The Fifth Season
All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.
Edgar Allen Poe
It all depends on how we look at things, and not how they are in themselves.
Carl Jung
Many writers have observed the US to be nation of serial movers and this seems to have been a recurrent theme for the last 12,000 years, give or take a few millennia. When I think back on my own moves over the years, I have markers in my memory of those events which seem to have a common thread. Those are, namely, the unique and remarkable weather events which often are my most distinct recollection of time and place. Whether it was, to name a few, a seasonal mind bending Föhn winds in Switzerland, an impenetrable London fog, a New England Nor-Easter ice storm, or a moisture sucking dust blow torch Santa Ana howler in California, they were all remarkable and unforgettable. And all came with negative connotations. These were totally different in effect, but similar in affect. One was simply left with a singular focus on getting through it, riding it out, leaving it in the rear view mirror and scrabbling to bluer skies ahead.
When I relocated to Arizona, I discovered a phenomenon that is so unique and impactful to the region over an extended period, that it is referred to by some as “The Fifth Season”. That season is what is also know more literally as Monsoon Season, an oftentime wet and stormy period falling roughly from June through September. The start of the season comes on gently, with the appearance of stray clouds that may take weeks to build into more precient and substantial layers. Often, days of recurring, frustrating virga precipitation preceed any measurable moisture reaching the desert floor, as conditions build to that optimal mix of temperature, humidity and dew point that ignites the monsoon storms. The rippling curtains of virga seem like a manifestation of la corúa, the ancient and benign water serpent that protects springs and water sources. Should la corúa be killed, the water disappears. Finally, the violent and seemingly random monsoon storms arrive in awesome displays of nature’s power. By September, the season starts to quietly fade away in a cosmic rewind of the start of the season’s thinner cloud cover and occasional virga and isolated thunderstorms.
What I find so remarkable about this Fifth Season is how, in contrast to the other weather events I have experienced and remarked on here, is how this season is looked on by most people in the region. The monsoon storms do regularly cause property damage and often some tragic loss of life through flooding, lightening strikes and wind. However, the season is largely anticipated favorably and celebrated for the life giving gift of rain it promises. Rather than leading you to hunker down inside with a book and handy supply of emergency candles, monsoon invites you to go outside and look up at the heavens. The season is all about hope and anticipation of good things to come.
In my Gallery page for the Fifth Seaon, I’ve tried to illustrate a brief photographic glimpse of the trajectory of the season. Looking up and outward instead of downward and inward is a refreshing change of perspective. Add in a measure of reverence and respect for la corúa, and we might even take a small step toward responsible stewardship of our fragile plant.