Triple Calamity

  Borrego Springs is a place of extremes - the past few weeks being a perfect example:  First was the earthquake, a 5.4 tremblor.  We experience many earthquakes in Borrego and usually don't get too excited.  Small quakes are a regular occurrence here and are most often not felt, but heard.  If we hear a small "boom" we know it identifies an earthquake.  Possibly, this phenomenon is due to our proximity to the San Ysidro Mountains and is some sort of echo effect.  We did feel the Mexicali 7.2 earthquake, however.  Our house rocked and rolled, water slurped out of the swimming pool and the tremblor lasted a while.  The Borrego quake was different- we knew we were close to the epicenter.  The "boom" we experienced was a deafening explosive noise as if dynamite had been set off right under the slab!  The noise was humongous but the shake immediate and quick. No water sloshed out of the pool...instead, upright waves formed.  A picture fell off the wall, small items toppled, the dog got excited...we checked propane tank and water pipes...everything was  O. K.

A few days later, during the early morning hours, I heard a soft cry which sounded like it came from our sizeable ( over 65 pound ) chocolate lab, who was eating breakfast in the walled garden.  We put her dish outside every morning , since she seems to like to dine al fresco!  I opened the sliding door and called her name, then watched in amazement as she chased three coyotes through the yard to the back wall, which they jumped with ease then disappeared in a cloud of dust.  A few others jumped over the east wall, hit the bronze watering valves below the irrigation station.  One valve broke off at the PVC fitting and water gushed from the broken pipe.  There is probably a very sore coyote somewhere in Borrego Springs.  Our dog had been nipped on a back leg, about a two inch abrasion, but was otherwise untouched.  I had seen coyotes within the walls only two other times during our twenty years in Borrego.  If you have a pet in the desert, it is important to protect him.  Coyotes can jump over or dig under barriers.  Our walls are about six feet high.  Coyote parents are teaching their young how to hunt during this season and perhaps my ripening melons lured them to our yard...who knows?

The third incident occurred the next day.  As usual, I checked the humidity on Weather Underground to see if we needed swamps or the air conditioner.  It was high, with a twenty per cent chance of rain.  By afternoon, lightening was flashing and thunder rumbling.  To the south, streaks of heavy rain could be seen, moving in our direction.  We hurried to put things under the porches and made sure our rain water tubs were under the rain spouts.  We needed not bother;  the rain fell so hard the roof drains looked like a fire hose spewing water in giant arcs.  Fifty-five MPH winds pushed the downpour sidewise and under the porches until everything was wet.  The monsoon had certainly arrived in all its' glory...the thing flash floods are made of!  It was over within an hour, leaving a splintered eight foot back garden gate.  Everything blew away and the gaping hole it left has let in a multitude of rabbits, who are feasting on Mexican primrose ground cover.  ( I hope they eat all of those pink flowered plants - once planted , almost impossible to get rid of...)  The vegetables are safe in the raised planters - the gate will have to be replaced - the dog will have to stay in the house and I hope we will finally get around to securing our heavy wooden chest to the wall.

This is just an example of what the summer season might offer to a low desert gardener !