A strange but beautiful flower...

This flowering plant is referred to in New Mexico as the Red Hot Poker. I'm sure there is a scientific name or maybe even a different name but that's what we call them. The plant sits quietly for most of the year looking a little like huge grass and then sometime in June, the stem starts to shoot up and within a week the flower has bloomed. They last for only a couple of weeks and then they lay dormant again until the next summer. It's one of our signs that summer has really come once more to the high desert. The days are warm, usually never over 90 degrees and the evenings cool down to around 40, esp. with the help of the afternoon rains - the monsoon season. Although rain can be a dangerous thing in the desert; lightening caused fires and flooded arroyos, it is necessary and prayed for. We have had years of drought but this year is a little better. Hopefully we won't have the devasting fires of the past several years and ranchers will have better luck feeding their cattle and farmers will be able to irrigate their crops. As usual our little patch of grass is growing but requires much water, which is only allowed on certain days.
As for myself, I am in the Ohio area visiting some of my children and traveling with the youngest to soccer camp at Notre Dame. Posting will be light dependent on internet access. I had forgotten one of the reasons I love NM - no humidity. The cooling method most preferred in NM is the swamp cooler which uses water to cool the air. Here in Ohio, my hair is frizzy, my face is shiny and it's HOT and humid.
Anyway, I hope all of you are enjoying your summer and that life is being kind to you. I will write more later but for now I'm going to sleep - on top of the covers (it is so hot and sticky) with the air conditioner blowing full blast.
God bless, Kitty