Arizona Illustrated

Monsoon Special

El Dia de San Juan: For decades, every summer, people gather to celebrate and pray for the monsoon… and the gift of life it brings. Shooting Lightning: Tucson is considered by many to be the Lightning Photography Capitol of the World. We follow Tucson based lightning photographers Tom Willett and Jeff Smith over the course of a Monsoon in their efforts to capture photographs of lightning. The Flower and the Fig-Eater: The high temperatures and precipitation of the monsoon season can lead to an explosion of life, from plants and insects to birds and mammals…including the Summer Poppy, whose seeds can wait in the ground for years waiting for just the right conditions, and the Fig-Eater beetle, the shiny jade colored beetle searching for fruit. The Smell of Rain: The monsoon brings much needed rain to southern Arizona. For Phyllis, a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, the rains are a sacred connection to the land and her ancestors. She and her grandchildren like to sit and watch the clouds, discovering shapes of animals and people. And when the rains come, she says, it is a smell like no other.