we desert rats all start longing for the traditional late August rains out here on the Sonoran Desert. After the first pass we get that sweet smell of wet creosote and other plants that is about the coolest smell on earth. And it makes us all so happy.

I have always attributed that sweet smell to creosote bushes, but scientists now claim there are two causes: "It's an entourage of plant and soil smells, not from any single source, but a whole symphony of smells triggered by the first rains," said Gary Nabhan, a desert ecologist. More specifically, "the fragrance comes from the soil, where bacteria create a compound called geosmin. Scientists call this 'petrichor.' And even though multiple plants actually contribute to the after rain smell, it is the creosote that gets most of the credit. Plants accumulate oils on their leaves to protect themself from sunburn and heat. When it finally rains hard enough those oils wash into the air."

Whatever, the scientific cause, it sure is a beautiful thing to behold.

"A cactus doesn't live in the desert because it likes the desert; it lives there because the desert hasn't killed it yet."
—Hope Jahren