Tuesday, February 24, 2015

What a hail of a difference!

Yesterday was yet another first for us on this adventure ... our first day of rain in the Phoenix area. Not bad, considering we've been here since early December! So we've had one day of rain in Phoenix, one in Tucson, and one in Mexico. A great record, I'd say.

Today we had another first ... two consecutive days of rain in the Phoenix area. Not only that, but hail too! This was our view today, in contrast to our homeowners who are in Canada and sent us a photo of blue skies and sunshine and said they were in short sleeves. I offered to do a house swap but no bite!



In driving around the Phoenix area we see lots of new home construction. In Canada, we often see incentives advertised for early purchasers, and most often I've noticed appliances included, or various upgrades offered. With the latest release of new homes in our current community, the incentives were geared towards energy efficiency and energy-generating systems.


Seeing solar panels is a common sight here, and in fact where this photo was taken there were probably six houses or more in a row with the panels. Most, however, are laid directly on top of the roof's tiles, as seen in the photo below.


On this return visit, we're now seeing what appears to be solar panels inlaid into the roof during construction. In Canada, we're accustomed to seeing roof shingles that have been blown off by severe weather, and this new method reminds me of that. The roof appears to have tiles missing!


A bonus from rainy days is that it helps flowers bloom. This is just one of the many lovely blooms we saw today on our walk ... before the rain and hail came!


This morning I commented that it was cold out, and that it was only in the fifties. Then I realized that in our home town in Canada that would feel like a heatwave about now. With the wind chill factor, it reached about 5 F there today. Stay warm, my Canadian friends!

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