Dry and cracked, a little like the heat

We've reached the point of the summer in Tucson where the earth is parched, the trees look a little withered, and it is a labor to keep any plant alive, even with the cooling refreshment of water.
Yesterday a monsoon rain rolled in - quietly, slowly building in the distance, until it impatiently erupted with a ferocity to relieve itself of its dust, wind, and water. It was welcome - at least the rain was welcome - but the accompanying dust that obscured the roadways caused the death of two people who didn't pull off the freeway far enough out of the line of truck traffic that incessantly moves across I-10.
I've been doing some reading this summer and would like to suggest The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, and The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. Amy originally introduced me to Barbara Kingsolver, with her book The Bean Trees. The Poisonwood Bible and The Mermaid Chair are dramatically different but interesting all the same.
The books have been a welcome interlude - a way to occupy my mind from thinking too much about a little dog with degenerative neurological issues, and a respite from feeling dry and cracked, a little like the heat.