“Spring” in Hermosillo: brought to you by the letter D

Dry: There is absolutely no exaggeration here. I have never been in a place as dry as Hermosillo in the spring. Example number one: Skin. I never put so much lotion on my body and face in my life, with the exception of my hands. Example number two: eyes. Although I wear my glasses 95% of the time (soft contacts the rest of the remaining %), but eyes still are super dry, probably in part to all the hours I spend in front of the computer. This week I bought eye drops for my eyes, eye drops for eyes, not contacts. Example three: hair So I have naturally well hydrated hair; I almost never use conditioner, except for the non-scalp part in the dry winter months in Denver, and must wash my hair every day in the morning, to avoid getting an oily head. Well, I have found the ideal place for my father’s oily hair…Hermosillo in the spring. Conditioning my hair and scalp everyday wasn’t doing the trick, so this past week I started washing my hair every other day, and conditioning every day, without it getting oily. I have NEVER been able to do that in my life.

Dusty: Last weekend, I awoke to the sound of wind blowing against the plastic blinds in front of my window. When I looked outside my window, I was unable to see the mountainous hills of Hermosillo due to a dust storm. Although that was a one time occurrence, the dust is not; it is tremendous the amount of dust that enters the house. As a result, I have become extra cautious about closing my laptop when I am not using it (even just an hour) and covering it at night in hopes to prevent it from dying from a dust stroke.

Pic 1: dust storm, pic 2: normal day

Drastic (temperatures): We’ve had many 100 degree afternoons (without air conditioning as the price doesn't drop until May). However we’ve also had evenings where pants and a long sleeve shirt with flip flops is chilly. Not every day or evening has these extremes, but overall it’s already gotten “hot”. I can’t wait until June…just kidding!

Desert beauty: Although I don’t get out of the city much, it’s been fun to watch the various different blooms that occur on the trees here. Furthermore, the trees, especially in the University (when it was open), have staggered blooming seasons; so every couple weeks it’s something new. This is a picture of the Palo Verde’s yellow flowers.

Palo Verde with spring blooms