tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315926572024-03-13T03:35:58.261-05:00Life in IsraelLife In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.comBlogger293125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-22651353288399764372024-02-27T06:19:00.001-05:002024-02-27T06:19:17.981-05:00War time offers strange opportunities<div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: #454545; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvQMOu8hMaAI2Jrzl7DHuUOEnoMzHgzDHMc7G72dV4bgXcQ_gTiVyoPfaiUzCOrhqeYsODyz_F7zKIeXIouOtQ7qHMVI1q-tLANVqvxnPtObxGqs6VD3aLv4D49iaP3uCk9Fctu08y4AbsCXu_BfOupglGwvhdebNoFFYPe-dhDhLBfNAe2yb/s640/IMG_3886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="640" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvQMOu8hMaAI2Jrzl7DHuUOEnoMzHgzDHMc7G72dV4bgXcQ_gTiVyoPfaiUzCOrhqeYsODyz_F7zKIeXIouOtQ7qHMVI1q-tLANVqvxnPtObxGqs6VD3aLv4D49iaP3uCk9Fctu08y4AbsCXu_BfOupglGwvhdebNoFFYPe-dhDhLBfNAe2yb/w640-h458/IMG_3886.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;">Our garden in February.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="color: #454545;">It is municipal election day today and the skies are filled with jets screeching non-stop. I sit with my morning coffee and practise chicken therapy by relaxing with the hens. </span></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #454545;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #454545;">I suddenly hear a barrage of explosions nearby – and so do the hens. In synch, we move our necks, ears to the sky. “The sky is falling,” observes Henny Penny as she peeks up at the heavens. I agree.</span></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #454545;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi69JiZN5XqXXqsEffntBHJt1OYphR-QPK-9C0fa6XcZIQPGOwRJyJA8DRQ8W4iqGtmge3fY1yv5er1JI2gRgGrcyFz5SyKEG65x1bh2t80SqxZXhFfOslsVz_7GYDJGFrOF6SSJEX1nov6jtd7wxH8SvvkZrbmooQUyXSDYGHdDYYn-d0N-NIY/s640/IMG_3918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="640" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi69JiZN5XqXXqsEffntBHJt1OYphR-QPK-9C0fa6XcZIQPGOwRJyJA8DRQ8W4iqGtmge3fY1yv5er1JI2gRgGrcyFz5SyKEG65x1bh2t80SqxZXhFfOslsVz_7GYDJGFrOF6SSJEX1nov6jtd7wxH8SvvkZrbmooQUyXSDYGHdDYYn-d0N-NIY/w400-h323/IMG_3918.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>War time offers strange opportunities. Our newest venture was adopting evacuated chickens from the northern front. Not only did these northern chickens suffer stress from rockets, explosions, and being transported en masse, they lived their whole lives in a factory farm stuffed into a cage no larger than a piece of paper. </span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">So when Amir arrived home at night with 13 chickens stuffed into cardboard boxes, we received trauma. I am now seeing first-hand how cruel and debilitating battery cages are for chickens. When we opened the coop door the next morning, we had 13 bedraggled chickens cowering in silence. They were filthy and had patches of red skin where feathers should be.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br /></span></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWEkTIt5C2gG4OqdOV-JhyphenhyphenFSWBXlAcWf0GvrSQGtR06XAbTCJne5NZx_WehJsJcvfJjKwL0nq3IFIv7YU93pYLjYxHVlelvKmpy7VgAQ2HNOnbZNUClqrCUU4C-Ml4toL2GIPficIk2-AfWTmRvY-IxyB-kPxHQY4of8o75JlorDjwg4i6cmFf/s640/IMG_3902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="640" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWEkTIt5C2gG4OqdOV-JhyphenhyphenFSWBXlAcWf0GvrSQGtR06XAbTCJne5NZx_WehJsJcvfJjKwL0nq3IFIv7YU93pYLjYxHVlelvKmpy7VgAQ2HNOnbZNUClqrCUU4C-Ml4toL2GIPficIk2-AfWTmRvY-IxyB-kPxHQY4of8o75JlorDjwg4i6cmFf/w400-h297/IMG_3902.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We gently coaxed them outside into the sunshine and onto the soft earth. They shuffled out and immediately tried to cram into a cage that had metal bars for flooring. We shooed them out and presented them with fresh water, lots of grains and some organic leaves to boot.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />Skinny and weak, they just sat there. Their combs were downcast (a condition called comb collapse), and when they tried to take an uneasy step, their claw curled up into a tight ball before they placing it on the ground. </span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Being cooped up in in tiny cages, these chickens had never walked, had never touched soft earth, had never spread their wings, and had never tasted a leaf or blade of grass. They were eerily silent. It was like watching chicken zombies.</span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />They are now shedding non-stop, filling up our yard with white feathers. As their wings have only long flight feathers (probably due to the other feathers being rubbed off from the metal bars in their battery cage), they look skeletal.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTcQeQArbWQhVrLiyHLqK9nE76PKuwl0PHQ_8kPgp0x3RBw-7J9rXIgYa6uyyfno-5jip0BW1O0yuffaM4x-_gqWrza2QYRIScYasg8o5NsRVjpAnSY7RiSvyvikwuWtB-z0pwfObTAa2ByKuaQ7PQmEaib_Ot9abnSaAzRyKSiE1Z9X53GF9/s640/IMG_3906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="387" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTcQeQArbWQhVrLiyHLqK9nE76PKuwl0PHQ_8kPgp0x3RBw-7J9rXIgYa6uyyfno-5jip0BW1O0yuffaM4x-_gqWrza2QYRIScYasg8o5NsRVjpAnSY7RiSvyvikwuWtB-z0pwfObTAa2ByKuaQ7PQmEaib_Ot9abnSaAzRyKSiE1Z9X53GF9/w242-h400/IMG_3906.jpg" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Fence patrol</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table>We had to separate these newbies from our own tiny flock (three chickens and a verbose duck) with a fence. Our guys patroled up and down the length of this fence studying them with curiosity, probably wondering if these were chickens or not. (Our duck now thinks she is a chicken, so anything goes.)</span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />It has now been close to a week since the factory farm hens arrived in a huddle on the coop floor, practically immobile. Their chicken instincts are slowly returning; they are now walking around, exploring more of the area each day. They still curl in their claws with each step but are moving a bit faster.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />The hens are now doing chicken things like scratching the ground, pecking, and fluttering their wings. We also offered them dust baths in various locations, but no takers so far. Compared to their former imprisonment and slavery, this could be a veritable chicken spa.</span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />At night, they are not strong enough to fly up to the roosting<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>bar – and how would they even know about a ‘roosting bar’ when their life was lived in an area that was 94 square inches? When we introduce Penny our Pendesenca hen to the new flock, she will show them how to get up there (our duck and two Silkies will not be useful roosting role models).</span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6AGKqYjsoPDpxHQF-Bw0Mrh2NIZqXoiC8P9XmuiqvJ-muBHe3tCA4DxnwwEvIegyi16lw4dZ3NDyLsQwRznNd4IubKyUyV6guYTO5ISinP5Cas-4AdyKyKUB8LvbzPZBaAGxDLbzc-D7HEBx_rHY0NAiMyUV31V63k3cM7FoTdBRQBFoMb53f/s640/IMG_3905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="486" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6AGKqYjsoPDpxHQF-Bw0Mrh2NIZqXoiC8P9XmuiqvJ-muBHe3tCA4DxnwwEvIegyi16lw4dZ3NDyLsQwRznNd4IubKyUyV6guYTO5ISinP5Cas-4AdyKyKUB8LvbzPZBaAGxDLbzc-D7HEBx_rHY0NAiMyUV31V63k3cM7FoTdBRQBFoMb53f/w304-h400/IMG_3905.jpg" width="304" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;">King Albert the Silkie</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table>We are hoping to make the big introduction later today. The grand tally will then be one Silkie rooster to a harem of 14 hens plus a duck/wannabe hen. Who would have thought that this once battered, bullied Silkie rooster would today be king of the roost?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />This newfound power has gone to his pea brain and he is now a bully. Puffed up, he asserts himself by strutting along the fence. When the new hens find their strength and can cluck, they may just tell him where to go and I hope they do!</span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />I am procrastinating about voting in the elections today as I seriously feel that my honest and upfront duck could do a better job as mayor than the two sketchy candidates we have in Tzfat.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />The jets rip through the sky above. Henny Penny and I are cock our heads in unison. Unruffled and free, the northern rescue flock softly cluck to themselves, “Been there, done that,” and happily scratch at the damp earth with newly outstretched claws.</span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDEu4mwtcp9lLx38x75E9HqRnBkcsSy6KXC1AgSnTHi1aGm2pXAegUO3kDxlFiYITDCVXVZEDn2kI7hZ53Tcun7fhAxeqg70VIF0-0ucnZo58C34NEJqIojA8z85zl1XSbdO7jS0_msvxFtn6baCWld753iXNvsO-R-idWpvSsUwvH7uaN-sm5/s640/IMG_3894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="516" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDEu4mwtcp9lLx38x75E9HqRnBkcsSy6KXC1AgSnTHi1aGm2pXAegUO3kDxlFiYITDCVXVZEDn2kI7hZ53Tcun7fhAxeqg70VIF0-0ucnZo58C34NEJqIojA8z85zl1XSbdO7jS0_msvxFtn6baCWld753iXNvsO-R-idWpvSsUwvH7uaN-sm5/w516-h640/IMG_3894.jpg" width="516" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-28308050016567867762024-01-30T02:57:00.001-05:002024-01-30T03:00:20.790-05:00A Meditation on Weeds<p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7IiHVmcxRkVAxnXzJUbhrUt0Ca6uJHG_AdllSbpl4j3COjey3VzIX_ikPeb86PiHTvTh7bh69cXQacM_Q2ejKINCUuR-XmQBeLfK6tL32A6YaK_5aX8HeP0VbLXy3W266z9DL1kjS9TCUz8JDMg__3Sbm8Z99m9OX0rv_G3PJHzaAbHe1fL5n/s640/IMG_3456.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="640" height="568" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7IiHVmcxRkVAxnXzJUbhrUt0Ca6uJHG_AdllSbpl4j3COjey3VzIX_ikPeb86PiHTvTh7bh69cXQacM_Q2ejKINCUuR-XmQBeLfK6tL32A6YaK_5aX8HeP0VbLXy3W266z9DL1kjS9TCUz8JDMg__3Sbm8Z99m9OX0rv_G3PJHzaAbHe1fL5n/w640-h568/IMG_3456.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />There has been an abundance of rain this winter, especially in January. The soil is wet, heavy, fecund. The rain water gathers and forms small rivulets that meander down the slopes, gargling as they go.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">As soon as the rain pauses (and even during a light rain), I am out there, astounded by the rapid rate of growth, be it the vegetables, buds on the trees, wildflowers, mushrooms, and weeds. It is as if this much needed rain has placed nature on steroids rushing forth shoots, stalks, leaves, and flowers. To keep this abundance in check, armies of caterpillers squirm from their cocoons right onto a buffet of huge, juicy leaves.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span></div><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNZ3GC_DHIKx3tmg4qwW6-7YLOHMH-cc9ExVYjU6UX5CiG_J1k0A0yXNK1Bus_DQpmhYpCmMWjeuA7zscbqAkC6aWuJTa_QgPqbiXTDzCOOdkVfqLIxlqYJNUemUVLEECU1a3ODzylkjgy9GYHJdCpu3niuHu1oRwVXbAJdse2uqBvCtHjFlw/s640/IMG_3523.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="638" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNZ3GC_DHIKx3tmg4qwW6-7YLOHMH-cc9ExVYjU6UX5CiG_J1k0A0yXNK1Bus_DQpmhYpCmMWjeuA7zscbqAkC6aWuJTa_QgPqbiXTDzCOOdkVfqLIxlqYJNUemUVLEECU1a3ODzylkjgy9GYHJdCpu3niuHu1oRwVXbAJdse2uqBvCtHjFlw/w319-h320/IMG_3523.jpg" width="319" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Observing this life force is a walking prayer of awe and gratitude. Within seconds, I bend down to pull out a weed, and then another, and another. I crawl through garden beds, hands muddied, knees soaked, flinging grass and dandelions over my head.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I try to make made space around the bases of the trees and plants to give them light and nutrients that are hijacked by those uninvited weedy lodgers. It feels gratifying to have a tiny window of order and edge in this natural chaos, although with the next rain, those weed hijackers pop back. My weeding is a meditation practice. I hear bird song, touch and smell the rich soil, observe the insects busily working the earth and study new plants that shoot forth with incredible energy.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">And as I weed-meditate, I think. I hear jets screeching over my head, the occasional helicopter headed to the border or, G-d forbid, to a hospital. I am weeding in a war zone, and I head to this garden like a therapy couch. I weed for today and I plant for tomorrow. I do not know what this day or the next will bring, but nature keeps sprouting for the future, and I will follow suit.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuL0XWvRY39c-Ogy0owsHqubZb7C3w6h9s-P-Uu541IxT2L3bQZofV8FRObcQJsuoXE4WvJytgLeb7COOrIekw1jc8Y1W3PoteZImCpDSqydkF-vdDCVZ0i_EOBm5_LjaRng30GaJ1gJwKkaOoRR9E3Pq14stUtVSxp4DSJTChrQ0Vt5GTEUoY/s640/IMG_3511.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="602" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuL0XWvRY39c-Ogy0owsHqubZb7C3w6h9s-P-Uu541IxT2L3bQZofV8FRObcQJsuoXE4WvJytgLeb7COOrIekw1jc8Y1W3PoteZImCpDSqydkF-vdDCVZ0i_EOBm5_LjaRng30GaJ1gJwKkaOoRR9E3Pq14stUtVSxp4DSJTChrQ0Vt5GTEUoY/s320/IMG_3511.jpg" width="301" /></a></span></div><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana;">I often wonder if perhaps more people could benefit from being out here. Historically, the Jewish nation was connected to the land of Israel as farmers but were expelled. The European Jews once lived in small agricultural communities – and after the shtetls were obliterated, they fled to cities. And after time, they would always have to run for their lives.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">In many places, they became trades people as they could not own land. In the contemporary Jewish world, most children grow up indoors in classrooms and tread the pavement of city streets and play in plastic playgrounds. Parents push strollers along concrete and buy food in plastic packages. But what about connecting to the Good Land that we pray for several times a day and mourn for and fast for?</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Here I am, plucking weeds and thinking. When the Jews returned to this same land, the kibbutzniks were farmers. They worked hard preparing the soil, tilling, and planting and watched the land come back to life with abundance.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7K3_-AW8VompxMuQBY8BwleENcW-0K0cVl5ZdSKZP4cqgyo5MDdnowNBVsT1HfjA1lyj8iTOycfzWEsBi6iN4DXPE-vp73JUNyAKzlLtW1C0ykA-tIFVTugemL4Qgg5IJYk-s0eY4M_db22xvm0nKmMG74ZUrRU6XdORkerqyH9qtdIIpi_b/s640/D6F72764-576E-4FFA-A3DF-A8FFC8D89F03.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="412" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7K3_-AW8VompxMuQBY8BwleENcW-0K0cVl5ZdSKZP4cqgyo5MDdnowNBVsT1HfjA1lyj8iTOycfzWEsBi6iN4DXPE-vp73JUNyAKzlLtW1C0ykA-tIFVTugemL4Qgg5IJYk-s0eY4M_db22xvm0nKmMG74ZUrRU6XdORkerqyH9qtdIIpi_b/w258-h400/D6F72764-576E-4FFA-A3DF-A8FFC8D89F03.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Yet something, somewhere broke. We lost the connection and I don’t know why. Is it because most arable land here is disconnected from the owner’s home? Is it because land here is too expensive? Are we too urbanized? Too cerebral? Are Israelis searching for the Western dream of high tech for fulfilment, living in high-rise apartments? Connecting to Hashem’s natural bounty does not need a big piece of land: a small garden, a terrace or a balcony will do well.<br /></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">All I know is that this land is filled with the goodness of G-d and is yearning for us to reconnect. One interesting repercussion of this war is that farmers no longer have Thai workers to help (I also wonder why Israelis do not like to do this work so we must bring in foreign agricultural workers). I think Sri Lankans are on their way to help, but in the interim, there was a call for help which was answered by all; yeshiva students were out in the fields picking citrus fruit while middle-aged women were tending to the strawberry fields and picking ginger. And they loved it!</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Other foreigners arrived to help, including eager American cowboys wearing Stetson hats. I met Chris the Farmer, who came here from Ohio to help permaculture farms. He is not Jewish and has never been to Israel, yet here he is during the war, stopping his own work for months so he can offer a helping hand to organic farmers. This is true, brave giving.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ_zKwm72nt91FDV_qhyphenhyphenPnF7xOWMfd2k6R1OxH5ZB1TVAmuJQdANFc5nBqpdFQ62_kFw6Dmbgh3hPeVww3h-VUHCmMkRD5IthyphenhyphenojGsBuU9lQnvnI1G4K6OjhEUk_RZvMhI4NPB2p3ulvmsvLTF2hWxcX54Z5X9xUHzKWYztr-zO1DJOd8p3Z6D/s640/IMG_3522.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="472" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ_zKwm72nt91FDV_qhyphenhyphenPnF7xOWMfd2k6R1OxH5ZB1TVAmuJQdANFc5nBqpdFQ62_kFw6Dmbgh3hPeVww3h-VUHCmMkRD5IthyphenhyphenojGsBuU9lQnvnI1G4K6OjhEUk_RZvMhI4NPB2p3ulvmsvLTF2hWxcX54Z5X9xUHzKWYztr-zO1DJOd8p3Z6D/w295-h400/IMG_3522.jpg" width="295" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I weed and I wonder. There are so many Jewish laws that deal with the land, yet religious students study them on a page sitting in a building. After time, they become a thin line on paper as opposed to a living furrow of seedlings in the ground. </span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">However, Judaism is connected to nature, and there is even a birthday just for the trees. On Tu B’shvat, which we celebrated one week ago, people plant trees, others enjoy fruit, nuts and wine at a seder, while most Jews know nothing at all about the holiday.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Tu B’shvat comes at a time of cold, wet, and darkness. Leaves have shed from the deciduous trees leaving them naked, vulnerable, and barren looking. Unlike the other Jewish holidays that celebrate miracles and salvations, Tu B’shvat mysteriously celebrates a seemingly ‘dead’ tree and fruit that is not even in season.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggigmhkbkORIuqf5HcWIIZEzG68L1d-5QijmXwqXxd1m3p7MnPiUjtJV33UR1WCgYa7qdJuXIEvSbNCUergFI-Ac15_zblFhhMajFgfrvLwRCXLy2HtBsU_78icl6GOgfaGIRlaQLV1_eBptlCYnH3MBxyAr9ONm1W-m-myjQW-Rcr1UjXcqA/s640/IMG_3593.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="439" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggigmhkbkORIuqf5HcWIIZEzG68L1d-5QijmXwqXxd1m3p7MnPiUjtJV33UR1WCgYa7qdJuXIEvSbNCUergFI-Ac15_zblFhhMajFgfrvLwRCXLy2HtBsU_78icl6GOgfaGIRlaQLV1_eBptlCYnH3MBxyAr9ONm1W-m-myjQW-Rcr1UjXcqA/w275-h400/IMG_3593.jpg" width="275" /></a></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">And here is the beauty. I learned <a href="https://youtu.be/2r4ZGFTYS7c"><span class="s1">here</span></a> from Rov Daniel Katz that this is the time of year when the parched trees have received enough rain water to grow for the next year. The sap inside is rising, promoting buds, leaves, and fruit. </span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We are that tree. And especially now, during the darkness and tears of war, death, and hopelessness, we too must dig deep and connect to an inner light akin to that sap. When we eat the fruit, we must envision that future time of abundance and connection right now. And it can only come from darkness and pain, symbolic of the trees’ hibernation.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The rain is still falling as I weed and I am observing the tiny new buds forming on the branches. I pray for a future of peace and abundance and for all to connect to that inner tree. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">And I envision a time when all with have the opportunity to connect with and ‘touch’ the beautiful Land of Israel with its budding trees, tap into its potential, and its miracles, hidden and revealed.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyToHF68GrCtyXtYJOuMHnxLQXUrkJuYw1O878Rol_bAcwBccPWyWYWWewt4shVL4eLaE7aUDXUe5wJSd0YK3Hhyphenhyphenxw4i85Z_wx-SMECkwTQGGV3FYVI71QQuShrIhRyAQbDSYZt_3FzI2U-CwKIrmpbNvaZQt1Y1navOJywAtq3Iderc0Qfjua/s640/IMG_2748.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyToHF68GrCtyXtYJOuMHnxLQXUrkJuYw1O878Rol_bAcwBccPWyWYWWewt4shVL4eLaE7aUDXUe5wJSd0YK3Hhyphenhyphenxw4i85Z_wx-SMECkwTQGGV3FYVI71QQuShrIhRyAQbDSYZt_3FzI2U-CwKIrmpbNvaZQt1Y1navOJywAtq3Iderc0Qfjua/w480-h640/IMG_2748.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-59680448570074619492023-12-22T06:55:00.003-05:002023-12-22T07:05:47.977-05:00Celebrating in Darkness<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2X1g0W_FTjteYXfbkAmCmG7BORYMrX3bhaNHW7Sb6PpTX23hg3nYvUvZ2FCaEiTefde-wYGdV-xe48PEezHIBGNhn4DblcyGL52c4OpnkTVcYgIEd7qvsEDf1RxZyYblNb8P4p-uCECQeVSsVK-xJs9Pj8HAyWxibIC_9fPjUhIPiUqpB9uG/s640/IMG_3273.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="619" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2X1g0W_FTjteYXfbkAmCmG7BORYMrX3bhaNHW7Sb6PpTX23hg3nYvUvZ2FCaEiTefde-wYGdV-xe48PEezHIBGNhn4DblcyGL52c4OpnkTVcYgIEd7qvsEDf1RxZyYblNb8P4p-uCECQeVSsVK-xJs9Pj8HAyWxibIC_9fPjUhIPiUqpB9uG/w621-h640/IMG_3273.jpg" width="621" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The vice tightens. This long war feels endless while the hatred of Israel and Jews around the world deepens. I stopped watching the news as my cup has overflowed with tragedy and sorrow. I just can’t take any more devastation and brokenness.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></p><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">At first, I felt it was my obligation to know. But how much sadness can I hold inside? It has been six days since I have read a news update, yet I still know the situation is grim. I understand that Israel has become a pawn in the upcoming Democratic elections and is a pawn of Iran who nefariously glides its pieces around this fiery board in a game of death.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3HoNhz-17INS9txxoLpUw_Zgw7Ioq6MNw-8JWLkYl0i6fPCrML8ZfKV3j7JOqpqzrp8rhVBs5qCnTdGJVyWTgJBkZeBMhmxpy5gpFpJzXdjOQlFwkyKsgr2AJ66aD0Xt_jI_kggg8lt1-PcwlPPRbrH2Os18NF7gqFxDMPxO13Ilv1UAqpsV/s640/IMG_2759.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3HoNhz-17INS9txxoLpUw_Zgw7Ioq6MNw-8JWLkYl0i6fPCrML8ZfKV3j7JOqpqzrp8rhVBs5qCnTdGJVyWTgJBkZeBMhmxpy5gpFpJzXdjOQlFwkyKsgr2AJ66aD0Xt_jI_kggg8lt1-PcwlPPRbrH2Os18NF7gqFxDMPxO13Ilv1UAqpsV/s320/IMG_2759.jpg" width="267" /></a></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Living in the north, I also know this war is getting hotter, closer, testier. Despite grim and forboding news, I insist on being outside. I plant kale, lettuce, and garlic out in the sunshine while above, groups of cranes fly over en route to Ethiopia. During this quiet and focused time, I feel like I have no worries in the world.</span></p><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">On Wednesdays, we are up with the sun harvesting, then off to market in a car packed with cartons of fresh organic veggies bursting with antioxidants and flavor: the perfume and taste of Eden. This is my oxygen, my energy, and my hope.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBW62wz2aOEjZ7eBPtiyeWFl9q9xHTuBE5EUNg6ebM8n5Nn5UqoQwTcZadEr3V9PU00U1ig4IFexK66wVXGvH4MYyCfS8T8ISfUV6GsD_rx0gJZRQb80HHgv-modczvECs_ZoRQrYMxmAk9rYGJRDHcHyTxpfEkd7dxKvMExsKGUBzud6Idww7/s414/IMG_3316.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="414" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBW62wz2aOEjZ7eBPtiyeWFl9q9xHTuBE5EUNg6ebM8n5Nn5UqoQwTcZadEr3V9PU00U1ig4IFexK66wVXGvH4MYyCfS8T8ISfUV6GsD_rx0gJZRQb80HHgv-modczvECs_ZoRQrYMxmAk9rYGJRDHcHyTxpfEkd7dxKvMExsKGUBzud6Idww7/w400-h386/IMG_3316.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This month, we also greeted hope in a new and surprising way - the night before Chanukah, with smiles, happy tears, and song, we danced our son to the chuppah. It was beautiful to see a young couple building a new Jewish home in Israel and was just what we all so desperately needed. He and his bride were engaged and married within 27 days. Although some couples are postponing weddings due to the war, many more are rushing to tie the knot.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4rX33YAkDhSzGHQUL6yWIZ5MySNCE-CZmLVh73ZiyjUJ0u5pHY7uRSUmvifMEZFFlSa5X0haOPIuD3kYfFMbM9EHeP7nbtSMrPRCbBrTueI41frUBd4H5FUMbEFblscKiIFpmPk9BjvlGIphcsCt6ED4R6rIyfX6Z2Mp84f5tz4ubm-toOnY/s487/IMG_3315.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="487" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4rX33YAkDhSzGHQUL6yWIZ5MySNCE-CZmLVh73ZiyjUJ0u5pHY7uRSUmvifMEZFFlSa5X0haOPIuD3kYfFMbM9EHeP7nbtSMrPRCbBrTueI41frUBd4H5FUMbEFblscKiIFpmPk9BjvlGIphcsCt6ED4R6rIyfX6Z2Mp84f5tz4ubm-toOnY/s320/IMG_3315.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">They pulled off a beautiful wedding with over 250 people in no time at all. It was truly uplifting to celebrate in a time of darkness and everyone who came was euphoric. </span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Some friends declined the invite, saying they were not in the right place to celebrate, but as the wedding drew nearer, I understood that in spite of our difficulties, we must celebrate life, every ounce of it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I will not take any celebration for granted and when there is so little of it around, I will embrace it.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A rabbi came under the chuppah to sing a prayer for the safety of the hostages and soldiers. Those words emerged from a place deep in his heart and penetrated every person attending. There was not a dry eye in the place.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></p><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjXbIzkhDPfMTWVtp1s0B8BCh12idZ2pcs9R0ogOPWLTO7t6HiTalF-fAPU_lwOI_Is0iL5JNQYWMeLMXDly8Ndy2WUJYmy_ptI_bsykH-MRLrp6vmhfo2o_UCpvGXzjeB48szawNL784V2INneA05uAEUA74CCQ-PRxXd6uFUlCe6qmpD1z6/s640/IMG_3117.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjXbIzkhDPfMTWVtp1s0B8BCh12idZ2pcs9R0ogOPWLTO7t6HiTalF-fAPU_lwOI_Is0iL5JNQYWMeLMXDly8Ndy2WUJYmy_ptI_bsykH-MRLrp6vmhfo2o_UCpvGXzjeB48szawNL784V2INneA05uAEUA74CCQ-PRxXd6uFUlCe6qmpD1z6/w320-h240/IMG_3117.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Homemade gingerbread reads 'United we will win.'</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Three weeks post wedding, I am honestly finding it hard to keep going day in, day out. Our nation cries and mourns its precious losses daily with funerals and shiva calls, newborn orphans, and young widows.</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">They talk about this going on until Pesach and they talk about another war front opening in the summer.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I do not know what will be and have zero vision for a peaceful end. I look at this unknowing as a test that forces me to reach inside deeper and deeper in a search for strength, love, and compassion.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNA6EVy8AhpwFGOHAEMx-KJQid5JFjdiTXqtl6tjMISi4xJVzwc8f0xeBrRfNf6Wko25zAi9GBEgBXE4iLW5E_TckhY40OWCcd_sgTFKH-S8tV8cuwW_y5pZSPqPOOTCD1Hncu27U30f-A7g2yCx-gomw_70yw-gm5rLWcjWkoCOi8pf0b0fy/s640/IMG_3256.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="640" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNA6EVy8AhpwFGOHAEMx-KJQid5JFjdiTXqtl6tjMISi4xJVzwc8f0xeBrRfNf6Wko25zAi9GBEgBXE4iLW5E_TckhY40OWCcd_sgTFKH-S8tV8cuwW_y5pZSPqPOOTCD1Hncu27U30f-A7g2yCx-gomw_70yw-gm5rLWcjWkoCOi8pf0b0fy/w640-h600/IMG_3256.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></p></div></div>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-49410328226590888972023-11-29T10:58:00.000-05:002023-11-29T10:58:01.093-05:00War Day 54 and Life Still Surreal<p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZr6zh6zBHy5SH99kIIoFLXDKcQsH9Utkv6uPzmhONrkOMAStz-SlNJan8RNs_yK43rKsxvE1gUIamCZbZlsGQNyCp-I6dekZnYJD89e3qOsSyH12ieKIFi8YdJR-av5F7GrbSXADWo3bY3f1v6kzuXu9t3UuHr-hlRP1xe70g_6MPg7HqiOno/s640/IMG_2979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="640" height="568" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZr6zh6zBHy5SH99kIIoFLXDKcQsH9Utkv6uPzmhONrkOMAStz-SlNJan8RNs_yK43rKsxvE1gUIamCZbZlsGQNyCp-I6dekZnYJD89e3qOsSyH12ieKIFi8YdJR-av5F7GrbSXADWo3bY3f1v6kzuXu9t3UuHr-hlRP1xe70g_6MPg7HqiOno/w640-h568/IMG_2979.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">November is normally my favorite month in Israel. It is a time of cooling, of nourishing showers accompanied by rainbows crowning sparkling skies. And finally, tiny green newborn growth pokes up beside its parched yellow elders.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">In contrast, November was my cruelest month in Canada with its retinue </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">of dead fallen leaves, killer frost, and dreary skies.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEDDesAmfYDuo2JNIxd5EKeoGDBgSWnzBuFTRLl-iWslhnG6xxvYCThGtCIXFLXgi0TLxZEeSApQc_Wc8rrZ50oX3eK0Z64yf1JRPA4_va1_C6GKnIS7YuN1qhVWjpBaKhsVx3X8bBP7VJ1rYuBR34armggKvMiFAHTcreqMEMRgvnFPWqjINp/s640/C860D405-0DF2-4167-A68C-F45438D35EF5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="549" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEDDesAmfYDuo2JNIxd5EKeoGDBgSWnzBuFTRLl-iWslhnG6xxvYCThGtCIXFLXgi0TLxZEeSApQc_Wc8rrZ50oX3eK0Z64yf1JRPA4_va1_C6GKnIS7YuN1qhVWjpBaKhsVx3X8bBP7VJ1rYuBR34armggKvMiFAHTcreqMEMRgvnFPWqjINp/w344-h400/C860D405-0DF2-4167-A68C-F45438D35EF5.jpg" width="344" /></a></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">To fully appreciate this new growth and transformation, I am usually outside in the garden most days. November is the month to plant bulbs, spread spring wild flower seeds, and plant winter veggies. I plant and I weed, I weed and I plant.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> And I harvest!</span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I still hear the screeching jets overhead and often panic when I hear a drone close by at night. Is this ours? Why is it so close to our houses? My imagination swirls until sleep finally comes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The war continues. There is now an extension to the ceasefire to facilitate further hostage exchanges. Calling this a ‘prisoner exchange’ somehow equalizes the two sides. How can one equate three Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are attempted murderers to one Israeli civilian who was sleeping in the supposed safety of their own bed?</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Such is the insanity of this world. And the more it shows its true colors, especially internationally with the anti-semitic gloves torn off, the more gratitude I have to be living here in Israel. This is the only home Jews have, and although we were politically comatose with a paralyzed army on October 7, we are now wide awake.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">With images of those kidnapped children and brutally murdered civilians in their hearts and minds, our soldiers have been so strong and motivated. We just need our weak government to let them fully destroy the evil.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV48uzcwGACRmD8wf9vgo-tV7mTyt6QhqsI3OnDucAKtb5kwZUUwEJNUcha9UxTwzBurUjszy6T8M2Gi4gtwWl66opcnpgLyF9AgjVfFoaZzSBAYC30ChcIRFjLTM1gTgg0k6p8epWwjzVzaXLsZfSHnJoQz0oirekXYwHiii9rJSQ7gUQI_Ws/s640/IMG_2793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="292" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV48uzcwGACRmD8wf9vgo-tV7mTyt6QhqsI3OnDucAKtb5kwZUUwEJNUcha9UxTwzBurUjszy6T8M2Gi4gtwWl66opcnpgLyF9AgjVfFoaZzSBAYC30ChcIRFjLTM1gTgg0k6p8epWwjzVzaXLsZfSHnJoQz0oirekXYwHiii9rJSQ7gUQI_Ws/w183-h400/IMG_2793.jpg" width="183" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My sweet son-in-law, who is an awesome husband, father, and physiotherapist, is still in the army, far away from his loving and comfortable home. He sleeps in a tent that is flooded in the rain and freezes during cold nights. He eats army food, sleeps little, and misses his Shabbats at home so, so much. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">My daughter tries her best to hold it together at home and at work, and the children see their Abba each night as he stands outside in uniform in the dark speaking on a video call. Yet duty calls.</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Today is Day 54 and life still feels surreal. My emotions sway as the events change; hope, despair, hope, anger, hope, ineptitude. Fear, fear, fear. It is emotionally exhausting. In the midst of this chaos, my son Shaya became engaged to Tzofia, to the surprise of us all.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">They are so happy together; it is a breath of fresh air to see a young couple getting married and starting a new Jewish home in Israel. They are not waiting and want the wedding right away. The hall is booked and invitations are out.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">We do not know what the situation in the north will be, but will go ahead and pray for the best.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPzgKroggp-ApjHHt7Rd5aaxzpDXAP7ItFdNpJu71x1k7U2bWAeZyWHPTg3BHRWX2aqDeZGbVOVjWa-wA0DNZlZ2lseFjkls3ddIU0NYb-u4v2Ht1L1FyhFExQHLSSkHhD7UTQzKfUGuIGkLnb4blw-4mGpA4v02_TZvRetYRGmb3Ge2olBzf7/s640/IMG_2958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="487" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPzgKroggp-ApjHHt7Rd5aaxzpDXAP7ItFdNpJu71x1k7U2bWAeZyWHPTg3BHRWX2aqDeZGbVOVjWa-wA0DNZlZ2lseFjkls3ddIU0NYb-u4v2Ht1L1FyhFExQHLSSkHhD7UTQzKfUGuIGkLnb4blw-4mGpA4v02_TZvRetYRGmb3Ge2olBzf7/s320/IMG_2958.jpg" width="244" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Women are also giving birth as life must go on. Many are naming their babies Be’eri and Oz after the kibbutzim where people were massacred. This is bitter sweet. And now, hostages and their families are being reunited. We read their stories, cry with joy, and try to feel that dark pain. But the living nightmares expereinced both by families and their kidnapped loved ones is truly unfathomable.</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NW9PYIx-s9wvP1UPttduYr7AUI25Asy-wudGzkDkfZAtUeN_rCdFbQw102BXZ2qound-JYaBAudKq75LZ2QNmq0pYznCaFclkRUlw-lnOUk2EmFz0-5mKMCYoQh65I4E5oh2jLSwhyphenhyphen_h8SOTUMbgA9uJTUCoUdEq3BshT07Ip59WbHxvbHLd/s640/IMG_2991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="485" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NW9PYIx-s9wvP1UPttduYr7AUI25Asy-wudGzkDkfZAtUeN_rCdFbQw102BXZ2qound-JYaBAudKq75LZ2QNmq0pYznCaFclkRUlw-lnOUk2EmFz0-5mKMCYoQh65I4E5oh2jLSwhyphenhyphen_h8SOTUMbgA9uJTUCoUdEq3BshT07Ip59WbHxvbHLd/s320/IMG_2991.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">As this surreal and often scary life goes on, we have no way of knowing what will happen next. I truly believe our destiny is in Hashem’s hands. </span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We must do our very best on a micro scale; think positively, see and appreciate tiny and huge miracles, pray - and most importantly, celebrate happy life events when they happen.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-7080718654157581802023-11-12T00:37:00.001-05:002023-11-12T01:12:43.551-05:00Planting For Hope<p><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnE2xsBHa8LH86D-CthKD8Cxk48i9MQVHZwD51hP51VY-jqCQxREA9LkwnolJkixnumEdTIDP0938M7CIjosXukuRRDMv_2Ye6q6HaeXgZTVr9zMpAula5Eihue0iKaBi1iy1r1Q-xWICQLVnX_YySO_5sVp_hj3lfR300KvPLilucUciJ-OX/s640/IMG_2738%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnE2xsBHa8LH86D-CthKD8Cxk48i9MQVHZwD51hP51VY-jqCQxREA9LkwnolJkixnumEdTIDP0938M7CIjosXukuRRDMv_2Ye6q6HaeXgZTVr9zMpAula5Eihue0iKaBi1iy1r1Q-xWICQLVnX_YySO_5sVp_hj3lfR300KvPLilucUciJ-OX/w640-h424/IMG_2738%20(1).jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />Here in Israel, life hangs on a thread. Everything that is deemed normal or routine has come to a standstill. Each morning, feeling grateful after a night’s sleep in a bed and not in a bomb shelter, I awaken to a reality of unknown, untouchable fear. When I am asleep (unless I am woken up by fighter jets ripping right above my roof) I am blissfully unaware. Yet, as soon as I wake up and touch my feet to the floor, that existential dread returns.</span><p></p><div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Everyone person and living thing here is affected. There is brutality, death, mourning, and PTSD. I recently read that 27 percent of Israeli children are traumatized by these events.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">When the first siren went off here (which turned out to be a false alarm), my grandchildren were happily playing with toys in the bath tub. With only 30 seconds to spare, my daughters scooped them out and rushed them down to a safe space. To this day, every time my four-year-old grandson walks towards the bathroom, he asks to be picked up. And each time he sits in the tub, he talks about the siren and obsesses with death.</span></div><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEI4p1lGrTFG8EdNL2fbObc7ZwzQME8HMS-6mdSJzt55VudUQ_WkOgo0WJYLS0R7mnW0NkvwIUAIA9FEBj4ksztFYCUVjCfE7m1fsA9F7wnQ9pw_UYKeIESrQyPIALbY8MjHixCZAWIXbr8PqxlMj3783Koy0M56QdFnXluh2ETZP44QK6E4Ey/s640/IMG_2693%20(2).jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="640" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEI4p1lGrTFG8EdNL2fbObc7ZwzQME8HMS-6mdSJzt55VudUQ_WkOgo0WJYLS0R7mnW0NkvwIUAIA9FEBj4ksztFYCUVjCfE7m1fsA9F7wnQ9pw_UYKeIESrQyPIALbY8MjHixCZAWIXbr8PqxlMj3783Koy0M56QdFnXluh2ETZP44QK6E4Ey/w400-h254/IMG_2693%20(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Planting coriander seeds</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Life, however, must go on and we try to make a routine out of the unknown. Stores and malls are open yet understaffed as so many people have been drafted into the army. Schools have recently been opened. Universities, which were to open for the new school year right after Simchat Torah, are closed; most of the students and many professors have been drafted into the military.</span><p></p><div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">As for toddlers, the ganim were closed as there was no way a teacher could get small children into a safe room in the designated time – often 30 seconds. As time went on, they came up with ways to do half days just so the toddlers could get out of the house, see friends and simply be kids. Now the ganim are back full time, except they must instruct the children about how and where to run to safety when the siren goes off. When my grandson last came over, his favorite topic was the ‘mamad,’ the safe room.</span></div><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4lsqLWuWcUDNqBoebNN5YNRGRu875-RB4epIDWoghFErmbhTjhCJweU9jFS1ivDQwwfps0JrbyGp2TKqxLpe2h8k6pCb93G9YlcCaE8Pu4rPEIPvbYz4zrBkp-3HfgNNJ3P65mB4iY5ejrsrZmK0hrZMFY5rO_a6M-mE5RS9HeC4Fl29enNat/s640/IMG_2731.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="547" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4lsqLWuWcUDNqBoebNN5YNRGRu875-RB4epIDWoghFErmbhTjhCJweU9jFS1ivDQwwfps0JrbyGp2TKqxLpe2h8k6pCb93G9YlcCaE8Pu4rPEIPvbYz4zrBkp-3HfgNNJ3P65mB4iY5ejrsrZmK0hrZMFY5rO_a6M-mE5RS9HeC4Fl29enNat/s320/IMG_2731.jpg" width="274" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Seeking routine, we started up our weekly organic vegetable market in Tzfat. People are lured in by the sweet smell of basil, happy to see the freshly picked produce and share their personal war stories.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Each Israeli feels the stress in their own way. My daughter’s husband has been drafted and she has been on her own with her two little boys for five weeks now. At first she could not got work as there was no school for the small children. Her husband, a physiotherapist, is in the army. His first task is serving the country while his regular job is empty; many hospitals operate on a skeletal staff. Across the spectrum, there are gaps in the system with no workers. Being in tourism, our own business has been shut down for well over a month.</span></div><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The effects of war reach beyond artillery, wounded, and hospitals. They also touch the sky and the ground. It is now the peak season for the migration of birds. Some 500 million birds fly through Israel in the fall and spring, resting in the Hula Valley lake before continuing on.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Right now, the cranes are flying over, arriving from Russia en route to Ethiopia.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The crane migration is a magnificent sight to behold and to hear. Traveling in family groups, many fly right over our house. We hear fluttering of great wings and the echoing honk, when they are above, buffeting on the wind. They fly over day and night – and so do the fighter jets. There is now a hotline set up to report these migrations in case there is interference with the jets.</span></div><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">As for the ground, this is also planting season for the winter crops. Some 80 percent of Israel’s vegetables are grown in farms outside of Gaza. Now it is too dangerous to tend to them and even if people were able to access the fields, there are no farm workers. Most young men have been drafted.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">There are pleas from farmers’ wives asking for help. These seedlings need water, planting, and care. If this is not attended to, food will have to be imported, farms will fail, and more people will go hungry.</span></div><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I received a list from just one company asking for places to grow their seedlings and it is staggering; over 300,000 lettuce seedlings in various varieties, 230,000 cabbage, 24,000 zuchinni, and the list goes on.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It feels like that COVID nightmare all over again. Limited school, no work, and fearful news everywhere - on the TV, radio, whats app, and on the street. Evil lurks outside in the form of a heinous enemy and not a virus. Instead of lining up for injections, people are filling in firearms applications, hoping bullets may offer protection if need be.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It is ironic that in this part of the world, the average citizen is unable by law to protect himself, while his surrounding enemies, both inside and outside the borders, are flush with guns.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9hlNOOLNm6kQN9YZ6C2IO6gDXJx6rWYSWhneu79Oe0lDU5PitCnYpSsYa3JdWbdxiDgKSN5mUi7nMgQJIqAhjjZIpzhFtx8s2emHAQ5VSAP-Am45r5z48QDX_ycy_VhFg3olpcspa7H3EiBBvFktNgtPhSBIazGUs4A0FEisfuv9-C2vLMMZl/s640/IMG_2598.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="640" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9hlNOOLNm6kQN9YZ6C2IO6gDXJx6rWYSWhneu79Oe0lDU5PitCnYpSsYa3JdWbdxiDgKSN5mUi7nMgQJIqAhjjZIpzhFtx8s2emHAQ5VSAP-Am45r5z48QDX_ycy_VhFg3olpcspa7H3EiBBvFktNgtPhSBIazGUs4A0FEisfuv9-C2vLMMZl/w400-h306/IMG_2598.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Yet this is not about comparing the number of arms. It is about staying strong and rebuilding a connection to G-d and to others. It is about thinking positively and working on a vision for a better world of light, peace, and love. And yes, this is hard work, but the Israelis and many people around the world who understand this battle are offering their help and prayers.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The morale here is high. Soldiers are determined to crush the terror infrastructure and the civilians are doing their best to support them. My husband has switched from buying soldiers equipment to making them barbecues. Farmers are flying in from abroad to help and some yeshiva students have switched their focus from Torah books to working the land. Everyone is united with iron strength.</span></div><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">A garden nursery here is selling packages of mixed wildflower seeds. It contains seven varieties of seeds, each one in memory of a settlement that was destroyed by Hamas. They are sending money from profits to help the survivors rebuild lives.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">As for me and my little farm in the north, I continue planting.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I will soon sow these special wildflower seeds all over my garden. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Come spring, when these flowers poke up and unfurl their petals, I pray Israel will have returned to a time of security and peace.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">And when these colorful flowers bloom in gardens across the country, many will be remembering the many special lives that were lost. </span></span></div><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuq_TwfTU1hX5Fx0ui4k6V4YYNrmNJrJ-Hvh9YW7a0QqEphg-8Ufd3AtQzXAorVvXxg_kDfaxtRXj70a1ZC7qy9tzis-T7IuassiPNa0JmAi3fSXZFgX6BmEqkJRcMvUJsLX7QyNVsYB2zkGHXM9Om0Bey2SIZ5iZARwv1gp7GQwfj36VkRjkf/s640/IMG_2726.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuq_TwfTU1hX5Fx0ui4k6V4YYNrmNJrJ-Hvh9YW7a0QqEphg-8Ufd3AtQzXAorVvXxg_kDfaxtRXj70a1ZC7qy9tzis-T7IuassiPNa0JmAi3fSXZFgX6BmEqkJRcMvUJsLX7QyNVsYB2zkGHXM9Om0Bey2SIZ5iZARwv1gp7GQwfj36VkRjkf/w640-h480/IMG_2726.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span><p></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-57661136478287385732023-10-15T09:48:00.001-05:002023-10-15T09:48:50.990-05:00Garden Therapy<p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoMTO6RAuv3eoYxVKsaVYhvD_4Zs-SB4e_yKZeLd5hXFqYo7CQXCC4mZinQDAI-jfdu3-4MbV6ZXdpLFDkOZwsWDI8monuNcj5JYyY6Nhs2iJ5jhs2jqBfC42gwho6EYR3qNPIkbyb8_fbx3FA_4XXhSgoW-_f4uoyq7NepRJhyphenhyphenqD_OAZ86X2/s944/Seedling.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="944" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoMTO6RAuv3eoYxVKsaVYhvD_4Zs-SB4e_yKZeLd5hXFqYo7CQXCC4mZinQDAI-jfdu3-4MbV6ZXdpLFDkOZwsWDI8monuNcj5JYyY6Nhs2iJ5jhs2jqBfC42gwho6EYR3qNPIkbyb8_fbx3FA_4XXhSgoW-_f4uoyq7NepRJhyphenhyphenqD_OAZ86X2/w400-h373/Seedling.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Dawn breaks. Birds sing their morning praise and crickets keep a steady song. The fall air is crisp like fresh mint, offering welcome relief from a blazing hot summer. Yet fighter jets fly non-stop overhead, a constant rumble above.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">It has been a week since the massacre of my people, an atrocity the Jewish people have not experienced since the Holocaust. However, this time, it happened to Jews in their own homeland; they were butchered while sleeping in their own beds, captured while preparing festive meals for beloved family in their own kitchens, pleading for mercy while their children were mutilated in front of them.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">And so the butchers systematically went from one house to the next, killing mercilessly, pulling their captives by the hair, continuing their bloodbath for nine hours until the Israeli army finally arrived.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Then they turned their violent efforts on our soldiers, brave young men who had no idea what had happened to their brothers and sisters. They killed many Israeli soldiers, including two heroes, sons of family friends. The bloodbath continued with rockets on the civilian population as the army jumped into action, recruiting thousands of soldiers and reservists.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">One week later, the Arabs are rioting in Judea and Samaria, while Hezbollah infiltrates the northern border with Lebanon. To the east, Palestinians on the Jordanian side are trying to climb the fence.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This is an existential nightmare. Everyone I know has lost someone dear. They kidnapped the wife and two children of our next door neighbor’s close friend. On Friday, my son was at the shiva of his rabbi’s brother, a high-ranking officer who was killed in battle. Another neighbor’s nephew was killed while fighting for our safety. We are hoping to travel to Raa’nana today to pay a shiva call to friends who lost their beautiful son. No words.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">More horrific details are released daily, revealing inhumanity. I would not even call these terrorists subhuman as this word incorporates “human.” Animals don’t even treat their enemies this way. It is pure evil. And this is how I understand that it is a fight of good over evil. Those who side with the perpetrators are themselves voting with evil.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It looks like this battle will encompass the world. Iran, whose dirty hands are all over this, is now saying it will intervene if Israel enters Gaza. Meanwhile, the US is placing another battle ship on the coast. Is this it? The prophesied Gog and Magog?</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">As Amir says, we have front row seats and he is right. As some Israelis pour out of the country like war refugees, others fly in to fight.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We hunker down. As we do not have a bomb shelter within a 30-second run (yes, we have 30 seconds to run from safety when a rocket is, G-d forbid , launched from the north), we made an improvised safe room with water, mattresses, chairs, and a kettle.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">There is a box by the front door with necessities like instant coffee, a change of clothes and random things like apples, pretzels, diaper wipes and a bucket. So far (aside from one terrifying siren with reports that Hezbollah terrorists were flying above in ultralight planes and had overtaken the nearby gas station), it has been quiet in our neck of the woods. I am aware the situation in the north could change in a heartbeat and it is already happening.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The strangest things keep me calm - like an orderly kitchen, folding laundry, and sweeping the floors. Every time I unload the dishwasher, I wonder if this is it, the last time I put away my cutlery.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Such thoughts offer me an appreciation for how good and blessed my life has been.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A long, hot shower I cannot have; I am always conscious that a siren could go off when I am covered in suds, knowing I have just 30 seconds to scramble and get out. Every time a child leaves the house, I say ‘I love you’ and mean it deeply. The list goes on, turning into a quirky prayer of gratitude whispered every second of the day.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My greatest solace and therapy is my garden. I spend hours outside planting new seedlings and weeding with veracity as if I am uprooting an enemy, clearing my tiny piece of land of invaders and danger. I planted lettuce, mizuna, beet leaves, celery, tat soi, and parsley.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I am preparing a new bed for cactus and succulents, filling wheel barrow loads of earth from the back, dumping it, then spreading is gently and evenly with my hands, appreciating the feel of the life-affirming soil. I made a raised bed for strawberries and then gently planted ten, patting the earth around them so they are snug.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We now have a seed table complete with overhead misters. I took out seed containers, made a soil mix, then seeded trays of winter crops, one seed at a time. It was a type of meditation focused on bringing life, sustainability, and a nourishing future. I seeded Chinese kale, coriander, broccoli, Ethiopian kale, scarlet kale, rocket, garden peas, fragrant peas, snow peas, red beets, yellow beets, colored carrots, Turkish spinach, red Swiss chard, Japanese mustard, and black radish.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">And two days later, the rocket (the vegetable version, not the weapon), Chinese kale, and peas sprouted, a sweet and gentle affirmation that yes, there is a tomorrow. It is a sign that life continues despite the stress, onerous threat and intense difficulties. We must do, we must trust, and we must pray.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I am now in the car with Amir and Shaya looking for equipment for soldiers. Rockets are flying in the north and the south, while rain is pelting across the country, our first downpour since March. The shelves of many outdoor stores are empty but we found some important items, filling our car with woollen socks, long underwear, shirts, ponchos, rain pants, tents, and battery packs.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYaC9KAO1mcctHapLdAlcrpXJjh9i-6Wlr8s5Q7hq6LcBfUSGUE9ALmQ2fLxet8hyphenhyphenks2kPIG7ZU9kd0N9c5pr0sKf1jUE-mTfKjT-jObTok1xDm4UomS-nJwkKkuPn99rmflTn4xyV8gOsC2g1QVSEYA7v7qiUaJqvKRFk45Le3xQmzW-OZG8X/s640/IMG_2511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="640" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYaC9KAO1mcctHapLdAlcrpXJjh9i-6Wlr8s5Q7hq6LcBfUSGUE9ALmQ2fLxet8hyphenhyphenks2kPIG7ZU9kd0N9c5pr0sKf1jUE-mTfKjT-jObTok1xDm4UomS-nJwkKkuPn99rmflTn4xyV8gOsC2g1QVSEYA7v7qiUaJqvKRFk45Le3xQmzW-OZG8X/w400-h395/IMG_2511.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">And so we go on, like those seedlings finding the strength to poke their head through the earth, then reach up to the skies for rain and sun, their nourishment. </span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We are also doing what we can on the ground, while beseeching G-d above for a speedy end to this and a return to peace, goodness,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and humanity.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-33431832560699130462023-09-27T05:52:00.000-05:002023-09-27T05:52:19.188-05:00 Weed Whacking<p><span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kooGqStEAsU1JteGqjCauv8dzO1_20dniGjkhwS68Fioml7Rzu7NVinmpbY1dNu860QCf4iBtGEgldYMo8MifP-NKGt7LNZWYns6H35vLjRiu-AnaZcBGPKTlkV9rYnvpEylDu_hefnKo8nx40Dw-An0aMeIb4eO2kM0-GkFJQMAi6g98Mk8/s640/IMG_2241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="568" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kooGqStEAsU1JteGqjCauv8dzO1_20dniGjkhwS68Fioml7Rzu7NVinmpbY1dNu860QCf4iBtGEgldYMo8MifP-NKGt7LNZWYns6H35vLjRiu-AnaZcBGPKTlkV9rYnvpEylDu_hefnKo8nx40Dw-An0aMeIb4eO2kM0-GkFJQMAi6g98Mk8/w568-h640/IMG_2241.jpg" width="568" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Come September, the Israeli landscape is parched, crunchy, yellowed, and prickly. It is as if nature is spent and experiencing symptoms of advanced old age; plants are skeletal, withered, grey, their stems fractured bones. They are exhausted, save for seeds that many will spread to ensure a future generation. For the next big event in this circle of life will be rain. And come Sukkot, we will be praying for it.</span></p><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">As a farmer (with my micro plot, can I call myself that?), I am deeply aware of this cycle and also of those prickly yellow weeds. And as I am an inattentive gardener, they have easily found a foothold and invaded my garden. They are predator and I am prey.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I saw them start life as tiny seedlings popping out of the ground and shrugged my shoulders, ignoring them unaware of their innate power. Now, some of them are taller than me and others have deep tap roots that must lead to China.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It is not surprising that the weeds here as so invasive, sharp, rough, and hostile; this is, of course, the Middle East. Consider the soft mosses and alpine flowers of Switzerland, or the dreaded fluffy dandelions of North America - child’s play compared to their Israeli counterparts! In fact, some invasive plants here are not shriveled up but are fully alive and doing well, happily living off pure sunshine and my compost and mulch.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXu8zoudiQidET2G_-w7SE5lXRy_Uy39dWYxA_rZCjcSN-vEt20UxT_SfSXTK6FW9fqPeIxVXPLYdEj0q77n4M6aCYGnZLJdM4pZpSsVJpQz1iWTsw8RzTgcZgNM0Fh1BNmHHemDOwAM4TFTYMsHPC4Z7tph2sQixVTeHPZ53xzmTPRoCv2PEl/s640/IMG_2120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="483" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXu8zoudiQidET2G_-w7SE5lXRy_Uy39dWYxA_rZCjcSN-vEt20UxT_SfSXTK6FW9fqPeIxVXPLYdEj0q77n4M6aCYGnZLJdM4pZpSsVJpQz1iWTsw8RzTgcZgNM0Fh1BNmHHemDOwAM4TFTYMsHPC4Z7tph2sQixVTeHPZ53xzmTPRoCv2PEl/w303-h400/IMG_2120.jpg" width="303" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">There is Syrian mesquite, or ‘<i>yanboot</i>,’ as they call it in Hebrew. The golden hills and mountains are now dotted in green Syrian mesquite or <i>Prosopsis farcta</i>. It looks pretty, but on a closer look, it has thorns everywhere, right down to the base. Once it has a foothold, one would need armor to try to pull it out, plus lots of force.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I researched this plant and to my horror learned that it is actually an underground tree that reaches a depth of 20 meters below, meaning the ‘little’ green thorns coming up are its branches and leaves.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>These leaves can spread across a kilometer, with each prickly baby belonging to the same mother mesquite. Before you blink, the babies are bushes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This yanboot is everywhere I look in my garden. I learned in permaculture that when you weed or trim back the garden, you should chop and drop, leaving the plant to decompose on the ground. Not so with yanboot. After it has been pulled out and dies, it turns reddish brown and is still as prickly as ever, so you basically need armor to pick it up. And if you touch it while wearing a sandal or flip flop, it will really hurt. Believe me, I know; a stroll through the garden is accompanied by the word ‘ouch.’</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">We had to buy heavy duty gloves that look ideal for trekking up Everest and when I am wearing these, I feel like I can conquer a young yanboot or two. As for the large ones, I wear the gloves and clip them at the base, making peace with the fact that they are there for good, part of an underground tree that surely starts in China. Yes, by cutting it back, I am simply fortifying it but at least I can’t see it until it rears its prickly head again.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnn_qUuRDZX8y-IZykSq8kv-iPzSec-EAKjFT-WXWt_jW5cbbHm1DIvkTN9OrG2v6vRh1pjZq8BU8tGFXUlnJqj-rbgrwSf3WuEmeWdE__uGn_hmlhzgteAsSBAfwP1iEAwqNruFOBhMOZJYaKC44cHkgRshjAk9x1d8JuJ52p7ft_kzVzAmyn/s640/IMG_1911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="598" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnn_qUuRDZX8y-IZykSq8kv-iPzSec-EAKjFT-WXWt_jW5cbbHm1DIvkTN9OrG2v6vRh1pjZq8BU8tGFXUlnJqj-rbgrwSf3WuEmeWdE__uGn_hmlhzgteAsSBAfwP1iEAwqNruFOBhMOZJYaKC44cHkgRshjAk9x1d8JuJ52p7ft_kzVzAmyn/w374-h400/IMG_1911.jpg" width="374" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">My other archenemy these days is the squirting cucumber or <i>Ecballium elaterium</i>. This plant is alive and well in my garden despite the heat and drought. When it first popped up with its greyish-green downy leaves, I thought it was pretty and left it to grow, enjoying its yellow flowers. But then it grew invaded my zucchini, and my carrots and my tomatoes. That was the signal that it had to go. I took out my shears and cut.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br /></span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">With great force, a benign little ‘cucumber’ shot out a smelly, liquid mass of seed right into my eyes. I felt like I was in a scene from a horror movie. “Arghhhh,” I screamed, wiping my face. It happened again and again, and it burned a bit as well as stank.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsMQUTnv7hqF2XyFjQ0Kr7OERpAM9533gm5lq7_QwUg9O2oTEu6Dhd4Ykxr2FpigvFkz-pBcPC0kybFfPH3NBq-6QFK9SQD5XKCWPLnNAKJO_UCxIrmxVoK_kgN2TecPIgq-jCBquUvqIzckujGEnIQqX7m4ZjOTMqTSwtxTLnpbC2sqngMMQ/s640/IMG_1912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="640" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsMQUTnv7hqF2XyFjQ0Kr7OERpAM9533gm5lq7_QwUg9O2oTEu6Dhd4Ykxr2FpigvFkz-pBcPC0kybFfPH3NBq-6QFK9SQD5XKCWPLnNAKJO_UCxIrmxVoK_kgN2TecPIgq-jCBquUvqIzckujGEnIQqX7m4ZjOTMqTSwtxTLnpbC2sqngMMQ/s320/IMG_1912.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Its nastiness simply made me more determined. I observed that it had green pods that exploded upon impact. If I cut it at the base and ever so gently move the cut stems aside with the clippers, it does not explode. I have had a few mishaps but have learned my lesson the hard way. I since read that it is poisonous, so beware.</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">My other adversary cannot attack me by exploding and it does not leave a trail to China. It looks to be a type of thistle. It is prickly from base to tip and on all its branches and even my Everest gloves cannot protect me from it. I cannot find out its name but there are fields of it standing high and proud just behind my garden. They look like zombies from the Night of the Living Dead and I imagine them leaving their shallow graves each night to stalk the fields, arms stiff as they rattle and sway.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5TGwl0wlhR04IxTpzsafct_yosRd395k-17Gr3ajgBLOdGlpaPXYJR-ml--13HAjkSwmcq4ZDCx-wnS-pqOIHcWB8s5aNaAFC21lq7O9d9fqtwutnxXix9hAhYG-h6pZTtmKNGNlhb7iIPmI0qeiR80luHyxAauAtrI5J69qDToQtjICZObFm/s640/IMG_2242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="640" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5TGwl0wlhR04IxTpzsafct_yosRd395k-17Gr3ajgBLOdGlpaPXYJR-ml--13HAjkSwmcq4ZDCx-wnS-pqOIHcWB8s5aNaAFC21lq7O9d9fqtwutnxXix9hAhYG-h6pZTtmKNGNlhb7iIPmI0qeiR80luHyxAauAtrI5J69qDToQtjICZObFm/s320/IMG_2242.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">To remove this villain that was the size of a tree, I took out a saw and hacked and hewed at it, then carefully it chopped it into tiny pieces. Throwing the thorny parts into a garden bag was also precarious, but slowly, slowly, I chopped away, understanding that I would never let one of these reach menacing maturity again.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">And then there is the creeping, crawling green thing that looks like Bermuda grass. This squatter digs itself deep down then sends a network of thick, strong roots underground that pop up in the middle of an innocent, unsuspecting vegetable bed. It takes hold fast and furious like a dictator. Good luck to any seedling that wants to make its home in this neighborhood.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIcpus-3eXAoEqDXtRj1cPhc8Fel75P1FfJ6DJHopnhr8DJYXOr7C4F-KHochec3Wua_nHBldRd9pHOxtgpXS3aKbU5t5o-Fo1MwxbCuQZwvMN_k7t9nefBz6wh7Q419I40xo5uMhdwu6wZZSToIS24CVdM43HH3UrLToyuRqPv-CjuaP3CfN/s640/IMG_0103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="393" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIcpus-3eXAoEqDXtRj1cPhc8Fel75P1FfJ6DJHopnhr8DJYXOr7C4F-KHochec3Wua_nHBldRd9pHOxtgpXS3aKbU5t5o-Fo1MwxbCuQZwvMN_k7t9nefBz6wh7Q419I40xo5uMhdwu6wZZSToIS24CVdM43HH3UrLToyuRqPv-CjuaP3CfN/s320/IMG_0103.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Getting rid of this grass requires sitting on the ground with a small shovel and digging away, trying to figure out which way the roots are traveling. It’s like reading a subway map except it is dirty, sweaty, mostly unfulfilling work. Yet, when you pull the entire rail system up and find the mother root, it is gratifying in an strange way. Usually, the grass wins.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br /></span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I weed and I whack and I often call it a day, understanding that I will soon have a ground cover of mesquite and creepy crawly grass. We don’t use pesticides in this garden so I will have to enter into some kind of peace process and live with them side by side – as long as we can stay on equal terms.</span></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-48624859729371291232023-08-27T07:02:00.003-05:002023-08-27T07:06:58.120-05:00Missing TJ<p><span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MS2dqPfKjJBxT3-MfYj5FGGvFt7jaMmx2_WWhLXGGMWl7KE41nS1XcyCuDaV30UqDZz4-zG-NHiAcwo3tjTcBSwzkRsgjWSYs36FSpZEGVM0NDrp1iCTyRht9DPKnsNYlCEzLaeltXOG3QECYmEsA1FAwrGv9ONhwCKQcfDLed_aKa7MBYIM/s1310/TJ%20main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1310" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MS2dqPfKjJBxT3-MfYj5FGGvFt7jaMmx2_WWhLXGGMWl7KE41nS1XcyCuDaV30UqDZz4-zG-NHiAcwo3tjTcBSwzkRsgjWSYs36FSpZEGVM0NDrp1iCTyRht9DPKnsNYlCEzLaeltXOG3QECYmEsA1FAwrGv9ONhwCKQcfDLed_aKa7MBYIM/w640-h426/TJ%20main.png" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><span style="color: #666666;">We lost a good friend last month. We mourn our comforting, cozy, loyal and affectionate friend TJ. Our golden retriever, who turned 16 in January, was part of our family since he was a tiny pup.</span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our kids still remember the day we came home with this tiny white fluff ball. We were in Tzfat and happened upon a guy with a wild beard driving a motorcycle. Inside his front carrier was a bundle of white puppies.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Another typical scene in Tzfat,” I commented.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ejFzK_DqaqgpfrszLjXzqiyMly-tJ0d6msM2q_UqSB-KET5lCmSaJ0fHlp8oZwqzPskSqTbIaja89jvJpsuq64D5pMjjhEkOHl5BiKtHDBcLrA5AP-zsqVY8yaQ17e1PNmykEtbOIT-Y24DmsalONF8NSGbDxqgIfji3__Ox6QneX771YYyS/s1774/TJ%20eyes.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1332" data-original-width="1774" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ejFzK_DqaqgpfrszLjXzqiyMly-tJ0d6msM2q_UqSB-KET5lCmSaJ0fHlp8oZwqzPskSqTbIaja89jvJpsuq64D5pMjjhEkOHl5BiKtHDBcLrA5AP-zsqVY8yaQ17e1PNmykEtbOIT-Y24DmsalONF8NSGbDxqgIfji3__Ox6QneX771YYyS/w320-h240/TJ%20eyes.png" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My father, who was standing beside me, had a different reaction. “You have to take one home.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I wheeled around and asked, “Are you serious?” My dad did not even live in Israel back then, yet decided that it was time his Israeli grandchildren owned a dog.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Amir, who had never had a dog in his life, agreed in silence and amazement. Before we knew it, my father and I arrived at the motorcyclist’s house. Inside, it looked like a scene from 101 Dalmatians.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There were puppies galore. A few chairs were covered in sheets and the pups had the run of the house, peering out from under couches and playing in the laundry hamper. Some were white and some were black and they seemed to be having a pretty good time chewing on errant socks and peeing all over the floor.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxTs-1MfkYULxDFQbKzT4EjMg97XTfwip5cd3l5TEhy9_8ip22743B8aGrsQUD29g_zm_kmie1najSCq4UskgKlbilQ1U0RPwhbHXD9h75IrjwtdBw2146RKlKX0NyBydzj1eMHx3zE_XLpGavhu5XIDsk9j5Wz9AxVqK0G4YLHDTn-INVttvc/s2010/Neta%20and%20TJ.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1332" data-original-width="2010" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxTs-1MfkYULxDFQbKzT4EjMg97XTfwip5cd3l5TEhy9_8ip22743B8aGrsQUD29g_zm_kmie1najSCq4UskgKlbilQ1U0RPwhbHXD9h75IrjwtdBw2146RKlKX0NyBydzj1eMHx3zE_XLpGavhu5XIDsk9j5Wz9AxVqK0G4YLHDTn-INVttvc/s320/Neta%20and%20TJ.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana;">We asked about the mother and were told that she was so loyal, she ran out to her owner’s car the other day and he accidentally ran over her, killing her.</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Orphaned puppies,” I cried out, covering my face. That sealed the dog ownership matter for me. My father was already busy at work selecting ‘our dog.’</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“You want a male, a white one, the larger the healthier,” he explained as he examined the dogs. “Like this one,” he said, cradling a white fur ball with huge brown eyes.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Say no more. We got a box, a blanket and bought some dog food, a leash, and bowls, then drove him back to Ra’anana. This was the start of a love affair.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjor3aHI9D_mwurlSP0xNqo7pZ5CVJH4iB7x7bvsN0ozXObOJbDPXcfzcQhVNQCfLZos3rr6YjHxb9JWBX95agbrFkla5OeTAgJKHWo1Wfqmm-HB1H2zvl-UpXSS0_ggOjrUC5ufP6LUcMe5lgT3nh_Cp_sB5Bjmr_h5ZZ1qVo3a1QGhFuP8tkB/s1568/TJ%20kitten.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1242" data-original-width="1568" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjor3aHI9D_mwurlSP0xNqo7pZ5CVJH4iB7x7bvsN0ozXObOJbDPXcfzcQhVNQCfLZos3rr6YjHxb9JWBX95agbrFkla5OeTAgJKHWo1Wfqmm-HB1H2zvl-UpXSS0_ggOjrUC5ufP6LUcMe5lgT3nh_Cp_sB5Bjmr_h5ZZ1qVo3a1QGhFuP8tkB/s320/TJ%20kitten.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #666666;">My kids were in disbelief. When it comes to large decisions in life, we do act spontaneously.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Making aliyah, moving homes multiple times, and taking long driving trips without a clear destination are examples of this behavior. But a pet? A puppy, just like that?</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #666666;"> </span><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My kids took him in their arms and cuddled him. They called their friends and they cuddled him. The fawning and gushing created so much excitement over this puppy, it was as if someone had just given birth to a newborn human.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Well, not so far from the truth. He actually acted a bit like a human. Once, when we were in Tzfat for Yom Kippur, he refused to touch his food and fasted the whole day. He had a high emotional IQ and could sense all of our emotions, even reading our minds sometimes! Akin to a therapist, he was ready and waiting just when we needed him.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-cPZeudM_i_z84mgwJFUm7R7Jj9KX5HFyioinT1Ij7N1AGO_zak9ctGuwRx0fQDw3yiV2E_jM0EZlYM3AxGJ4rjkzPlxO73RlsI0_z50to7MP50PG_aB9LOAFqWQf2f3F_a7kn0sKxiXdPxmQtprz2R6nC0eSYg7RypIcx2iWQuDQr6xiyYlR/s1138/TJ%20in%20river.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="934" data-original-width="1138" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-cPZeudM_i_z84mgwJFUm7R7Jj9KX5HFyioinT1Ij7N1AGO_zak9ctGuwRx0fQDw3yiV2E_jM0EZlYM3AxGJ4rjkzPlxO73RlsI0_z50to7MP50PG_aB9LOAFqWQf2f3F_a7kn0sKxiXdPxmQtprz2R6nC0eSYg7RypIcx2iWQuDQr6xiyYlR/s320/TJ%20in%20river.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana;">TJ was named for his birthplace Tzfat, and January, the month of his birth. He was always available for a cuddle, a walk, a hike, a car ride, or a swim. And he did all of the above - plus more. Running with him was another matter altogether as he was obsessed with smelling every flower and peeing on every tree. As he was extra strong when his olfactory sense went into overdrive, he pulled me into many a bush on our running forays.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Like most puppies, he was a terror during puppyhood, chewing shoes, hats, and table legs. One day we came home to a row of single shoes. He had gone into our bedrooms to select shoes, then lined them up in a row and chewed each one. And at the very end of the neat row was my favorite straw hat with a large bite in it. This was TJ'</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s way of saying “I miss you guys.”</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We would get angry with him and he would give us his guilty look with a goofy smile, refusing to look at us, as if this could make him vanish. He would hide under the table shaking, but his tail would still be wagging.<br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWjXD1o2TKKBQd0ISyap8X9Nkznnw5zo5MRxNPsfB8V2L5rG_Mpdfu5OP1mg3vrJt599fN4wiKEjVVE54Zk7dRnvGwFj8ehhLpwuG1RFwn00tAE8oll91N_7xVFVEXPPkDkImGesNf2wO-01wmZX0rROPHKyYPrDu4Vkmm3dUFn3UKo-LCyq1i/s1300/TJ%20and%20Amir%20beach.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="1298" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWjXD1o2TKKBQd0ISyap8X9Nkznnw5zo5MRxNPsfB8V2L5rG_Mpdfu5OP1mg3vrJt599fN4wiKEjVVE54Zk7dRnvGwFj8ehhLpwuG1RFwn00tAE8oll91N_7xVFVEXPPkDkImGesNf2wO-01wmZX0rROPHKyYPrDu4Vkmm3dUFn3UKo-LCyq1i/s320/TJ%20and%20Amir%20beach.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was hard to be mad at him for too long. He left his puppy antics behind and grew into a beautiful, well-behaved, athletic dog. When we took up hiking the Israel Trail, TJ came along<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>with us <a href="http://www.raananahikers.com/"><span class="s1" style="color: #e4af0a;">Ra’anana Hikers</span></a>.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">TJ soon became our hiking mascot, grinning in every photo we took. By paw, he has seen more of this country than the average Israeli; he hiked down the Hermon mountain, swam in the Jordan River, ran along the Mediterranean beach, and walked through the desert. We even hoisted him down canyons using a harness. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He never fussed – he simply wanted to be with us, always. In fact, such loyalty was to TJ's detriment. Once, he doggie paddled way out into the Kinneret to reach my husband who was swimming. He was either panicked because Amir, his beloved alpha, was gone; or he thought Amir needed TJ the super dog to rescue him. Who knows what goes through a dog’s mind.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNYa3GBlzygJzYVq7WtOCesUEnRJFrUHzHnB8uTI3_yp9PEpvspeS80aRyKVI4iF7Ry9qPsCkXll5PF8uL5V2ccJY-OKfAbrdrsd2q3sgytnSxEkO6GUqn-93TL0yK777qZY8_9DqfhkmPgGec-vlf5tOcLvLwuzZyJ4ySpN2NRaE4-Funkmq/s966/TJ%20HARNESS.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="966" data-original-width="704" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNYa3GBlzygJzYVq7WtOCesUEnRJFrUHzHnB8uTI3_yp9PEpvspeS80aRyKVI4iF7Ry9qPsCkXll5PF8uL5V2ccJY-OKfAbrdrsd2q3sgytnSxEkO6GUqn-93TL0yK777qZY8_9DqfhkmPgGec-vlf5tOcLvLwuzZyJ4ySpN2NRaE4-Funkmq/s320/TJ%20HARNESS.png" width="233" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana;">So out swam TJ. He paddled out farther and farther. We stood on the beach watching and soon realized that TJ was dawg-gone in deep water. We whistled to TJ and waved to Amir but to no avail. TJ was losing stamina but his nose was still pointed right to Amir. Finally, Amir turned around and swam to him, bringing home a wet, tired, and relieved golden.</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Another time, we were hiking a canyon in the desert with friends. I decided to turn around with TJ and head back to our campsite, but Amir wanted to continue on. Whenever there was such a separation between TJ and his Alpha Amir, it meant trouble. We would hold TJ on a leash and pull. TJ would dig in his four paws and resist. He was strong and stubborn.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This time, TJ pulled out of his leash and ran in Amir’s direction. Except Amir had scrambled down the rungs of a sheer cliff. We watched TJ run to the cliff at full speed and thought this was it. As he was about to free fall down the canyon, someone grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, averting his demise.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBs2-XiLI4deUHRsFQXIgd0x0I760nf5sKGgBsWOziz9gTQJutEl3Iw3a7yW67AzckXVqhU30vH7ppi2_ZNFnZwGwQGEuEhIIU_XveLFAMNcw1M3vcqou_wh5mHTNTuUTmPPMANEJR0fHuAxwuXtGpCU1v0jVtatZynjQ6iX9AOgyAwY16F8Jt/s1156/TJ%20in%20wadi.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1156" data-original-width="912" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBs2-XiLI4deUHRsFQXIgd0x0I760nf5sKGgBsWOziz9gTQJutEl3Iw3a7yW67AzckXVqhU30vH7ppi2_ZNFnZwGwQGEuEhIIU_XveLFAMNcw1M3vcqou_wh5mHTNTuUTmPPMANEJR0fHuAxwuXtGpCU1v0jVtatZynjQ6iX9AOgyAwY16F8Jt/s320/TJ%20in%20wadi.png" width="252" /></a></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana;">He loved most of our adventures, especially camping, when he could be chief champion guard dog of the deep, dark, and starry desert night. There were lots of nocturnal animals to keep him busy and when he was tired, he would crawl into our tent and snuggle against our sleeping bag.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The one activity he did hate, though, was visiting the Dead Sea. He put his paw in the smelly water, then turned away, wondering why his crazy owners would want to go in such foul water.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He was with us for many house moves, lying on the floor and raising one eyebrow as he watched us pack up boxes and move furniture. After a few exhausting moves, I secretly wished he would catch on and help shlep, even if it were his food bowl. But no, his domain was to be cute, to hike, and to be there for a ‘cute thing’ tummy tickle, for which he would lie on his back waiting with his legs in the air.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When the moving truck came, he would jump in our car and then happily stake out his territory in a new city or neighborhood. He was easy going to say the least.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SbjDxqc5gxN2c1uL3dSHNPNFhwrMTADW1WTg7867_AMfrvsMMRKjhGgPSufDgtK0uCmN2IZBAGp1FkNSYH54jZmPDzHaY0jnJARXIyehe1ZCE_19nIWNtbKY4ko-l57SkYFPb54NcvWMG9sN4qYOZ0zckqXLrVCoE6sX2oitefUgIuGyIjJE/s1312/TJ%20meadow.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1312" data-original-width="1002" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SbjDxqc5gxN2c1uL3dSHNPNFhwrMTADW1WTg7867_AMfrvsMMRKjhGgPSufDgtK0uCmN2IZBAGp1FkNSYH54jZmPDzHaY0jnJARXIyehe1ZCE_19nIWNtbKY4ko-l57SkYFPb54NcvWMG9sN4qYOZ0zckqXLrVCoE6sX2oitefUgIuGyIjJE/s320/TJ%20meadow.png" width="244" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana;">We made our final move (or so I hope) last August. TJ was already ancient by then, past 15, which is old for his breed. Our mountain hikes in Amirim were getting to be too much for him, but he always came along, following us slowly. Stairs were hard for him and we had to start carrying him up to our room where he insisted on sleeping.</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We hoped he would make it in health to our new home where there is a huge garden to roam in, no stairs to get inside the house and just three stairs up to our room. He made this move, learned his way around the place and the garden, and even barked at the neighborhood cats even though his bark was weak and hoarse.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He then lost his hearing – or maybe he had selective hearing – as the word ‘treat’ still seemed to perk him up. He still came on walks with us but we sometimes had to sneak out without him as longer hikes became too exhausting.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Every Friday night, we would do kiddush on wine, then wash and say a blessing over the challot. TJ knew the weekly custom and would eagerly wait at the table to eat the heel of the challah. Except one Friday, he did not get up from the carpet. He slept that night<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>in the living room, refused to eat, and by morning, could not walk.</span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs6IxThhL_QgqzN1Nay595oLReD6pgvzeSRXrAt5y89_UshZM9euZlcgpRyusLCsIQwsxouiUK12i6d9rWkniKVBtGKwKPrWeMQn0VtK-Hlri56c9aMk_SF5zMBAM_sfVmZbC4fTuBnRBEbbU0RTHUw85ziewKkZumGnfzEOu62C5QbEm96Aqf/s1202/TJ%20camping.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="1202" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs6IxThhL_QgqzN1Nay595oLReD6pgvzeSRXrAt5y89_UshZM9euZlcgpRyusLCsIQwsxouiUK12i6d9rWkniKVBtGKwKPrWeMQn0VtK-Hlri56c9aMk_SF5zMBAM_sfVmZbC4fTuBnRBEbbU0RTHUw85ziewKkZumGnfzEOu62C5QbEm96Aqf/s320/TJ%20camping.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We stayed by his side all day Saturday, stroking him, feeding him water with a dropper, and talking to him. He looked up at us with those big brown eyes and long blond eyelashes, then slept, until the moment when he did not wake up.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">His space beside the bed is empty, his favorite spot on the carpet is vacant, and our hearts are desolate. For a dog’s life, he had a mighty good one. We miss you, buddy. You were truly a best friend.</span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1vy7Sk2DgFSfZJFV9XnKcxYCYOtUspe79JHJBYTHnEQVEprhTubtQsx_62NEXoMOtrkE7Pu47XNaUcOYf94RseatggGtyv-J8qiaTuTrJEylHAnE1BYp1jjps_38qRlr5G98YV4zx4HY83_iYShbmYYZG9afeEMvU1vaQi0niCgo4ydkXAhU-/s1886/TJ%20end%20pic.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="1886" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1vy7Sk2DgFSfZJFV9XnKcxYCYOtUspe79JHJBYTHnEQVEprhTubtQsx_62NEXoMOtrkE7Pu47XNaUcOYf94RseatggGtyv-J8qiaTuTrJEylHAnE1BYp1jjps_38qRlr5G98YV4zx4HY83_iYShbmYYZG9afeEMvU1vaQi0niCgo4ydkXAhU-/w640-h396/TJ%20end%20pic.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-18393561385550109962023-07-24T04:37:00.002-05:002023-07-25T02:23:28.210-05:00Don't Count Your Chickens (or Melons) Till They're Hatched<span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKpUk7IQdUqGabrOsxMu0C6sHLSHa2aSoWGtkYEcmyUriqfFeW5LuX_9-Z639sP4tIyX50yGA8FmA9gfe3yongu632QrE60d0prKaM1dFlxjFW-PtG6BkSFccsph0S08LUdFLys_nIN3NKCAILUTWyGKO2KNtqPnieFGgPR4d_b1k-0_r96a3/s640/july%20main.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKpUk7IQdUqGabrOsxMu0C6sHLSHa2aSoWGtkYEcmyUriqfFeW5LuX_9-Z639sP4tIyX50yGA8FmA9gfe3yongu632QrE60d0prKaM1dFlxjFW-PtG6BkSFccsph0S08LUdFLys_nIN3NKCAILUTWyGKO2KNtqPnieFGgPR4d_b1k-0_r96a3/w300-h400/july%20main.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>The heat is beyond belief. As I am new to this part of Israel, I am not sure whether this is normal or whether the whole world is burning up. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> To do any work in the garden, we must now get up before 5am, a time when the chickens stir, the roosters cock-o-ri-coo, and both crickets and birds share the stage with song. This fresh and inviting time is short lived for by 8:30am, it is time to run inside for refuge. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">It may be comforting for us to run inside to the air conditioning but the chickens cannot! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">They crowd under the shade of the trees with their beaks open in a panting position. I add electrolytes to their water and give them several servings of cold cucumber. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">They have two awnings for sun protection and we hung a few bedsheets on the fences which we hose down a few times a day. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The issue is that the water pipe is exposed in places so when the water comes out of the hose, it is so boiling, I can barely hold the hose. So now we are placing ice cubes in the chickens’ water to encourage them to drink. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The heat is so intense, it is cooking everything alive. I wanted a red pepper for my salad today and went out around noon to pick a few. When I touched a pepper, it exploded into goop, literally broiling on the stem. I do not want chicken broilers. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNV_pALnzrHI3Hf8Tp-JQCboB0WVe9r6C0xFQ9w7apDt1Y0MOJSWofu7asa42F-RIdOBpGQre-mZLCzmhRBywq5sbLpO8l25DHVveRbHqnXStEOVCoL0UnCqWpNtJhmNDIR5GA1F0zXQfrLPqN3101MNXM-R1r7PDfiJ9XH0YbBSK1QAyZHM6y/s640/corn%20and%20galtuv.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="640" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNV_pALnzrHI3Hf8Tp-JQCboB0WVe9r6C0xFQ9w7apDt1Y0MOJSWofu7asa42F-RIdOBpGQre-mZLCzmhRBywq5sbLpO8l25DHVveRbHqnXStEOVCoL0UnCqWpNtJhmNDIR5GA1F0zXQfrLPqN3101MNXM-R1r7PDfiJ9XH0YbBSK1QAyZHM6y/s320/corn%20and%20galtuv.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Yay, corn 'tiras' season!</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is also the time our silkie female decided to go broody. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">On July 1st, I noticed she was lying flat on her nest inside the coop. She was there all day long and this continued. As I did not know what a brooding chicken looked like, I actually thought she was expiring. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">On day 2, I saw her leave and ran in to see that she was sitting on two eggs – large brown Bielefelder eggs, not her own tiny white ones. Still unsure about what she was up to, I took one egg and left one there. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I checked this online and learned that she was brooding, a behavior I thought was rare these days. I learned that it would take 21 days of sitting on the egg until a chick would hatch. It looked like a miserable predicament in the heat of summer, especially for a chicken wearing a mink coat. But at least this kept her away from the three overzealous roosters for whom she was easy prey. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnXGgPvpjVrHDwHUstVt51vsGvDfJvHqF2-4I7dpwK_4Tl5XruIMsr6Web_bIo9uR8yYUA5qNGDcHUr8F1vkLT9hAUM8OEKlWaIl_aYvolhqymUaaQEEq5S_5ktgzVWAToTb5wybegS9vaUYxAzZUXL_NH5VSQwV_rd8GH-6fhJcW66DvEaYFW/s640/two%20laying%20hens.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="640" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnXGgPvpjVrHDwHUstVt51vsGvDfJvHqF2-4I7dpwK_4Tl5XruIMsr6Web_bIo9uR8yYUA5qNGDcHUr8F1vkLT9hAUM8OEKlWaIl_aYvolhqymUaaQEEq5S_5ktgzVWAToTb5wybegS9vaUYxAzZUXL_NH5VSQwV_rd8GH-6fhJcW66DvEaYFW/w400-h251/two%20laying%20hens.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>A Bielefelder and a Silkie co-mothering.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">To add further complication, one Bielefelder hen also claimed this spot for laying her eggs. She would go in there and sit on top of the tiny overdressed silkie to lay eggs. By the following Friday, she was sitting on 13 eggs. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I soon learned that I should have marked the original egg with a marker so I would know which ones were the fresh eggs. I did not as I could never predict when the silkie would leave her eggs. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">On day 18 there were 20 eggs there, some of which were cracked or pushed aside. Her tiny body could not even cover so many eggs. I don’t know why that Bielefelder could not figure this out and why she insisted on laying her eggs on top of the silkie. <br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">One morning, I saw the Bielefelder was actually sitting on the eggs in a brooding position. I thought the silkie was pushed away after all her hard work, but no, she too was back on the eggs a bit later. They were co-mothering.
I had no idea what was going on and trusted that nature would figure it out or at least the hens would. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2u3pK16Sln3us_4Te_P1MZbUMPsfhNw6mgJabwP7_jsTsMIHBXfZEDO8SK1B22dqiyqggqGY3-13iovAagUehBJgtL-8c7Fq3OXfoLaCbYGFMK2zKDWUCca3DDqMM87Rj-aYAl7qxnqv2ad1py6J5_jDsiGg03fUb26D6Ufc2scZkIHwmCS2E/s640/tilly%20watermelon.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="640" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2u3pK16Sln3us_4Te_P1MZbUMPsfhNw6mgJabwP7_jsTsMIHBXfZEDO8SK1B22dqiyqggqGY3-13iovAagUehBJgtL-8c7Fq3OXfoLaCbYGFMK2zKDWUCca3DDqMM87Rj-aYAl7qxnqv2ad1py6J5_jDsiGg03fUb26D6Ufc2scZkIHwmCS2E/s320/tilly%20watermelon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Checking to see if the melon is ripe for picking.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table>Since broody hens stop laying, we were only getting two to three eggs a day for our own consumption, down from five to six. Fine with me, I thought, but how do the hens know when to get off their nest? Do they wait for one chick to hatch and then call it a day? I did read that hens can hear the chicks peeping inside the egg before they are hatched; I also learned that a broody hen will sit on plastic eggs, duck eggs or nothing at all. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Day 21 came and went with no sign of chicks. Perhaps the eggs were not even fertilized. Meanwhile, the hard-working and over-devoted silkie sat and sat. She was getting thinner and her feathers looked forlorn. I was worried for her health. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Adding more drama to the coop, we decided to give away one rooster. They were loud and aggressive, like nasty bullies on the block, and three roosters in one coop is actually two too many. Yesterday, a farmer came to get one rooster; he literally lunged for the rooster, grabbed him by the legs, and walked off to his car with the rooster dangling upside down while I was hiding in the house. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Right away, the chickens rearranged the pecking order. The remaining Rhode Island Red rooster is now the officially proclaimed King of the Castle. He has taken control of everything in there and forced the poor male silkie into perpetual asylum under our olive tree. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">We may be down one rooster, but back inside the coop, the Bielefelder had taken over the remaining five eggs, leaving the silkie to nest on empty straw.
We had to intervene. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">This morning, Amir shooed the silkie away from her bare nest and into a second fenced-in area. She was so agitated, she paced the fence clucking out in despair. My vision was then to move the battered male silkie into the same area so they could have their own honeymoon suite. Not so easy. </span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-5zaS_HjRngb11PkUWpy0y3HoaO1fAsCwX2-gwOwxU18Hk9GlZ6Fh7g2kMk90bCxZXhOsQcvUuS0IngFuibKtr_f3cuuDFzZLaTULjO-trqocBVB_B3SxiA8C6uyhXs_n7s92xMke0-EZO5ENT8CVw60fFp0x1bJp4LOhH8cWsANckxy09lP/s640/bitten%20squash.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="537" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-5zaS_HjRngb11PkUWpy0y3HoaO1fAsCwX2-gwOwxU18Hk9GlZ6Fh7g2kMk90bCxZXhOsQcvUuS0IngFuibKtr_f3cuuDFzZLaTULjO-trqocBVB_B3SxiA8C6uyhXs_n7s92xMke0-EZO5ENT8CVw60fFp0x1bJp4LOhH8cWsANckxy09lP/s320/bitten%20squash.jpg" width="269" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Critter damage.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I spent 45 minutes today trying to cajole him with lettuce and honey dew melon but he was too focused on evading the newly crowned and menacing King Red.
I tried to throw a sheet over the male silkie but had no luck. Talya then came out and chased him into the coop where she caught him. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Both silkies are now safely separated away from King Red and his hens, but they are not exactly celebrating their new life alone.
This has been quite the learning curve and has proven (at least for me) to be more emotional than I could imagine. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I did learn that broodiness is contagious so if I find another hen flat out on a nest, I will know what to expect and then how to proceed. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is now melon, squash and corn season in our garden, if you know when to harvest them. We have some critter with a sweet tooth who </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">quietly slides under the electric fence each night for his banquet. He </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">has methodically taken a bite from almost every melon </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">in the garden using sharp teeth and claws. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">(So far, the the thick rind of the watermelon has shown to be critter safe.) </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8gO-Bl9NlANqTlLPZv-zGdR4KpWGNG-WaV-H267IZN0ebyntnIQN89vp5XTwGbC3KmT4oq0JoSuMEHyZUvv94bVkXwW0Kl5xC_v6eCua-0rQxTub4CTjoOBtZBJ31AVdVm8b1bguhVK8sVynEdg5cpMzjqWR8UAOksi4J6c_JDITiauQEXl_/s640/honeymooners.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="640" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8gO-Bl9NlANqTlLPZv-zGdR4KpWGNG-WaV-H267IZN0ebyntnIQN89vp5XTwGbC3KmT4oq0JoSuMEHyZUvv94bVkXwW0Kl5xC_v6eCua-0rQxTub4CTjoOBtZBJ31AVdVm8b1bguhVK8sVynEdg5cpMzjqWR8UAOksi4J6c_JDITiauQEXl_/s320/honeymooners.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">We planted those squash and melon seeds in trays back in April, tended to the seedlings, planted them under the trees, watered them, and now we are feeding the critter's banquet leftovers to our chickens! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">From broody chickens to domineering King Roosters, and from to exploding peppers to melon carcasses, every day brings its own form of overheated farm drama. The moral of this story is not to count your chickens or your melons before they are hatched.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RS72DpGZUoq0DkmaE5VoqWI5qQJrqWkbqkjiM3pXI2HnY87BxIxD57iUrU5FBmiCljTJDOqNTIHDjW3hqxJPLsiP0hEBDBilDkNj8qxLVUvy9o-2EJ6aGs2tJrGDyoTXwYWZurX2nDdP0ImqCKVnCQlJ1bwdHB_e5BIEPMVbaFyfLZczQd3t/s640/plate%20of%20squash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="640" height="544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RS72DpGZUoq0DkmaE5VoqWI5qQJrqWkbqkjiM3pXI2HnY87BxIxD57iUrU5FBmiCljTJDOqNTIHDjW3hqxJPLsiP0hEBDBilDkNj8qxLVUvy9o-2EJ6aGs2tJrGDyoTXwYWZurX2nDdP0ImqCKVnCQlJ1bwdHB_e5BIEPMVbaFyfLZczQd3t/w640-h544/plate%20of%20squash.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span></div></div>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-57954769321615185132023-06-28T07:48:00.000-05:002023-06-28T07:53:15.210-05:00The Crow of the Rooster<p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZSzla5PJM0MMB0D4DTgPdpvAjdnKNT-h7gmlaJHP-m42Ap5VdKYkk-x2q2noqLATqC03Q6q8n4zYJC8v3pQYABN-EQk3KHUQ7tmSIEzJNVLnUWfWYZg8gSTntQmnO3NlYu4c-y-2UaI8WT04TPz3eL8uyfKo1Gyckt2YqIwtn854ioZW7gUj/s640/June%20main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="640" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZSzla5PJM0MMB0D4DTgPdpvAjdnKNT-h7gmlaJHP-m42Ap5VdKYkk-x2q2noqLATqC03Q6q8n4zYJC8v3pQYABN-EQk3KHUQ7tmSIEzJNVLnUWfWYZg8gSTntQmnO3NlYu4c-y-2UaI8WT04TPz3eL8uyfKo1Gyckt2YqIwtn854ioZW7gUj/w640-h464/June%20main.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />Our day now begins at cockcrow – the sound of our roosters. They like to wake up around 4:45, which is actually a perfect time for me to rouse these days. The song birds are also twittering and the light is soft and gentle. Best of all, there is a slight chill to the air; with baking hot days, the morning air feels as fresh as spearmint.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">With this rooster crow, we are up. I cut some cucumber slices, chilled from the fridge, and arrange the chunks in a pan. As I near the coop, they hear me right away; the hens are clucking and the roosters are pushing the decibels with their own definitive crow. I open the door to the coop and out they bound like race horses at the Kentucky Derby.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">They rush to their morning organic buffet, grab a piece of cucumber and then run off to protect their juicy prize. This is a failed technique as such suspicious behavior simply attracts other chickens who rush over and then fight for this one morsel. While they are haggling over one piece, the tray is still filled with other equally juicy pieces. Chickens are not exactly intelligent, but they are curious.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizUKuO8LWFlRor4HoFptADWD-8UE0UP0om-g8sdGrBUGF3CGsS9ulj7PNinScGrJQEkh4SmapyzGzMhtSXAecX6KYQuN8x_x3uqaX3tdTcypHiymJOzd1IwYHioAl8tdESASKI2AbuqTbgWHg0jXQLJq7Xn9NMA1phqw-kwHn2_uTGGZUIYhgb/s640/chicken%20tomato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="640" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizUKuO8LWFlRor4HoFptADWD-8UE0UP0om-g8sdGrBUGF3CGsS9ulj7PNinScGrJQEkh4SmapyzGzMhtSXAecX6KYQuN8x_x3uqaX3tdTcypHiymJOzd1IwYHioAl8tdESASKI2AbuqTbgWHg0jXQLJq7Xn9NMA1phqw-kwHn2_uTGGZUIYhgb/w400-h355/chicken%20tomato.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;"><i>Plymouth Rock absconds with a tomato.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Morning is also the time when the roosters chase after the hens who are chasing after the cucumber thieves. If our tiny Silkie male chases a female, the large, dominant Rhode Island Red rooster intercepts and a stand-off dance begins. They strut back and forth, side to side, then call it a day. In the meantime, all of the cucumbers are gobbled up by the hens.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio59ABqF2LtOdbE6P9h9zxYGGZCN0mfl9EYJtva6JZAMF5IsrsLxRTcPJWOC9-E5_2umkMRtEHpJm8CTIR1UZ4HBFgl7PHE4-AW6Z02E5Y0f3WzAfbSZv0BpyOLlfQzR0_xSlsbt040WFQ0FmweHJg6yie79L4eHKzhh7WWFoAR_y-t2kovK__/s1024/squash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1018" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio59ABqF2LtOdbE6P9h9zxYGGZCN0mfl9EYJtva6JZAMF5IsrsLxRTcPJWOC9-E5_2umkMRtEHpJm8CTIR1UZ4HBFgl7PHE4-AW6Z02E5Y0f3WzAfbSZv0BpyOLlfQzR0_xSlsbt040WFQ0FmweHJg6yie79L4eHKzhh7WWFoAR_y-t2kovK__/s320/squash.jpg" width="318" /></a></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I could watch them all morning, but there is other work to do and we like to be out in the market garden before six. The sun pops up over the trees while the veggies are still yawning. We now have most of them covered in shade nets, leaving the sun lovers open to enjoy the strong rays: cucumbers, zucchinis, basil, tomatoes, corn, okra, and kale do not need sun screen. Inside, cozy under the nets, we are growing lettuce, coriander, Swiss chard, and beets. With corn and squash ready to eat, it feels like it should be Thanksgiving here, but the heat says otherwise.<br /></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLR6MscOyZGZr97vHo2plZiGW11eOqq-D3b8vEXhf48oquJ_hADbUDxU0v1rGZSNFRAvp-Q5MNI84vaxB9SvEYFJqiXZEO9WVzSdANJqVg8AogWH4B4bRBG2m2EN8MFTmrx-aSckNTbgWJjLuV_8yganyzrE-JybEuG2qXEYYNMpgrWYcBOkGP/s640/Corn%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="504" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLR6MscOyZGZr97vHo2plZiGW11eOqq-D3b8vEXhf48oquJ_hADbUDxU0v1rGZSNFRAvp-Q5MNI84vaxB9SvEYFJqiXZEO9WVzSdANJqVg8AogWH4B4bRBG2m2EN8MFTmrx-aSckNTbgWJjLuV_8yganyzrE-JybEuG2qXEYYNMpgrWYcBOkGP/s320/Corn%202.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">We weed and harvest until the sweat beads and drips from our faces, a sign that it’s time to head inside. I collect some cherry tomatoes for the chickens’ mid-morning snack and they gather at the fence to see what treasure awaits them.</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">They are panting, their beaks slightly open, their breathing rapid. We have installed a fan in their coop but they still spend most of the day outside under the shade of an olive tree. As for the Silkies, they are covered with what looks more like a mink coat than feathers. They must be roasting. Yet no matter how hot they are, eating cherry tomatoes is a stirring moment in our chicken run.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The chickens remain unnamed. After we lost our sweet Legbar, I decided that I would not become too attached. Yet I am more vigilant. I search online about every strange behavior be it laying eggs on the floor, not laying eggs, diarrhea, a foul smell in the coop, and dealing with this heat.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvG3Tz_YTkQj4BK2wAmSKrGnzp8f7rCBf8WFjzLW956OEed8YwkrLzcytg5rAZkL6VfYHqlvwIGlrxC-ZvhKf2hXP2C92nylpjLOBWIGLasOvM0MVl9gkBkqCz0m4LF8ySsIznL9GMj4JOq2M7JRdseylunOE9lEW2QqQAAgNlkELtrdz4DaUS/s640/female%20silkie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="477" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvG3Tz_YTkQj4BK2wAmSKrGnzp8f7rCBf8WFjzLW956OEed8YwkrLzcytg5rAZkL6VfYHqlvwIGlrxC-ZvhKf2hXP2C92nylpjLOBWIGLasOvM0MVl9gkBkqCz0m4LF8ySsIznL9GMj4JOq2M7JRdseylunOE9lEW2QqQAAgNlkELtrdz4DaUS/s320/female%20silkie.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i>Silkie hen</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">My research has led to some interesting finds. I add apple cider vinegar to their water once a month for immune support and improved egg production. I also came across a recipe for electrolyte water to keep them from getting dehydrated.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I can now distinguish the ‘laying sound’ of a hen; I may not recognize popular songs, but I am attuned to our chicken music! The hens are now producing about five eggs a day and it is exciting to check the coop for eggs. They like to lay their eggs in the same place, so I may find three eggs in one egg box. I am still amazed that a large chicken can jump in an egg box and lay an egg without breaking the existing ones.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQpqXLNXsvipRU0UA1UJs8DgcF0sLa6jiKW-NjNZ8xS6dASpeYwbwmePVjbrficP7rVW2alSVtrAJcduaTs4G_8USKLEd_BmWGV98d3rspX7AlbxBxp0qowXX-p3y5Bz5DxL82gGyeIZOZwzVIcj906eXzpcNTluy3GLasTsO-y7A-kzAphlOW/s640/eggs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="640" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQpqXLNXsvipRU0UA1UJs8DgcF0sLa6jiKW-NjNZ8xS6dASpeYwbwmePVjbrficP7rVW2alSVtrAJcduaTs4G_8USKLEd_BmWGV98d3rspX7AlbxBxp0qowXX-p3y5Bz5DxL82gGyeIZOZwzVIcj906eXzpcNTluy3GLasTsO-y7A-kzAphlOW/w400-h165/eggs.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />The unusual part is that our hens are not sitting on their eggs, which means no chicks. I once heard that the broodiness quality has been bred out of chickens, which is why most chicks are now born in incubators. The Silkie breed is supposed to be broody so I will wait and see. In the meantime, they are providing us with delicious eggs daily.</span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWc_yWBjl4kp1_out5k2FJEuHt_lodyT1asy71UfpyP78zmRPqNybQXgaE4tVvx2FV8QDlyvq3LA5jkMB9vupBYAOgG3jdfxSDh_Cdw11y-FdYeXJRmNhkqQ0QK-XzozU6n_SbBbKDXjaNUjHdTktbcAdgaPVTh04aDLpw3zYmpDy35Crol9c/s640/fat%20albert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="490" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWc_yWBjl4kp1_out5k2FJEuHt_lodyT1asy71UfpyP78zmRPqNybQXgaE4tVvx2FV8QDlyvq3LA5jkMB9vupBYAOgG3jdfxSDh_Cdw11y-FdYeXJRmNhkqQ0QK-XzozU6n_SbBbKDXjaNUjHdTktbcAdgaPVTh04aDLpw3zYmpDy35Crol9c/s320/fat%20albert.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i>Silkie rooster</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This is just the start of summer here in Israel, my first summer in this area, and the most challenging time of year. We simply need to adapt to the heat by living according to the crow of the rooster.</span></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-57516664145076234912023-05-16T04:35:00.000-05:002023-05-16T04:35:37.973-05:00Here Comes the Sun!<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #454545;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxym9gms5rQk3NhYV8xmRyHyjCb9Ri7skS1vl_fLs0u8HrUKT0C6PN1JDXkFL5xz15oUJ9N1IQiD9zG53ePgQci7AtNqGzv0zlK608hT3lLMTiq2PaeZLEzgu8uDDindXrxnP5Gmv6NBMLnf3ISAxcN87BipvLL57bgUeB_s3urKvNsntkQ/s640/sunrise.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxym9gms5rQk3NhYV8xmRyHyjCb9Ri7skS1vl_fLs0u8HrUKT0C6PN1JDXkFL5xz15oUJ9N1IQiD9zG53ePgQci7AtNqGzv0zlK608hT3lLMTiq2PaeZLEzgu8uDDindXrxnP5Gmv6NBMLnf3ISAxcN87BipvLL57bgUeB_s3urKvNsntkQ/w640-h480/sunrise.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />The little rain we had this winter has ceased. The clouds have dissipated, revealing pure magenta skies. And the temperature is soaring. Our colorful meadow has dried to a crisp. There are still a few Queen Anne’s Lace, hollyhocks, and thistles bravely dancing in the hot wind. Surprisingly, we have some wild sunflowers that popped up, thriving in the parched, heated ground.<span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #454545;"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It is sad to move on to summer, an intense season of brown here in Israel. But I am collecting the wildflower seeds and spreading them in hope of seeing these beauties again next winter. Those sweet peas, nasturtiums, and lupins have dropped seeds where they stood, promising more abundance after the next rain, but we will have to wait another eight months to see a serious downpour.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZyM-StcEHqMJi5hTKPcQpeHg8ilam91Bnl0ubfz-RzQcRjuX-lZqdnRVn0_i0lXIwIXl_43IzdkkSC1pZpGSVIL7nzVVzcv0uVabfFSte7j1AbJS7mtqm8nhefSk69bp0kZvbsf8lfVsjtXvi2nzuOwASq3laAlui3GRUo8BcDEcbqzmMg/s640/carrots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="446" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZyM-StcEHqMJi5hTKPcQpeHg8ilam91Bnl0ubfz-RzQcRjuX-lZqdnRVn0_i0lXIwIXl_43IzdkkSC1pZpGSVIL7nzVVzcv0uVabfFSte7j1AbJS7mtqm8nhefSk69bp0kZvbsf8lfVsjtXvi2nzuOwASq3laAlui3GRUo8BcDEcbqzmMg/w223-h320/carrots.jpg" width="223" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">We have covered most of our vegetable beds with a black sheeting to protect them from the scorching sun. The summer crop of tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, carrots, cucumber, and basil soak up the full sun and are thriving.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">We will now have to harvest on Thursdays at 5:30am to pick for our market day, as by 6:30 the heat is already intense. It is a rush against the fiery sun. We now have so many zucchinis, we have to pick them every other day to prevent them from becoming giants. This means there is a surplus.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJ_QITdglS0OOeEntUUgsG1dgqg7cl-jm26qoS5K7qxeOk01-pBEmt6FUK37Y4JqD-_pQQfXcsiTMU3nyw3j9jCqtmpju9szLLtJ6qqaihia4Vg424cuSF_n9r6pUkvzT8M1l2PZ5KGh_fdoX6ZMKmqN5AICJ64EkvfP1FX-vhrPdZDaQ5g/s640/zucchini.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="516" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJ_QITdglS0OOeEntUUgsG1dgqg7cl-jm26qoS5K7qxeOk01-pBEmt6FUK37Y4JqD-_pQQfXcsiTMU3nyw3j9jCqtmpju9szLLtJ6qqaihia4Vg424cuSF_n9r6pUkvzT8M1l2PZ5KGh_fdoX6ZMKmqN5AICJ64EkvfP1FX-vhrPdZDaQ5g/s320/zucchini.JPG" width="258" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Out comes the recipe book in search of zucchini ideas. We have made zucchini soup, zucchini pickles, zucchini bread, roasted zucchini, zucchini pashtida, and zucchini chocolate cake. They are added to everything we make and serve, be it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Of course, the chickens are enjoying the zucchinis daily. Unfortunately, we lost a chicken last week. It was the Legbar and she was my favorite – I even made a mistake of naming her. Her name was Sophie and she was a loner, right at the bottom of the pecking order. She showed signs of fatigue and would sit alone with her eyes closed and hop into the coop early at night. The chickens would trample on her to get to their food. No one cared. And one morning, she was no longer.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I was afraid that she may have had a contagious avian flu and have become extra vigilant with the other chickens, not that I would know what to do to help them. I sit in the yard with them as they eat their zucchini and eye them carefully.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6fMnhSx-ihM_7tacupIwskGDKwZ-eIZJ3GT1qYnjBUuL2GW_hRy-k6yQ3VgH5kYbVia6w6F8Ya0MuWbiCZrCi3gfJb_yGVcXSCqYzhDEdK__i4FY5eKIvTtlMhmx69yzxyAaKAlpNvGBNbaIsCXeEZid9dvhsfvaoufcf4TLwj_XybQOWuA/s640/chicken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6fMnhSx-ihM_7tacupIwskGDKwZ-eIZJ3GT1qYnjBUuL2GW_hRy-k6yQ3VgH5kYbVia6w6F8Ya0MuWbiCZrCi3gfJb_yGVcXSCqYzhDEdK__i4FY5eKIvTtlMhmx69yzxyAaKAlpNvGBNbaIsCXeEZid9dvhsfvaoufcf4TLwj_XybQOWuA/s320/chicken.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Two just started laying eggs: a silkie and a Rhode Island Red. This is very exciting news around here. Maybe I have become an over-vigilant mother hen, but I am becoming attuned to the egg-laying squawk. These are not brooders; they lay the egg and then abandon it, running back to the yard to scratch for bugs. This makes it easier for me to sneak in and take the prized egg, which I do with guilt.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Out front, my organic sweet corn is actually forming, tucked inside a silk pocket. I am fascinated by the growing process of each plant and was in awe to learn that corn is wind pollinated; the pollen is on the male tassels on top and must travel to the female silks below in order to form an ear – and every silk tassel represents a single kernel on the cob. As soon as these two parts of the stalk were visible, I gently shook it to release the pollen.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmR314nYi-YqnV1rZjBZ8ymQg4Ww_YX6jVWvCZJLQY59AE0fxWKmr51h9zF_0xIZXDQhyzEoh5OyuUnvmE56Spoad_t31p0E1gkxHB7oERR7gxMSx7-NehRyaiQVPlLcFD1Fqe1wOSzvNWQ09wTTzrDPN8Wr1jIHzYwHuu_VVnAORwk1Gww/s640/corn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmR314nYi-YqnV1rZjBZ8ymQg4Ww_YX6jVWvCZJLQY59AE0fxWKmr51h9zF_0xIZXDQhyzEoh5OyuUnvmE56Spoad_t31p0E1gkxHB7oERR7gxMSx7-NehRyaiQVPlLcFD1Fqe1wOSzvNWQ09wTTzrDPN8Wr1jIHzYwHuu_VVnAORwk1Gww/s320/corn.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The glorious sunflowers are now opening and each seems to have a different face! One has a black center, one a light yellow and one is ringed. I planted them from seed late February and they must be over eight feet tall! Gorgeous, graceful, and awe-inspiring!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I also have organic Jerusalem artichoke growing in our front yard bed. I bought organic tubers, planted them, then waited and waited. They are now flourishing and are also about to flower. Apparently, they are part of the sunflower family so will feel right at home with their towering relatives!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />From a freshly laid egg and majestic flower bloom to delicious organic produce, every day brings a new and exquisite surprise. And I am here to observe this, grateful to witness such blessed abundance.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-57363748521178421092023-04-29T14:08:00.000-05:002023-04-29T14:08:26.598-05:00The Meadow<p><span style="color: #454545; font-family: times; font-size: large;">The most beautiful surprise this spring was a profusion of wildflowers. After the rains, the garden was transformed into a symphony of colors with its peak being April. One year ago, the property could barely support a few prickly weeds so this was a true tribute to organic gardening techniques.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVwX1DFYbRr4_Y_DlTYpmyxpYtRRNGLRXarBhaXo5fe0ks05dyKU6RghH_AXpXGlo_1RwR80mMuf6v7A4x6QgXcOswwZg4CGOmM4N_dz_2JwzvmgbMGcuchAc2ZwOYiIju-q6Tb-tHrsvYAp2BC7l1CVuDiaMGyaKfXcSIoUciED7enGGCA/s640/Meadow%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVwX1DFYbRr4_Y_DlTYpmyxpYtRRNGLRXarBhaXo5fe0ks05dyKU6RghH_AXpXGlo_1RwR80mMuf6v7A4x6QgXcOswwZg4CGOmM4N_dz_2JwzvmgbMGcuchAc2ZwOYiIju-q6Tb-tHrsvYAp2BC7l1CVuDiaMGyaKfXcSIoUciED7enGGCA/s320/Meadow%202.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">We had raked thick mulch all over. This protects the soil, retains moisture and when it decomposes, it adds a new layer of rich soil. This was followed by a generous sprinkling of wheat, clover, and sweet pea seeds. The wheat is good for loosening compacted clay soil, while the clover and sweet pea are natural nitrogen fixers and boost plant growth. </span></p><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Not only did we have wheat, clover, and sweet peas, lupins, nasturtiums, and poppies bloomed along with a variety of spring flowers. These wildflower seeds may have been dormant in the local mulch that we had spread across the property. The flowers then attracted birds, bees and other pollinators, turning this once desolate land into a thriving and dynamic garden.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Qwu-12VdyG8IsnOKR_-d-m5WG8pENC3jSHRvHUAWrgEceypvi6TsLKv_eqqZ489Sx7XOiv6RPGYUqCt9Xzv5ooyZpnoSYFbSmUiyxj8b1DmvhQMvW313_J_lukNJxBoRrnjh3uVyaYtMq8lQXfB3oUmH_TjGVeO-NVR-PCXFNA1TH827nQ/s640/sweet%20pea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Qwu-12VdyG8IsnOKR_-d-m5WG8pENC3jSHRvHUAWrgEceypvi6TsLKv_eqqZ489Sx7XOiv6RPGYUqCt9Xzv5ooyZpnoSYFbSmUiyxj8b1DmvhQMvW313_J_lukNJxBoRrnjh3uVyaYtMq8lQXfB3oUmH_TjGVeO-NVR-PCXFNA1TH827nQ/s320/sweet%20pea.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Some of the flowers were waist high and we carved a natural path to the market garden, popping a sweet pea of two or three in our mouths, taking in the fragrance of a bloom, and stopping in our tracks to appreciate this wild burst of beauty.</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Now that April is nearly over, many of the spring flowers are fading. Wildly tall Queen Anne’s Lace beckons in the breeze, while the sweet peas are still sweet. We are quickly moving into summer, at which point we will ‘chop and drop,’ cutting down the meadow and leaving it to enrich the existing soil. Hopefully many of these plants will also reseed for a welcomed appearance next spring.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Since those aphids won their battle, the chickens are eating a large dose of organic lettuce daily. Every time I walk from the vegetable garden and pass the chickens, they rush towards me in clucking anticipation. They have still not started laying eggs, but given their diet, the eggs should be nutritious!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX08qtLplFQYlRbsTPU6LrXRFsYdBUyH966XjFuJqZDL884PaXeXdT05NWPwXM0GcjqTDiN_sUhnXDXm39BPimP1HdXm3BN1ntwNH2k2-RzIvKsa33yiDwV-TZKD3bgitQg4XKR6Z7cOpPon_U6U0bXs5wvLl_JGiKnmohUfoDM-qxA2CHbw/s640/Meadow%20main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX08qtLplFQYlRbsTPU6LrXRFsYdBUyH966XjFuJqZDL884PaXeXdT05NWPwXM0GcjqTDiN_sUhnXDXm39BPimP1HdXm3BN1ntwNH2k2-RzIvKsa33yiDwV-TZKD3bgitQg4XKR6Z7cOpPon_U6U0bXs5wvLl_JGiKnmohUfoDM-qxA2CHbw/w300-h400/Meadow%20main.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The cherry tomatoes we planted are now tall and flowering, promising a huge crop. I am not sure if aphids will take to these, but it looks like they have moved on to the kale. The zucchinis are abundant and the carrots are also almost ready.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Our favorite so far are the beets. Sweet, delicious and filled with nutrients! We cleared out the romaine lettuce and rocket to plant some more summer vegetables including peppers, eggplant and squash.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We also planted around the trees in the food forest. Aside from sunflowers, we planted acorn and butternut squash, and as soon as the seedlings are ready, we will add melon and watermelon to the areas around the trees.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It is sad to see the meadow fade but this is the natural pattern of seasons here in Israel. Fleeting, this makes us appreciate their beauty even more.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-50647299554222141682023-03-25T13:32:00.000-05:002023-03-25T13:32:21.987-05:00They too have to eat<p><span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJN39hZtNVlGHLP4_RiMrmIA0tUns_2yRNNdGIPc_LJZRiEnRjPXwalJKMwqEFHRRd_krGmAv-KgfzVon-vmAj7pa0fGsYS28rK-LZjaT1z1R48w1ZrBsP3kg9BDKpSr6iolEsvHv9t4-jo_2Fw92QQT8xB2o6csT-aGpdemhfw5UawNP3TA/s1024/blog%20march%20main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJN39hZtNVlGHLP4_RiMrmIA0tUns_2yRNNdGIPc_LJZRiEnRjPXwalJKMwqEFHRRd_krGmAv-KgfzVon-vmAj7pa0fGsYS28rK-LZjaT1z1R48w1ZrBsP3kg9BDKpSr6iolEsvHv9t4-jo_2Fw92QQT8xB2o6csT-aGpdemhfw5UawNP3TA/w640-h480/blog%20march%20main.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br />“They too have to eat.” These were Yuval’s compassionate words regarding sharing our organic greens with other critters. As we stand over buckets of water, dunking and swirling heads of lettuce, our feet in mud and our hands covered in caterpillar refuse and aphids, I keep trying to remember these words.</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Last Thursday, we were up with the first rays of sun, chipper as the birds and ready to harvest. We cut bundles of spinach, Swiss Chard, green onions, arugula, parsley, rocket, and coriander. All was going really well and we were making good time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We are always racing the sun, trying to get the vegetables picked, counted, boxed and loaded into the air-conditioned car before the heat intensifies. It was a great morning until we met the aphids.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The aphids had moved in big time since last week’s harvest. They first set up home in the romaine bed, then moved into more stylish quarters in our curly lettuces. Meanwhile, the elegant, ruffled, buttery crisp salanova lettuce was slowly ripening to perfection. The aphids had taken it over before we could even taste a leaf.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I now know more about aphids than I want. They are as small as a pinpoint and are miniature sap-sucking tyrants. One single aphid can produce 600 billion offspring in one season. Male aphids are skipped over in the proliferation process and females can birth live pregnant nymphs. All of these factors speed along the numbers game.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KlB9993CBx1OXY7w_SIq9N16BH_6nem79V2sVKLu3X1flDCumqeHQcKjkjE-UTlQRnowZJdzt47os1VoZ9jRpV73705qYDI51s2ZS-0QQIuGSgSQuh8QnC-D0CdBtKr9SOjA-csHmj_vZ9IWG8QTSY2TEJcJYN3p4ml3OVjaO4tRx_9eew/s640/kale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KlB9993CBx1OXY7w_SIq9N16BH_6nem79V2sVKLu3X1flDCumqeHQcKjkjE-UTlQRnowZJdzt47os1VoZ9jRpV73705qYDI51s2ZS-0QQIuGSgSQuh8QnC-D0CdBtKr9SOjA-csHmj_vZ9IWG8QTSY2TEJcJYN3p4ml3OVjaO4tRx_9eew/s320/kale.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">As we had multiple orders of lettuce to fill, we first tried to shake the aphids off. We then grabbed buckets and a hose. One person cut the lettuce, the other swished and swirled it like a mop head. We then had to check it and bag it. The disgusting water in the buckets had to be dumped outside the garden, then refilled afresh. </span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">This took three of us so much time, we had people coming into the garden wondering what happened to their orders. And this was all for a 5 NIS organic lettuce.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It was a disheartening battle and we were losing. I was tired and sopping wet. We picked a bit of lettuce and then discarded the rest. We now have to build two composters in the back so we can dump all of the infested lettuce. The timing is terrible as Pesach is coming soon and many people would have enjoyed those enormous romaine leaves at their seder.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It is also a humbling experience. I can see humankind’s desire to find a workaround, fix things, win nature’s battles, and make a situation more beneficial to himself. Yet there is a complex delicate, and unseen order to creation. We are the observers and we must let nature work it out.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-q5S6EMzgt1Ld-IhyBj3M2h2qxdiASaT3rB30GhFPkyztxhCFN6q1cNL_PqwT8lLrbKiGYmE3vMsyENJAGBTnp92XRld-Zw2JqAo9KLTqENXlqI4443wk8nWD0tejlUmPVsf_iRD7EHPcve1VXKdnapbbJ5taAHWZO2wNl0HolmXKVeIrAA/s640/ladybug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-q5S6EMzgt1Ld-IhyBj3M2h2qxdiASaT3rB30GhFPkyztxhCFN6q1cNL_PqwT8lLrbKiGYmE3vMsyENJAGBTnp92XRld-Zw2JqAo9KLTqENXlqI4443wk8nWD0tejlUmPVsf_iRD7EHPcve1VXKdnapbbJ5taAHWZO2wNl0HolmXKVeIrAA/w300-h400/ladybug.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ladybugs fly in to the rescue.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table>The interesting part of this story is that the ladybugs found out about our plight. They do not have internet or cellphones but the word got out and they flew in. Ladybugs dine on sweet aphids, eating up to 50 a day and they do not damage the plant. I am hoping they are battling it out right now as I cheer for Team Ladybug. </span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Insects that have aphids on the menu are called aphidophagous. I am putting it out there to all the aphidophagous bugs that we have a banquet awaiting them!</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Next time around, I will try companion planting to repel aphids, placing lavender, rosemary and sunflowers at various place in the beds. We are also trying to install a bubbler, a kind of washing machine for lettuce. But this will require a dryer. The list goes on.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">With three wheelbarrow loads of lettuce to consume, my neighbors’ goats scored. My chickens did well too. On the chicken front, one of our 13 has so far expressed itself as a male. I know that the rooster is supposed to a leader and protector of the hens.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The so-called rooster that self-proclaimed his sovereignty one early morning does not exactly have leadership stature, charisma, or charm. Our rooster is a silkie, a forlorn, dishevelled chicken that looks like a rabbit and can barely see because his feathers cover his eyes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">He has a powderpuff head and two toes that are feathered. When he is wet, he looks like a rag. I read on a website that you should dry a wet silkie with a hairdryer. That is not happening on this farm! </span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx_9eXI4sd9EVBjtOyJ_NWkLZ8Xbq8rxjHeZpbzSGDwOHR_cNmVv_jJu_3WN3LgRfAbJ1GIu4ElwvE' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br />And, a silkie cannot fly. In fact, he keeps bumping into things. I do not think the hens will accept him as a protector. Even his crow is not exactly classic. Seems to be a theme around here!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We are all beginners on this journey and may not be the best candidates for the job. But we are trying our best, learning a lot, and are left in awe at the end of every expansive day.</span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-9657640205791957372023-02-26T23:39:00.001-05:002023-02-26T23:39:35.232-05:00Does this mean we are farmers? <span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNrV2mFr5dUyaavddjiQl2uTn0eKNMIdDT-0CZp1uv883ba3jZOKdT28ODQCph_NDFPv9SD6Xhoye1UWZAbtKidwPeSntbRq88gybq3jTY96lLUlwG8ACz8A6QGQbkFlrIDlKHp61Q33cWen4MFIXhrjNBAN6kjoWdGsOp7f-KfV2YZ3E8Og/s640/IMG_0013%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNrV2mFr5dUyaavddjiQl2uTn0eKNMIdDT-0CZp1uv883ba3jZOKdT28ODQCph_NDFPv9SD6Xhoye1UWZAbtKidwPeSntbRq88gybq3jTY96lLUlwG8ACz8A6QGQbkFlrIDlKHp61Q33cWen4MFIXhrjNBAN6kjoWdGsOp7f-KfV2YZ3E8Og/w300-h400/IMG_0013%20(2).jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />Our market garden has flourished in the warm sunshine. We had an unseasonably dry January. It was hot and sunny with cloudless blue skies, and we kept praying for precious rain. </span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This small garden of seedlings quickly transformed into a sea of shimmering green; we had deep green dinosaur kale, curly green and red lettuces, rocket lettuce that was almost knee high, and Turkish spinach. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Early February, Yuval announced that we had enough produce to sell. Sell what? And to whom? How? And where? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">As the greens grew, we flew. We came up with a name for our market garden, then a logo.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-7R5unISPQ87fk_KKxrAaz-MBKggJ0tmlWFmq6cWnX1li_Kp3pcY4fGHyY1YH1kJXDFqaUqFWEiVGk2CQUsP_P2GcMPwpGL-LW0GiftK28zFZ2uXUq6riFircLsxSDqWByRqMSYE5JHKPOObExg_yE9ZHrtxCHoWij1V0IPTCOSvlr0fOA/s640/Tilly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-7R5unISPQ87fk_KKxrAaz-MBKggJ0tmlWFmq6cWnX1li_Kp3pcY4fGHyY1YH1kJXDFqaUqFWEiVGk2CQUsP_P2GcMPwpGL-LW0GiftK28zFZ2uXUq6riFircLsxSDqWByRqMSYE5JHKPOObExg_yE9ZHrtxCHoWij1V0IPTCOSvlr0fOA/w300-h400/Tilly.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, clouds gathered and rain fell. At first it was soft, soothing, nurturing rain. As it gathered intensity, hail fell. Then fierce winds blew in. With each weather ‘event,’ I imagined those perfect market-ready leaves being blown, pummelled and bashed. And we had not even sold one order! The life of a farmer. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We honed in on the name Ahavat HaAdama for our garden, which means Love of the Land. This resonated with us in many meaningful ways. One is the spiritual aspect of farming the land in Israel. It is a return to what our ancient people once did here.
This tradition has been lost, resulting in a disconnect between people and the source of their food. And as so many Jewish laws revolve around farming, we are now able to follow many of the halachot in the place where they were given thousands of years ago. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrbXN0Pb8RVsPUntwr3ehQbdmjEwhRWjwMyvSZZN5s4JyY2Izd18NwfvdFyIJs5Gg2Uxjl7O78jqgrbiNbXqFnDVYHEuSpb5pDDrPatuQk35NzmfWitMk_fzfIoYw2yPUinSc9e0sSFIMTRCKRyPWEjV4M1dPNm3d3Yzpf3FRuv-PP8zWuQ/s1429/Neta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1429" data-original-width="908" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrbXN0Pb8RVsPUntwr3ehQbdmjEwhRWjwMyvSZZN5s4JyY2Izd18NwfvdFyIJs5Gg2Uxjl7O78jqgrbiNbXqFnDVYHEuSpb5pDDrPatuQk35NzmfWitMk_fzfIoYw2yPUinSc9e0sSFIMTRCKRyPWEjV4M1dPNm3d3Yzpf3FRuv-PP8zWuQ/s320/Neta.jpg" width="203" /></a></div>For me, ‘loving this land’ is simply being out there to observe the growth and admire the simple ingredients of healthy organic food: sunshine, water, and good soil. It is simply miraculous. I find it heals the soul to tend the garden softly, slowly and quietly, lulled by the song of birds. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">On a more energized note, we had to move fast to find a market. I learned how to make an online order form and we put out the word to English and Hebrew speaking local markets. The response was positive and exciting. Yuval decided to first focus on bags of mixed tender baby leaves and bunches of rocket.
To be true to our organic principles, we found biodegradable bags and then had our first harvest. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdHTi1jQdhzJYA6NNLTSN7ZK0PGjciOiYyhcqyEn6MPyDpvWT86rKJ_X4_zuBWp_o32Iffhr_362EVMa3ky41T0LYrvtP4m_F2x1cRMZgDC8bP-6rhmSquXq3wfhwYKpyMdid8bbY2PQhjX9JTKTKsMD1FsI2GHK9FgZteV0_d6AngGx9Iw/s640/packing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="517" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdHTi1jQdhzJYA6NNLTSN7ZK0PGjciOiYyhcqyEn6MPyDpvWT86rKJ_X4_zuBWp_o32Iffhr_362EVMa3ky41T0LYrvtP4m_F2x1cRMZgDC8bP-6rhmSquXq3wfhwYKpyMdid8bbY2PQhjX9JTKTKsMD1FsI2GHK9FgZteV0_d6AngGx9Iw/s320/packing.jpg" width="259" /></a></div>We picked, packed, and delivered. From our first offering of two items three weeks ago, we have now grown to nine items. This week we have arugula, spinach, Swiss chard, kale, spring onions, romaine lettuce, parsley, coriander, and mixed leaf salad.
Simply knowing that people are appreciating our organic freshly picked veggies is fulfilling. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Yes, it is a lot of work and yes, farmers are not high-income earners. But this is not about profit lines and revenue. This is about love, an act of helping to create healthy food in a world where most food is radiated, sprayed with chemicals, over-packaged, and shipped. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This is also about connecting people with a source of goodness. Ahavat HaAdama is creating its own momentum as people hear about the market garden and come to visit. Simply seeing food growing on our terraces is moving to those who come here. People are fascinated by the vivid colors and textures and are astounded by the taste the fresh leaves. Others are moved to tears to see that people are farming the land. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivORRmSCNfFa8PvTX4kctsZG3oC1RA4AN9bFifspXWFBtCi7j6o61ZbmM5Xwkov2f7fu4ceaKeWZTIaldiaPG3EY-2MT2rFcXE7AKOECTNRQ634WLqM80yT19woFcvE1KCnewJ_-_CpDvJTGVIsKv1iCZSvtXwL0AYJGCxjFz5NlE2DlwZ4Q/s640/seedlings%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivORRmSCNfFa8PvTX4kctsZG3oC1RA4AN9bFifspXWFBtCi7j6o61ZbmM5Xwkov2f7fu4ceaKeWZTIaldiaPG3EY-2MT2rFcXE7AKOECTNRQ634WLqM80yT19woFcvE1KCnewJ_-_CpDvJTGVIsKv1iCZSvtXwL0AYJGCxjFz5NlE2DlwZ4Q/s320/seedlings%202.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I feel grateful that we have this opportunity to offer people healthy food and see how organic vegetables are grown. Yes, it is work, but it is so satisfying.
And the work never ends! We recently planted another terrace with 1200 seedlings including red and green lettuce, zucchini, plus we seeded carrots and radishes. <br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, the chickens are clucking without the crow of a rooster—yet. We expect there are at least five roosters in the bunch. They are fortunate chickens as they get all of the organic scraps fresh from the market garden. Our cat has not attempted to take them on, although she definitely stalks around their fence. And if our dog could get in there, it could be bad news. We are hoping to see an egg in the next month or so. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJciWBA3Hly5BBGPbeEoxrRnX3x2la4pPKgiFuxwYQQJB67QMwloskErCOKyq_bzYv2BGGLRXnGMXjNgGYiBDHOmpzuDLD1-qPfzqIEugwTaixpoaA8wGDYsatCEtxm64ysqGj7rcjVOjrCLNqtGjZoxCU5GWpx57CYgMwLNkofr1SwA7qvQ/s640/arugula.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJciWBA3Hly5BBGPbeEoxrRnX3x2la4pPKgiFuxwYQQJB67QMwloskErCOKyq_bzYv2BGGLRXnGMXjNgGYiBDHOmpzuDLD1-qPfzqIEugwTaixpoaA8wGDYsatCEtxm64ysqGj7rcjVOjrCLNqtGjZoxCU5GWpx57CYgMwLNkofr1SwA7qvQ/w480-h640/arugula.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">We thought the porcupine changed his address or went on an extended leave. We actually have never seen him but know he is capable of moving boulders. He would stalk about at night and leave quills as his calling card.
However, last night, we heard him again. My son thought it was a burglar and when he went outside, he saw an absolutely enormous animal. We are completely fenced in so are no sure how he got in or if he can get out. But if he were to stay, he has a delectable feast out back in the vegetable garden. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Our last wildlife tidbit is the caterpillar. After the rains, millions of caterpillars crawled out of nests. They are everywhere, and yes, they too found out about Ahavat HaAdama. Yuval is not worried. “They too have to eat,” he says. It is a race between us and them and I can’t wait until they turn into butterflies!</span></div><div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-33191472330428063372023-01-26T10:11:00.000-05:002023-01-26T10:11:01.051-05:00The Market Garden<p><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVT2xsuU5TKDT8JrT_-DKB0H0lsnpOcaNBVphrBOvoehrgul2WdbQfcDCWpFGZhD5qCGNtqdAGKqmvjvgFAJUOBxSSKsnZlXce1JxzrNTfHl5njBaG16nVZkfkKkrpCn-uH7fhU5axZwFKNPt6Sp3a1us6YyQxYtMqj1Gl11N27pqfr55fdA/s1600/main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVT2xsuU5TKDT8JrT_-DKB0H0lsnpOcaNBVphrBOvoehrgul2WdbQfcDCWpFGZhD5qCGNtqdAGKqmvjvgFAJUOBxSSKsnZlXce1JxzrNTfHl5njBaG16nVZkfkKkrpCn-uH7fhU5axZwFKNPt6Sp3a1us6YyQxYtMqj1Gl11N27pqfr55fdA/w640-h480/main.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />January marked a complete transformation of the market garden, as it turned from brown to shimmering green. With the help of super friendly people in the community, we planted over a thousand seedlings. The brown no-dig beds were soon filled with tiny organic seedlings of kale, lettuce, Swiss chard, beets, arugula, coriander, and parsley.<span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;">The first day they went in, there was a tremendous wind that raged from the north and we raced out to cover the newly planted seedlings with plastic. The wind blew and the plastic flew as we tried to secure metal poles and tie down plastic as a kind of temporary greenhouse.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The wind died down, a trickle of light rain arrived, and then it was summer! Yes, it is still January and although they are not yet using the ‘drought’ word, this is the driest winter in Israel for 60 years. There may be rain next week, but these sapphire-blue skies do not look like they are portending precipitation.</p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We are fortunate to have a watering system. The warm, intense sun is doing its magic and the plants have quickly grown in just three weeks. This spurt logically leads to the next step; what are we going to do with so much produce? We will have to find a way to sell it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Somehow.</span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">It is a pleasure to work in the vegetable beds on a fresh morning, the silence punctuated by the migrating cranes flying in formation above. (It is a bit worrisome that they are still migrating, and some are going in the wrong direction. If I were a crane, I would just say put; what is the point of flying to Ethiopia just to turn around and come north again?)</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRJEaq7IerQwUy2tAvne8DqgTKttNGIqFyp22GTLXu2fcIa6bVQauM2e1eGcDRLbAALxkAXg-jPc68KieBp5DJsy32FV3gtXMDEiCFmEKExeFJcPqLZPjVhpJbYygjNlu35ZWn-KU4GzDlkWXurUoc7lQAED02qiUTTndGlJQ_XrpHhu6mw/s640/bird%20watching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="640" height="582" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRJEaq7IerQwUy2tAvne8DqgTKttNGIqFyp22GTLXu2fcIa6bVQauM2e1eGcDRLbAALxkAXg-jPc68KieBp5DJsy32FV3gtXMDEiCFmEKExeFJcPqLZPjVhpJbYygjNlu35ZWn-KU4GzDlkWXurUoc7lQAED02qiUTTndGlJQ_XrpHhu6mw/w640-h582/bird%20watching.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Watching the migration in the skies above.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />While the veggies were growing, the chickens arrived. But first, they needed a coop. Amir and a friend sawed and drilled, and hammered until we had a predator-proof coop complete with a retractable poop tray and a large treed yard that would make any free-range chicken cluck with joy.</p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We bought six one-month-old chickens and as it happened to be a cold, rainy night, the chicken seller said they needed a heat lamp in the coop. The hardware store was closed and despite the fancy chicken digs we had, there was no way to keep the chicks warm.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>So these new, nervous chicken parents put them in the basement. We draped the furniture with old sheets, turned up the heat and left them. Boy, do they make a racket. </p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwJFEcKV4q0h2vuMmumVfZ5xw4Byts4iz0ghs454ENeoEe1UC5D_QpClGX_RE49Dmhl2PrRveGn5myJGXCNT8rdfxA5dr69a2DtQoUr6EmQPFZONnhPZt_DRMU9sqMHsUEn0G_yXIla_o_PH4dg0FV-QMu4Ol7NGftrH3pknn1pL36vHlaQ/s640/IMG_9756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwJFEcKV4q0h2vuMmumVfZ5xw4Byts4iz0ghs454ENeoEe1UC5D_QpClGX_RE49Dmhl2PrRveGn5myJGXCNT8rdfxA5dr69a2DtQoUr6EmQPFZONnhPZt_DRMU9sqMHsUEn0G_yXIla_o_PH4dg0FV-QMu4Ol7NGftrH3pknn1pL36vHlaQ/w320-h240/IMG_9756.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>We moved the chickens to their big digs and I spent the next morning cleaning the poopy floor. We soon had a heat lamp set up complete with a timer, a feeder, and a watering system, and as we were admiring our handiwork, our kitten walked right through the bars of their fence.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I had no idea a cat could contort itself with such ease to fit through a tiny area a fraction of its size. This coop was not predator proof! We used chicken wire to fill in every hole we could find, then made the chickens a tiny area outside their hatch that was cat proof complete with a fenced-in roof.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I now have to fatten up my kitten and my chickens. I have seen large cats sitting in chicken coops without disturbing the feathery inhabitants and hope my cat will one day feel the same way. As for the dogs, they simply feel left out.</p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxrMy5QGmBzYOgZ2tKvSIAt4UGBqOZMnJvdk1kl90I30aCm5aPTn_iYM0FNw6kguxK-QS-jHVQ6XxCqmFm5RMj5F04RnOb1bw0-e2I09aIBEMFtCLWGYkNKdPsvcecLRvGgvRm6M2gCgSo2Q3kMChOpsrfeaEcyxMPJaI9AU8xX4hbiafKcA/s640/silky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="580" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxrMy5QGmBzYOgZ2tKvSIAt4UGBqOZMnJvdk1kl90I30aCm5aPTn_iYM0FNw6kguxK-QS-jHVQ6XxCqmFm5RMj5F04RnOb1bw0-e2I09aIBEMFtCLWGYkNKdPsvcecLRvGgvRm6M2gCgSo2Q3kMChOpsrfeaEcyxMPJaI9AU8xX4hbiafKcA/s320/silky.jpg" width="290" /></a></div>The other chicken surprise came when we bought seven more chickens. When we asked for hens only, the new chicken seller said “I honestly can’t tell the difference. I thought I knew, until people woke up to a cock-a-doodle doo one morning and then returned them. I can’t do business like this. If you want to bring them back, fine, but I cannot refund you.”<p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When we explained that the first chicken guy sold us six females with confidence, he replied, “I admire his skill, but I cannot assure you.” He then picked out a Silky chicken from a cage and put it in a box. This must be the most ridiculous looking chicken I have ever seen. If a rabbit were a chicken, it would be a Silky.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We now own several breeds of chicken including Rhode Island Reds, Plymouth Rocks, Sussex, Legbar, Bielefelder, Penedesenca, and of course, the Silky rabbit chickens. This is a whole world unto its own as each chicken breed has a distinct personality. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIpkW_9XYLeePD2qyy82EVlmE8GUfSTskNTmcqDVmfh_O0QLxlPGZHASdNyGd-vJfAD0IDhHMKDrTr94AQMpQSGTXXWd9w0D26sdtwSRFirJMI5t6WC1G-mBMe86d1C0CvAcKvzzVG08V3I9_zluOM21nCuODzof3ITYt2vde4RmWnD11cEg/s640/IMG_9768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIpkW_9XYLeePD2qyy82EVlmE8GUfSTskNTmcqDVmfh_O0QLxlPGZHASdNyGd-vJfAD0IDhHMKDrTr94AQMpQSGTXXWd9w0D26sdtwSRFirJMI5t6WC1G-mBMe86d1C0CvAcKvzzVG08V3I9_zluOM21nCuODzof3ITYt2vde4RmWnD11cEg/w400-h300/IMG_9768.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>They are adapting to their new digs and so far, we have not heard a cock-a-doodle doo, but I am sure we have a few roosters in the coop. I will deal with that when it happens. The females will not lay eggs for another four months. That’s a lot of eggs, unless there are more roosters than hens. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Not sure, what will happen then, but we may also be selling eggs! Not sure who is buying, but we will soon find out – or we will be eating lots of omelettes!</p><br /><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-64060164077012158642022-12-26T09:00:00.005-05:002023-01-26T09:50:32.192-05:00December is Dedicated to the Dump Truck<p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIQP4lPgKqJyKJXYHlJ_eQQNbmcoWoFM6k3V7E6Al6QA9h4pfD0yX4K1fUYznJpTL8o41p_jUV1yiOzhAQ2iRKrosxSpBHY5x88UUWy9ONw5qRiXmMc7ljEpl9dHK_N092J5aixQowGeSe_OlR5t_k1it_nCrZOgoNko6_tzCWGWSpfSwdw/s640/Dump%203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="640" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIQP4lPgKqJyKJXYHlJ_eQQNbmcoWoFM6k3V7E6Al6QA9h4pfD0yX4K1fUYznJpTL8o41p_jUV1yiOzhAQ2iRKrosxSpBHY5x88UUWy9ONw5qRiXmMc7ljEpl9dHK_N092J5aixQowGeSe_OlR5t_k1it_nCrZOgoNko6_tzCWGWSpfSwdw/s320/Dump%203.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br />December is dedicated to the dump truck.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">With land excavations mostly done, it was time for the filling to come. T</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">he large bulldozer left and the dump trucks arrived, leaving pile upon pile of compost and mulch. </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">Meanwhile, a small bulldozer ferried pile upon pile of mulch and soil across the property. For most of the month here in Israel, days were we hot and summery with sapphire-blue skies. Great gardening weather.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I had no idea how many loads of mulch and soil were involved. Turns out, it was many. There seemed to be a highway of trucks rolling up my neighbor’s driveway in order to access the back of the property. The first time a truck arrived, I called her to ask permission. “Sure,” she replied. “You don’t need to call. Go ahead.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfAnAC1AihzN3w7RRICiRJVpz-4PELdHbt7xhTif0rDtEtSut_AZP6U1_fNGNgpOWKgmqBS5VbcwRR_IYkOHLtpvL5721qW8MLIKCFq4tKfRkeu8bdUJKqXrCr_NqlR8SaxIYBrnP6-41J2tKQn40FzXjdvanrEkr872ESENjt9QaWO0cs8g/s640/mulch.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfAnAC1AihzN3w7RRICiRJVpz-4PELdHbt7xhTif0rDtEtSut_AZP6U1_fNGNgpOWKgmqBS5VbcwRR_IYkOHLtpvL5721qW8MLIKCFq4tKfRkeu8bdUJKqXrCr_NqlR8SaxIYBrnP6-41J2tKQn40FzXjdvanrEkr872ESENjt9QaWO0cs8g/s320/mulch.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The truck rumbled in, dumped and left. Then another came. And another. The community yard waste that had piled up over the year also arrived in trucks. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure as the saying goes. It was mulched on site, then we paid for seven huge trucks to dump it on our land.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Again, trucks went up and down our neighbor’s driveway. We then raked and we raked the mulch across the property until I had blisters on my hands. The land was soon covered with a warm blanket. Green manure taken to the extreme.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Trucks of manure came and went. This went on day after day until mountains of manure filled the back. They were steaming, baking hot inside like an oven. This was a sign that lots of bacterial activity was still going on.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXUHhde9TeAPzMzjghwDlrsfBUu1VA8z4CDBw423Yx-YBQUP_K0TUWwULZuG7YcwNdbFc1DnPLmZzOI6WlI5fDe3kghyL3voTTN4fHk4ybGGshbkKJbmOuc4p_-foWXyslOZv_7xYS0DIM0QmSDzucDS6nLbs4CcVCnfntVy0_0nOHCBHsg/s640/mini%20tractor.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXUHhde9TeAPzMzjghwDlrsfBUu1VA8z4CDBw423Yx-YBQUP_K0TUWwULZuG7YcwNdbFc1DnPLmZzOI6WlI5fDe3kghyL3voTTN4fHk4ybGGshbkKJbmOuc4p_-foWXyslOZv_7xYS0DIM0QmSDzucDS6nLbs4CcVCnfntVy0_0nOHCBHsg/s320/mini%20tractor.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Aside from the mulch mountain, there were two kinds of compost dumped here: a green one and a brown one. The green one was made of clippings and manure and is high in nitrogen, while the brown was mostly decomposed twigs, leaves and wood chips. This pile is carbon rich as opposed to nitrogen rich. The relationship between these two piles was very important as we were soon to learn.</span></p><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">The piles were steaming away, waiting for the no-dig team to arrive on the scene. It was time to build the market garden beds. The permaculture superheroes also arrived.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Aside from team leader permaculturist Yuval, we had permaculture Ido, who loved cacti and succulents. Shai No-Dig came, popular host of the Israeli <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Shainodig"><span class="s1">No Dig Facebook</span></a> group. He spoke passionately about soil all day, every day.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Yigal came, a permaculture farmer who owns a huge parcel of land in Portugal.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>And there was “Kiko,” a young guy who ran his own organic vegetable business, as well as Arnon, the gardener-irrigation guy. There was Nachum, a Californian who found Hashem and who loves nature. We even had a young woman, Efrat, work for a few days. Her full-time gig was a carpenter and she was strong!</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Then there was us, the older, less informed, farmer wanna be’s. We asked to be put to work. Before I knew it, I was pounding hardened clumps of earth and removing rocks from the beds while Shai and Yuval took out measuring tapes, stakes and ropes. I bashed and I hauled and I sweated.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdjQJ1G4emP5BgsNeBEDJFlgyeoh5qj1YbOgewXtQwuBFsQiSPdMM4IiVIQSiTIhB7GO4JRQ0tBwHQj13joXswWl-SPPnQY6UIAQ3vmET_o4SmxwA7o2Fpd-8g1CCRhElQOiNgQ20omaEa7S_xt9aGaoCN4yYhuYslRuGfITye7MU3qxYrOA/s640/string.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdjQJ1G4emP5BgsNeBEDJFlgyeoh5qj1YbOgewXtQwuBFsQiSPdMM4IiVIQSiTIhB7GO4JRQ0tBwHQj13joXswWl-SPPnQY6UIAQ3vmET_o4SmxwA7o2Fpd-8g1CCRhElQOiNgQ20omaEa7S_xt9aGaoCN4yYhuYslRuGfITye7MU3qxYrOA/s320/string.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Once the beds were outlined with string, we took shovels and filled wheelbarrows with the green manure, then gently dumped them across the beds. Next came careful raking to ensure the soil was straight; higher in the middle and slightly lower on the sides; fluffy but not too much air. </span></div><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">There was to be minimum disturbance of the soil and there was a lot of discussion about this. They brought a door and then a pipe to gently tamp the beds. Then came the brown compost stage, same treatment.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The attention and precision taken reminded of Tibetan monks forming a sand mandala. It would have been meditative if my back muscles were not screaming. And if I had trampled on it like the monks destroyed their mandalas to show life’s impermanence, I would have been deigned an impermanent no-dig gardener and escorted off-site.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The dogs, however, broke the golden rule by stepping on the perfect beds, then laying right in the center of them.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>They tried out each perfected bed like Goldilocks, leaving paw marks behind them.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8mXyhkAKIFDzmBJ1SFuGB7vZ3dLh4QdCL7MXvPtIpNUd1YwtnSDYp1rP93UDgsoDLqskC_ni3XsH3DYntJ6nViNWP5dzwbgriiZe25ZFBJnbV14s6N-ux2wFgSFU4loucRmrAyZmv4jfnDoEKIZzh2z7Su9h1UcQ19hJFNYZ0sCttAn3aA/s640/amir%20and%20doug.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="458" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8mXyhkAKIFDzmBJ1SFuGB7vZ3dLh4QdCL7MXvPtIpNUd1YwtnSDYp1rP93UDgsoDLqskC_ni3XsH3DYntJ6nViNWP5dzwbgriiZe25ZFBJnbV14s6N-ux2wFgSFU4loucRmrAyZmv4jfnDoEKIZzh2z7Su9h1UcQ19hJFNYZ0sCttAn3aA/s320/amir%20and%20doug.jpg" width="229" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br />Our last job was to mulch in between the beds. Our friends Doug and Paula came from Ra’anana for a full day of digging, wheelbarrowing, and raking. Doug covered the land with a mixture of wheat and nitrogen-fixing clover seeds, a way of further enriching the soil. </span><p></p><div style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">This will soon (as long as we get enough rain) become a cover crop and will take nitrogen from the air, then fix it into its roots. Come spring, we will ‘chop and drop’ it back onto the mulch so when it decomposes, it will add the beneficial nutrients to the soil.</span></div><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Another responsibility was making the crew lunch. We were sometimes 10 people for lunch and I wanted to serve something healthy and energizing to this hungry strong crew. Day after day, we set the table in the garden and sat around it in the afternoon sun, eating a variety salads and hearty vegetable soups. No Dig Shai blessed us that next year we will be eating vegetables straight from our no-dig beds.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpjif7sojytvkEntCwlwCbhpa1K3YaZYOtYxcGOesuWRglGqmo1o8YuoF3s3OQInhIPT6QaASoYkfqRFgs8GVN_dQuGm_ZktxGGWyR5_FIpA9jkoc9rlKmGPLJEo1xtxi7oW3Y7_UznTCejfMSuoLQGrH2Vv2ikalbCuFvLgCQtBwYLy_vw/s640/lunch.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpjif7sojytvkEntCwlwCbhpa1K3YaZYOtYxcGOesuWRglGqmo1o8YuoF3s3OQInhIPT6QaASoYkfqRFgs8GVN_dQuGm_ZktxGGWyR5_FIpA9jkoc9rlKmGPLJEo1xtxi7oW3Y7_UznTCejfMSuoLQGrH2Vv2ikalbCuFvLgCQtBwYLy_vw/s320/lunch.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">It felt like a scene from some movie set in Tuscany. Then it was back to work. The irrigation lines were then laid and the rain finally arrived.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">With rain here, I am outside with muddy boots watching that mulch like a hawk for any sign of life.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The food forest tree holes are dug, mulched, and resting, waiting for company. The beds are ready. They are empty and lonely and eager for life. As soon as the fence goes in, we will plant some winter veggies: possibly spinach, kale, lettuce, radishes, and beets.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, our porcupine may soon be locked into paradise if we can’t dislodge him before the fence is installed. We block up holes with huge boulders and then he extracts them at night, waking me up with his engineering feats.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It sounds like a burglar is downstairs, however burglars are too sly and silent to be so easily detected. I soon realize it is the destructive, fanatical porcupine.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">With December coming to a close, the last dump truck has finally left. Silence reigns save for the patter of rain. The much-needed precipitation and accompanying fog work magic, dripping life into the soil, massaging it, prepping it for the warm spring sun and plants soon to come.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm3nAjX1OSQzsyYMvhAYd4wEZ0pJbgHKDc5001vRL6pqxWNG4ytF_ZfjIFehYt49K4AJ9MR9lAe406W_anT0a1Sqpovf88u6i6H5Pj09SdvBjnl7jpWlrhFQpwoI-scphwZ9TBqkt84hx3ZYincxHRe6IJ2qAxWiFGy4g7Top2GGqzYjIPeg/s640/final.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm3nAjX1OSQzsyYMvhAYd4wEZ0pJbgHKDc5001vRL6pqxWNG4ytF_ZfjIFehYt49K4AJ9MR9lAe406W_anT0a1Sqpovf88u6i6H5Pj09SdvBjnl7jpWlrhFQpwoI-scphwZ9TBqkt84hx3ZYincxHRe6IJ2qAxWiFGy4g7Top2GGqzYjIPeg/w640-h480/final.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p></div>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-12770075580332413922022-11-29T14:21:00.001-05:002022-11-29T14:24:55.956-05:00Our construction site<p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It has been an active month in the food forest-to-be. Yuval, our food forest expert, calls this the infrastructure phase. I call this a mess. This work looks more like highway construction than forest development.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPuVK3tVRab4ZfLKuz8pnyagkIqZMsyf3m7uK3N79yXa3flTiW0EPV-pJs-_d0LkEjXHOs7loU20PhmzHg1VJA56b-FNh7JtMu-tq4bpNt9TS1K8btHxivIlUBczqK4Yp8ty7BgSBcIayFH_5USQNjgo_h-Pa7gyHHUlg1OOUe6MZePjSrKQ/s640/gravel.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPuVK3tVRab4ZfLKuz8pnyagkIqZMsyf3m7uK3N79yXa3flTiW0EPV-pJs-_d0LkEjXHOs7loU20PhmzHg1VJA56b-FNh7JtMu-tq4bpNt9TS1K8btHxivIlUBczqK4Yp8ty7BgSBcIayFH_5USQNjgo_h-Pa7gyHHUlg1OOUe6MZePjSrKQ/w400-h300/gravel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">A large bulldozer was joined by a small bulldozer and together, they gathered large rocks onsite to create terraces for the market garden. It is still all about rocks and now we are actually happy about this rocky win fall on our land as they are just piled up everywhere ready for the taking, both above and underground.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The bulldozers also piled up boulders to create a lookout at the back. From up there, I can see parts of the Kinneret, much of the Golan, including the volcanoes that were responsible for tossing the boulders this way, and, shockingly, Mount Hermon. One day, I hope to see the tops of many fruit trees that will form the future food forest.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihzEOPdV6W5TPFVqIRuyTWNfEqiQLvUIduKpjh0kCP4L9qViIV5wniPf5ut9o9h7n6A51kFyV0517SPvrjSelpbviUKjiI3dPJx9HM8UpNU1jKbMFHBxkKK0D_pt2QGxmSD-Dw9sfpAdztNOVxGUFLWr-3R1jih8FN7lWYjdItN9ROoFq0YQ/s640/eartrh%20delivery.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihzEOPdV6W5TPFVqIRuyTWNfEqiQLvUIduKpjh0kCP4L9qViIV5wniPf5ut9o9h7n6A51kFyV0517SPvrjSelpbviUKjiI3dPJx9HM8UpNU1jKbMFHBxkKK0D_pt2QGxmSD-Dw9sfpAdztNOVxGUFLWr-3R1jih8FN7lWYjdItN9ROoFq0YQ/s320/eartrh%20delivery.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Trucks have been dumping soil for the market garden and gravel for the road and pathway. With the beeping of the tractors and the crashing of gravel and the dust clouds from the trucks, it feels like a construction site and not a garden.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Yes, it still requires imagination and the place actually looks more like a parking lot than when we first started, so this is not saying much. Yet the tractors did start to dig holes for future trees. They dug them, filled them with earth, and then Yuval placed a stone with red spray paint to mark the spot. (Due to a late start, Yuval prefers to do all of the planting in the spring, so we will have to imagine these red marks as trees until then.)</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The bulldozers also dug a long trench for the electrical and main irrigation lines. While digging, they removed some pretty hefty rocks. We hope to place these boulders in the forest as a reminder of what is hiding underground - or perhaps they can serve as reclining chairs should a giant drop by.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQKAFMn16DKWh0Lk8_zLjDI-EFLPmxYAum5lW_yrkhih6JS3p040odIjzlw2fyRK01wiXmKbZN9W1LgFa_nI8UJXaSlS-Ujc8CSC8v8Thb4QfR8-dAdruNTEy8Zb_HETU4GetRA7bsD2VOp5qX3_5Hfp254-qbT1JYTCrueBJwyB6E9MRkw/s640/boulder.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQKAFMn16DKWh0Lk8_zLjDI-EFLPmxYAum5lW_yrkhih6JS3p040odIjzlw2fyRK01wiXmKbZN9W1LgFa_nI8UJXaSlS-Ujc8CSC8v8Thb4QfR8-dAdruNTEy8Zb_HETU4GetRA7bsD2VOp5qX3_5Hfp254-qbT1JYTCrueBJwyB6E9MRkw/s320/boulder.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">And yes, the bulldozers also hit boulders so huge, they broke a few teeth on their shovels, And so they had to use a drill attachment to break them in pieces. The incessant hammering sound of this was enough to make one insane, and I know one of my neighbors is suffering from the pummeling. There was no escape until those boulders were diminished to rubble and I could once again hear the sweet sound of cranes migrating overhead.</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">In the front, we are done with creating the beds and are starting to lay the irrigation lines. We placed bamboo fencing around the perimeter, closing it off from the road. The space now has a cozy, enclosed feeling, much like a room. I planted garlic bulbs, threw around some wild poppy seeds, replanted some nasturtiums that I found sprouting on the roadside, and planted a black-eyed Susan and a morning glory that I hope will grow up the fence. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSw9xH78Bt0a8Z8myF5j8BFIgsKVyJ2lWUafnClfCNf3F55U4MFQ-iQBceHZwmReLxwcD9kOS2kXy1toH-F7RoJv8tMVdvXvEJ74fFlRACTRY5FzIMUi2RGyvh2Ge9dr4rZBXuQonXl6mhPZThaGvwkIdLo_9Iqxw52t0bevjZYr3iNk8p9Q/s640/sushi.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="462" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSw9xH78Bt0a8Z8myF5j8BFIgsKVyJ2lWUafnClfCNf3F55U4MFQ-iQBceHZwmReLxwcD9kOS2kXy1toH-F7RoJv8tMVdvXvEJ74fFlRACTRY5FzIMUi2RGyvh2Ge9dr4rZBXuQonXl6mhPZThaGvwkIdLo_9Iqxw52t0bevjZYr3iNk8p9Q/s320/sushi.jpg" width="231" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">I am still holding off on planting leafy greens in the front as </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">we are not sure if the porcupine has left the premises, and yes, he loves greens. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">To add to the list of predators that love greens, there are wild boars here. We had a positive sighting when our dog Sushi found a boar on his walk and chased him down the road. So yes, boars are also a threat to an edible garden.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"> We will have to get on fence duty soon.</span></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">Once the irrigation lines are finished out front, I can count the spaces on the pipes and will then know how many herbs I can buy. (I do not think those predators will be interested in herbs, but will soon find out.) I already have my wish list and am excited to plant, but so far, weeds have found my cozy, clean, and rich beds and are proliferating. So much for the cardboard. Are these weeds a product of the goat manure, or did they simply fly in and make a perfect landing in this cushiony soil?</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7qPl3sm4HgR6u1UrvukbLWPZw6AAFAWxkLeUDThTHc9zwbue10JxbMX_l-6gqq-lUI2UEDrwLOj0ppVoCMFZpA6x_ZQdoRCpDpGzlVlCUCC2XssMCbO1oF5CL0naxPvPHMdkA7mu2vY3JmC1vu0OpGBdhXuWzrxIRBzOvwwqpqCJDg56-g/s640/market%20garden%20sunrise.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7qPl3sm4HgR6u1UrvukbLWPZw6AAFAWxkLeUDThTHc9zwbue10JxbMX_l-6gqq-lUI2UEDrwLOj0ppVoCMFZpA6x_ZQdoRCpDpGzlVlCUCC2XssMCbO1oF5CL0naxPvPHMdkA7mu2vY3JmC1vu0OpGBdhXuWzrxIRBzOvwwqpqCJDg56-g/w300-h400/market%20garden%20sunrise.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We also placed two passion fruit vines below the front patio wall and hope they will wend their way up and maybe, if they are bold and adventurous, they will discover the pergola. I love the idea of having passionfruit falling from the wooden beams above.</span></p><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The rain finally arrived, transforming the rock-hard soil into soft, dark, and claylike earth. It is actually beautiful soil, considering we were feeling a bit hopeless about its quality given that the place was turned into a parking lot 22 years ago.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Watching how the rain falls gives us an opportunity to put our permaculture knowledge about water to use; we are to slow, spread, and sink those raindrops as they fall from the heavens in abundance.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">On Friday, out we ran out in the pouring rain to see exactly where mini ponds and rivulets formed, deciding how we can reroute it to nourish the large trees. It is so basic and beautiful to observe the power of nature this way and then use practical solutions like trenches or rocks to redirect the nurturing flow, preventing water from flooding and destroying.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8xvox5sMBPtwC587dMu8QviUl3WJbXRZoajBAE-HIy0kBkguPEbkg3FfpabcBZAkhGUjzv9Ch5qJPEJXlh6SaegM9wJeuA70sU3_Lf6PgL6Kk9L6kouOVHJVe9CfwxWgvPyNCjOMuu2zZpD-mWEXSaHVKQGIdYh-j_J35blJr9mQC14oINg/s640/hoses.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8xvox5sMBPtwC587dMu8QviUl3WJbXRZoajBAE-HIy0kBkguPEbkg3FfpabcBZAkhGUjzv9Ch5qJPEJXlh6SaegM9wJeuA70sU3_Lf6PgL6Kk9L6kouOVHJVe9CfwxWgvPyNCjOMuu2zZpD-mWEXSaHVKQGIdYh-j_J35blJr9mQC14oINg/s320/hoses.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">A truck just delivered a load of hoses for the irrigation system and laying the lines will be next week’s work. A few truckloads of mulch also arrived, filling the place with a sweet forest fragrance.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">Once those bulldozers are done bulldozing and the trucks finish their dumping, silence will return. I so look forward to working this land in quiet simplicity with my own bare hands.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"> </span></span></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-22413185550999857282022-10-27T12:26:00.001-05:002022-10-27T12:29:09.765-05:00 Our journey begins! <p><span style="color: #454545; font-family: times;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSHDAjOOiV5cc6EbYedfwUI3ShkfzHqYExU-W-lPGSO7lZBrJUR-S247cb-RuQhI8r8TR5R5C7Yi0OIWsmc_IHCps-jKv21rxx3jHzpTA1iKgHlJ-mIns9FIg5G4kaVKWVfzOkpbiYriUuEI9jg8q0a5ACHOuDRcQcxQO1Sr-SP99zW7u9HA/s640/IMG_8696.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSHDAjOOiV5cc6EbYedfwUI3ShkfzHqYExU-W-lPGSO7lZBrJUR-S247cb-RuQhI8r8TR5R5C7Yi0OIWsmc_IHCps-jKv21rxx3jHzpTA1iKgHlJ-mIns9FIg5G4kaVKWVfzOkpbiYriUuEI9jg8q0a5ACHOuDRcQcxQO1Sr-SP99zW7u9HA/w300-h400/IMG_8696.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #666666;">For those who love gardening, this shmita year seemed interminable. With Rosh Hashana now over, we can finally plant again in Israel! Not being able to do something I love for a year has fortified my patience. It forced me to sit back, research, and dream.<span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: times;"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: times;">Now, finally being outside and working on fulfilling those plans is more rewarding than ever. We have a completed food forest plan. We know the location of each tree, vine, and ground cover, with the swales and irrigation lines also on the map.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">We look at the plan and then peer outside at the rocks. I do believe in this project, yet I also know how many boulders are sleeping beneath this ground. I trust in transformation and look forward to seeing this rocky, gravelly surface turn into soft, fertile soil.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">Aside from having plentiful rocks, the land we bought came with a few olive trees. Fat, black, purplish olives are now dripping off some trees, while others have smallish green olives daintily hanging from branches. I am sure there are several varieties here, but for this uninformed farmer, they are just olives.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">We did our first harvest, filling buckets with the fat, black olives, then salting them. Not sure if we have enough green olives to make our own olive oil, but will wait a few weeks and see. If I get a small hand rake and a mat for the fallen ones, I may even look like I know what I am doing.</span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTXsMpbsSP470YDN-KTJPOcuSPvjGoW0XXdnPeV8zqPcxHHzttSvsEU65abtarCtAwLmOdKzpdSiEEAvpwPtO0VgFfwgrF_xCbsCjMJlprcBJOm4vnJsg-dPO84Y72J9jcf9xJAG6q_feQf2VVUx3ka55lXSA-YrL8lliWQ4wkkhTjSBTZFQ/s640/IMG_8704.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTXsMpbsSP470YDN-KTJPOcuSPvjGoW0XXdnPeV8zqPcxHHzttSvsEU65abtarCtAwLmOdKzpdSiEEAvpwPtO0VgFfwgrF_xCbsCjMJlprcBJOm4vnJsg-dPO84Y72J9jcf9xJAG6q_feQf2VVUx3ka55lXSA-YrL8lliWQ4wkkhTjSBTZFQ/s320/IMG_8704.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: times;">Aside from plentiful rocks and olive trees, the land we bought came with a porcupine who is presently the downstairs tenant. We have never seen him, but he leaves calling cards consisting of quills, is boisterous at night, and chews on electrical wires for fun.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: times;"> </span><span style="font-family: times;">I found out how much he appreciates greens when I left my sweet potato plants out overnight. By morning, they were bare stalks.</span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">As the porcupine is so voracious and sneaky, I cannot plant any vegetables until we have a secure fence. I hope that will happen soon, as the winter planting season was September and we are missing this boat.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">Yet lots is happening. On Sunday, a JCB bulldozer will be starting the extensive land works on the food forest. Due to the condition of this challenging plot, it could take up to 15 days of moving rocks and preparing the land for planting. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">I expect the land will birth some mighty rocks this week, which I will then use for a cactus rock garden.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">We are using our limited permaculture knowledge to create a no-till garden in the front. The idea is to lay cardboard on the ground to stifle the weeds and then layer compost and soil on top of this before planting.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">I felt so proud to upcycle all the cardboard boxes we used when we moved and I carefully removed the tape and staples, then lay them across the front. Of course, a gust of wind sent the cardboard swirling, so I laid rocks on top of the cardboard.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_-ZdYANgrYo5O-EdtllzzlKw17Xj3AAse1AzB_7QFW6pFcfZK_H9fIG5tFj2AQdrdk6ZNjQxhz9gQ8khJqxAdbtBPvMm1H0g5TJLsOzpEoLHJOcubGH4Q8-myu2wKZUivv5H6ic26aUrweZCj1QxB3GB47CMMQKa91HTVhS18vaYAYN2Yg/s640/IMG_8682.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_-ZdYANgrYo5O-EdtllzzlKw17Xj3AAse1AzB_7QFW6pFcfZK_H9fIG5tFj2AQdrdk6ZNjQxhz9gQ8khJqxAdbtBPvMm1H0g5TJLsOzpEoLHJOcubGH4Q8-myu2wKZUivv5H6ic26aUrweZCj1QxB3GB47CMMQKa91HTVhS18vaYAYN2Yg/s320/IMG_8682.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">As I was surveying my hard work, our next-door neighbor, who is a real farmer, sauntered over. He saw what I saw – a jigsaw like pattern of cardboard and rocks, then looked at me in shock.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">“What are you doing?” he asked, stupefied.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">“Permaculture,” I answered, hoping that this big word would suffice. “Beautiful, right?”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">He laughed and quickly trotted off, leaving me alone with my mess.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">Along with the super attractive boxes, the front started to fill up with buckets of goat manure. (I am so glad my neighbor was not around to see this.) </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">We got a hot tip that piles of free goat manure were spotted near Mount Meiron. Amir was on it right away. He took a shovel, hitched the trailer to the car, borrowed some buckets, and filled them up till they were brimming with goats’ you know what.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">On Tuesday, when a truckload of soil arrived for the front cardboard garden, we scattered some goat manure, sprinkled some compost, and then topped it off with dark, fluffy soil straight from the Golan.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">Rock after rock lined the new beds.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(Those are free too and we will be happy to give some rocks away!) Wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow soon engulfed the cardboard, creating real garden beds. And then the rain arrived just in time to start decomposing the underlayer of cardboard.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyeeIr_P3SFoHoBwLmElMIZ05eB6Kxg_CaAEdNHzURyGcSV-NEbrUOsMIdr59loGlgQ8Cny_fEvZ3smXp4qJ57T0hAelYe6a29tqnk2GyxPK0s5rXYMaELpAu20zpYNIIst9_rKZJDDfYGTa3JMuo-MdiX-D23dzhHP5kz4BnmxoSWdCPHbA/s640/IMG_8767.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyeeIr_P3SFoHoBwLmElMIZ05eB6Kxg_CaAEdNHzURyGcSV-NEbrUOsMIdr59loGlgQ8Cny_fEvZ3smXp4qJ57T0hAelYe6a29tqnk2GyxPK0s5rXYMaELpAu20zpYNIIst9_rKZJDDfYGTa3JMuo-MdiX-D23dzhHP5kz4BnmxoSWdCPHbA/s320/IMG_8767.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">All we need are inhabitants for our new beds, envisioning fragrant herbs and culinary herbs, herbs for tea, and then, even more herbs.</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;">It has been a wonderful time of creativity, hard sweat, gratitude, and appreciation to be finally outside working the land. We look forward to a fragrant porcupine-free front yard, and soon, a wild transformation out back.</span></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-58199157702963435042022-08-30T06:45:00.001-05:002022-08-30T13:03:27.615-05:00They Paved Paradise<p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgJqBvKmR768oCdYpB6TYk8Aq65Zq7eJJF8WZ2WoJvbs7bm4E4ZDQJ6rZa-lvBnzXzsCANISrGsF55yn6vDvWDt4Q_AEhm-AHihzqAXqEVLASOWjeRoyBynCFFo1BlJ-utnYwlQaY9-sNz20e7TKcOoxnWKTLzWmhqFtxiMpfGoQAEzStLQ/s640/IMG_8324.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgJqBvKmR768oCdYpB6TYk8Aq65Zq7eJJF8WZ2WoJvbs7bm4E4ZDQJ6rZa-lvBnzXzsCANISrGsF55yn6vDvWDt4Q_AEhm-AHihzqAXqEVLASOWjeRoyBynCFFo1BlJ-utnYwlQaY9-sNz20e7TKcOoxnWKTLzWmhqFtxiMpfGoQAEzStLQ/w400-h300/IMG_8324.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The quadruplets</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” As I walk across the land we recently bought, Joni Mitchell’s lyrics echo in my mind. This land is empty, save for jutting rocks and boulders. The gravelly, dry, and dusty ground crunches below my feet.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">A few hardy weeds grow in clumps, clinging on for life under a scorching sun. At the back of the property is a dead tree; skeletal, scorched, and black, it is a remnant of a fire that ravaged this parcel of land a few years ago.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">And now, this infertile land is ours to breathe life into by using natural ways to transform it into a food forest. The major building block and key component of a food forest is healthy, fertile soil, and our first obstacle ahead is this gravel.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I first thought the gravel was superficial like a thin glaze on a cake, and would give way to fecundity below. Our food forest expert ordered a soil test, hiring a tractor to dig down and extract a sample to send to a lab.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">One morning, a small tractor arrived, its digger poised for the mini excavation. Exhausted by our recent move and our ongoing house renovation, I was excited to be outside kicking around the earth and dreaming of the planting phase of our new life.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We stood around the digger as the driver raised the bucket and lowered it to the ground.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><i style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Clunk</i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">. </span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The machine reared back on its back wheels, looking as if it would do a digger somersault. The driver made another attempt.</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span><i style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Bang</i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></div><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /><span class="Apple-converted-space"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzIKgpYBedE98SaUYnlMVKwm2vUJugS8D7rS-unUIpJThmZdGHtPtFdOg5p3rMUbrZj9K5Di4ebwsM' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">He moved the digger and started to scrape a second area. </span><i style="font-family: times;">Crunch</i><span style="font-family: times;">. The digger rose up in protest, the driver scratched his head, and the food forest expert directed him to yet another part of the land.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">When we bought this land and I asked about the gravel, the former owner mentioned that he had rented out this land for parking during the Pope’s Israel trip. That was back in March, 2000 when John Paul II delivered a homily near Korazim.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">And here we are, standing on a gravelly plot some 22 years later. An unassuming tractor is trying to dig a hole for a purist permaculturalist so that us uninitiated land owners can grow trees organically. But what happens when there is no soil so to speak?</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The digger finally found a spot that gave way and we stood beside the hole with bated breath. Gravel, small rocks, and more gravel came out. “Deeper,” the permaculturalist instructed.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The little digger groaned and fell back, then dug a bit deeper. More rocks. White, chalky, limestone. We peered inside. Deeper, he tried, but this little digger could not dig. It was just too little.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We set aside a date the following week and a bigger digger arrived. The permaculturalist indicated a spot and the claws went into the earth. <i>Scratchhhh</i> went the digger, nails scraping blackboard.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqiaLwFmhxyVjUufqb4AWxPYWweas888_cp20xJ1aj44qnjG7-qivWgPFYVIEPbdOFexiLj1XYYgAT6jUjqs5nCTbNbbqZy_FnAsO8aamLgfKBD75wsrWNJ1HWBaFQdKISjmOtRUM7DiXrf0SQ6r2xPFF9y3N9y0vKk2v3RIB3yUMV7FWt9A/s640/IMG_8001.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqiaLwFmhxyVjUufqb4AWxPYWweas888_cp20xJ1aj44qnjG7-qivWgPFYVIEPbdOFexiLj1XYYgAT6jUjqs5nCTbNbbqZy_FnAsO8aamLgfKBD75wsrWNJ1HWBaFQdKISjmOtRUM7DiXrf0SQ6r2xPFF9y3N9y0vKk2v3RIB3yUMV7FWt9A/w240-h320/IMG_8001.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">He tried a different angle. <i>Scraaape</i>. We peered into the hole as he unearthed a giant boulder. The arm heaved as he pulled it forth, birthing it from a millennia-long slumber.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">“Gorgeous,” I marvelled, shocked that I would use this term to describe a rock. These were not regular rocks, but basalt beauties that were spewed from volcanoes in the Golan some 100,000 to 700,000 years ago.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">When I heard the scratching sound again, I realized that it had a twin. No, it was one of quadruplets. I touched the newborn giants, still warm from their long gestation in the ground.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">And then it dawned on me that I may be in the rock-collecting business and not a permaculture farmer after all.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Down the tractor claw went, finally extracting a chunk of dark earth in its metal palm. The permaculturalist jumped into the hole to examine the earth. I took a clump in my hand and smelled it. Pressed it. Clayish.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Similar to an archeological excavation where civilizations are delineated by natural lines underground, there was a division between the gravelly white stuff and the dark stuff about a foot below the surface.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">This caused the puzzled permaculturalist to call the former owner. He learned that 22 years ago, in preparation for the Pope’s visit, a tractor carted off the huge boulders sitting atop the land. As for the rocks partially jutting out of the soil, they were extracted like cavities and the holes then filled in with gravel, rocks, and assorted garbage to put up a parking lot.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">So here we stand atop our thick pile of gravel, close to Capernaum, the place of the famous Beatitudes’ teachings and even closer to ancient Chorazim, which was cursed in the Book of Matthew. At the start of the millennium, John Paul II visited and delivered this <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/2000/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_20000324_korazim-israel.html"><span class="s1" style="color: #e4af0a;">homily</span></a>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcV2gAz5-V-q1ZNHDcislMqXrXOlho90gQqi1MuF1f25Qj_LG-Wp9fNk9r20XVMEml3zECFycAN0NKYnGDUGPlrDGeYSoUgnOI_d8aA6PyW83PWrsPX9sb_6Z0f75b1yLPFI5H_bVBmbfsq50owabkxIsYpyHIndP2_eyuZ01XapS2RSQE0w/s640/IMG_8009.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcV2gAz5-V-q1ZNHDcislMqXrXOlho90gQqi1MuF1f25Qj_LG-Wp9fNk9r20XVMEml3zECFycAN0NKYnGDUGPlrDGeYSoUgnOI_d8aA6PyW83PWrsPX9sb_6Z0f75b1yLPFI5H_bVBmbfsq50owabkxIsYpyHIndP2_eyuZ01XapS2RSQE0w/s320/IMG_8009.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We have not received the results from the soil lab and the project is already taking interesting turns. I am learning the history of this area, and about the Evangelical Triangle. In the times of the Tanach, Korazim was the wheat capital. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Although I see no wheat, the rich basalt soil endows thriving mango, lychee, sabra, grape, and fig.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">We have a rocky road ahead of us, literally, but are up for a challenge with lots more tractor time scheduled for the near future. In the meantime, I will appreciate each and every basalt and limestone rock that is unearthed and birthed. </span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p></div>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-30003245039193646642022-06-28T02:42:00.001-05:002022-06-28T02:42:49.082-05:00A Farmer in the Dell<p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje6h9pH866yOkUr09w3w62Gdxv1NpZiL9DC24g5Hy9MZYcFNTT7dP6NtxL0wvd1PfrpYIXgpLS2kKUPx5YUKYfV6lpD1t0_86xaS9qHRCHL_dQpkJihMSD9H-rhkokxzUDIgZRCQFAkRfkX_yblDB5wPqUzh5Vc_CK_jswzAswEgCkoERyZA/s640/israeli%20food%20forest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje6h9pH866yOkUr09w3w62Gdxv1NpZiL9DC24g5Hy9MZYcFNTT7dP6NtxL0wvd1PfrpYIXgpLS2kKUPx5YUKYfV6lpD1t0_86xaS9qHRCHL_dQpkJihMSD9H-rhkokxzUDIgZRCQFAkRfkX_yblDB5wPqUzh5Vc_CK_jswzAswEgCkoERyZA/w640-h480/israeli%20food%20forest.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">A food forest in Israel.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">With a June birthday, I have officially entered into a new decade.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This decade felt more ominous when it was looming ahead; but now that I have arrived, waking up feeling exactly the same as in the previous decade, it is not so bad.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I have arrived, determined not to ‘go there’ about ageing, having regrets of life flying too fast, or dwelling on aches and pains.</span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I feel fortunate to be alive and am grateful to have energy and enthusiasm. In fact, I am about to start a brand-new project as I will soon become a ‘farmer,’ of sorts. I am not sure what got into me to do such a flip. Was it the pandemic? The doom and gloom over impending food shortages? My fickle, ever-changing Gemini nature? A thirst for the spiritual? Or maybe it was a combination of everything above.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx7lHTynuZOnjD3nSOqLWJaPym0FWWwyN7gpdySrUk68f-69Hlnoj1-cDuO9668iUGC6W02x_NjD3wg6IfiJU6MXKF7cNjUMt97w9Z-DUhPxP4WNhqOmViykCedKcvMfyHsaSLFQJUVjLClSGwjrgNNT20sNE0SZZvBEj7MpumNBUf80D-dw/s256/IMG_7579.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="256" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx7lHTynuZOnjD3nSOqLWJaPym0FWWwyN7gpdySrUk68f-69Hlnoj1-cDuO9668iUGC6W02x_NjD3wg6IfiJU6MXKF7cNjUMt97w9Z-DUhPxP4WNhqOmViykCedKcvMfyHsaSLFQJUVjLClSGwjrgNNT20sNE0SZZvBEj7MpumNBUf80D-dw/w400-h300/IMG_7579.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Our barren land and next door, our neighbor's abundance.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The bottom line is that I am shifting focus and throwing myself to the dirt. Literally. Amir and I bought an empty, dusty, dry, and rocky piece of land that we dream of transforming into a food forest.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I know how to grow a few things badly; last winter (pre-shmita), we enjoyed growing and eating spinach, lettuce and kale, but come summer, my wind-tossed tomatoes fell over into a hopeless, tangled mess. I did not pick my cucumbers on time, but I did enjoy a few sweet peas (three to be exact), kohlrabi, and radishes.</span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">My strawberries had a party sprawling across the garden bed and mingling with the spinach, but did not produce a single fruit (unless the birds got to them before I did). I had a strangely shaped eggplant that I do not remember planting, hot peppers that were on fire, and super bug-infested broccoli.</span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Yet I want to continue learning even if it is trial by error. I want to embrace a clean and healthy way of life by growing and harvesting my own organic, pesticide-free food. I want to be more self-sufficient as I strongly believe the world is very unstable now.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I also feel that being outside in the sunshine tending to plants nourishes my soul and body. I crave that connection. Yet I have far to go to achieve this. It is like standing at the base of a mountain and seeing the summit far, far above.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">We will have to wade and climb through new permaculture knowledge: understanding patterns of sun, wind, and rain; amending soil, planting nitrogen fixers, selecting heirloom seeds, attracting pollinators, interplanting, companion planting, succession planting, over cropping and under cropping. We will experiment with soil recipes to be able to grow abundant food, take on worm composting, and learn how to plan winter, summer crops, and take care of the food forest.</span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5ko1A24v3tbUtWXdSJ7SqknRlYESRS0xhi5V1LUQN6ciq9cBFMsYUepDwhA48rflQUKT0UPTZtPRdKzQ7C0JM-n_UxcSN8uzbRinIUYTzD5TTWY1Y2C5VzPUS4Jyt8EAq_et8qQ4PlXMZ2TsXb50xYjfvAi3x2mHje2Ct98BBaSbQfmUpQ/s323/IMG_3671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="152" data-original-width="323" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5ko1A24v3tbUtWXdSJ7SqknRlYESRS0xhi5V1LUQN6ciq9cBFMsYUepDwhA48rflQUKT0UPTZtPRdKzQ7C0JM-n_UxcSN8uzbRinIUYTzD5TTWY1Y2C5VzPUS4Jyt8EAq_et8qQ4PlXMZ2TsXb50xYjfvAi3x2mHje2Ct98BBaSbQfmUpQ/w400-h189/IMG_3671.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Produce from our small raised bed pre-shmita garden.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And then there’s chickens. We need to build a secure chicken coop, as well as learn how to feed and care for chickens who will hopefully provide eggs and manure for precious compost. Then there’s getting electricity from solar panels and somehow storing water. I may sound like a homesteader wannabe, but at this early stage, that word is way too ‘off-the-grid’ for me.</span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH1DxWfvdNx8Xcke_jiuafE-_oLYxYTtgQobCDkodF6jZhJa_-CfFMXxIrZNbi_qTljcHDldF0xb1RQZ2VD-1nizCa3BXILysmBT3uwuj9nOhOjeIx2Fdv9Xe2BlbBEdIFRr7g9l5CW2ymPcLxPTQHVlW0osqrC5wQ7sBguD5q_nYfcUeEdQ/s640/starfruit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH1DxWfvdNx8Xcke_jiuafE-_oLYxYTtgQobCDkodF6jZhJa_-CfFMXxIrZNbi_qTljcHDldF0xb1RQZ2VD-1nizCa3BXILysmBT3uwuj9nOhOjeIx2Fdv9Xe2BlbBEdIFRr7g9l5CW2ymPcLxPTQHVlW0osqrC5wQ7sBguD5q_nYfcUeEdQ/s320/starfruit.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Each garden has potential <br />to be a Gan Eden.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table>This project is now in the planning stages as here in Israel, we are still in a shmita year. This happens every seven years here and is a time for the land to rest. But come Rosh Hashana, the year is renewed, becoming planting time once again.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This is also a renewal for me as I enter this new decade of not slowing down. This vision rejuvenates me, making me feel like an excited kid all over again. After shmita, we will take this farm project step-by-step, first trying to revive the soil, planting, and then hopefully transforming this dusty plot into a place teeming with life.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> <br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">For me, entering this new phase is also a way to leave behind the negative forces that are happening on the outside and refocus on life, growth, hopefully co-creating towards a healthy, healing, and sustainable future.</span></p><p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It is meaningful for me to be part of repairing the world, even if this starts on one small, dusty plot. For every small change starts at home.</span></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-6540701814120982812022-05-30T14:30:00.000-05:002022-05-30T14:30:37.654-05:00Unmoving Rocks<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #454545;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60s7vuN6Y6wyp9i8TFfpgWcMzHYlxKYkffwtSLAU0H3IT9DF580JGV3cUH1p1kevKgFf3S5wbZOSf0d40_-gtzjBTgx2QEMU2QoF-xJGgI892Fln3KJZS5r_WqF8fAN8xG2vWYn4W8ACiMi3UNK8NwCsFijy8fkUspQ6-ELprqS0YC4eKtA/s1260/golan%20rocks.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1098" data-original-width="1260" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60s7vuN6Y6wyp9i8TFfpgWcMzHYlxKYkffwtSLAU0H3IT9DF580JGV3cUH1p1kevKgFf3S5wbZOSf0d40_-gtzjBTgx2QEMU2QoF-xJGgI892Fln3KJZS5r_WqF8fAN8xG2vWYn4W8ACiMi3UNK8NwCsFijy8fkUspQ6-ELprqS0YC4eKtA/w400-h349/golan%20rocks.png" width="400" /></a></div>If one were to name the most common feature of Israel’s topography, 'rocks' would most certainly tumble to the top of the list. The rugged and stark Negev, Judean, and Arava Deserts are pure rock, sculpted over millennia into steep cliffs, gorges and dry, sandy wadis. Be it amber, brown, or white, the dominant feature is rock.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #454545;"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Travel north and you will see chalky cliffs along the Mediterranean seashore. More rock!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The Galilee is also stony, with mountains and valleys creating a series of rocky waves. The Golan is so rocky, fields are flecked with what looks like speckled melons, yet on closer inspection, they are a bumper crop of rocks.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Israel’s plentiful rocks are like snow to the Inuit or lakes to the beaver, yet I was in for a shock to learn that you cannot move or take rocks in Israel. You need a permit for this, and you need to pay!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">This is yet another example of 'don't ask why, this is Israel.'</span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Perhaps some government official created this rule to add to the already senseless and inefficient bureaucracy here. (I think of the Israeli post office; one can literally walk to the letter’s destination, arriving there before the stamped package does.)</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Case in point. I am soon moving to a place that is endeared with more rocks than the usual rocky Israeli terrain. I want to build a rock garden for privacy, so I thought a few boulders would nicely do the job.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There is a subdivision being built at the end of the property and bulldozers amass mountains of rocks daily to clear the area. If we could take some of those rocks for our garden, the builders would be relieved – and perhaps they would even be kind enough to move a few of them with those bulldozers on site.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">No, no, no. And do not ask why we cannot even have one stone, as nothing makes logical sense in this holy land of rocks. You see, there is a law in Israel forbidding one from moving rocks away from the place where they were dug up. In order to do so, a builder needs to apply for a permit, and only then can he sell them.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Or, the builder can grind the huge boulders up on the spot where they were extracted, spitting them out as gravel and transforming ancient volcanic boulders into dusty, dry gravel. More sand in a dry, parched land.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I no longer scratch my head or pull out my hair. I have been living here for too long to question the illogical, so I simply watch in disbelief as the bulldozers transport their load to an onsite quarry, which then spews out gravel, sand, and dust.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I could wonder if the builder would be kind enough to give me some of the dirt, but I know the answer before I even pose the question. Nothing here is for free, not even a measly rock or a pile of dirt. Is there a similar seashell bylaw?</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The crazy thing is that rocks are not even considered a valuable natural resource here. They are, well, rocks. Israel is valued for its potash, copper, natural gas, ore, magnesium bromide, and phosphate. So what’s the big deal about a pile of rocks?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5ZJC2K57MO7v6dcnpVQW-uXree3D8QsnsLpsl-EGtSbH_fZ-YpxUdml5yCDejnuZz7vb5Qsu775909_s04kb7N2fI1fEj51jiaYT6ks-wRlJaKJ7b6BvR1fPRE2FJWXDN0vqPMMeedmx4j-qkpN2Zo73gvEN4W1ip8u8NsqhNpTCr-3E7w/s1160/amir%20rock.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1160" data-original-width="1008" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5ZJC2K57MO7v6dcnpVQW-uXree3D8QsnsLpsl-EGtSbH_fZ-YpxUdml5yCDejnuZz7vb5Qsu775909_s04kb7N2fI1fEj51jiaYT6ks-wRlJaKJ7b6BvR1fPRE2FJWXDN0vqPMMeedmx4j-qkpN2Zo73gvEN4W1ip8u8NsqhNpTCr-3E7w/w348-h400/amir%20rock.png" width="348" /></a></div><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Maybe some bureaucrat from the 'Ministry of Rocks and Boulders' was bored, so he came up with this law, or perhaps an official wanted to play a practical joke on the population. We may never know.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Like many objects and places in Israel, rocks do have a powerful energy. G-d is compared to a rock and the patriarch Yaacov used a rock as a pillow when he dreamed of angels on a ladder.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Moses was told by G-d that water would pour forth from a rock and when it did not, he hit it a second time and was punished. And the Cohen HaGadol had a breastplate of twelve gemstones that acted as mediator between G-d and the people.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The shiny and smooth boulders of Jerusalem’s Western Wall are softened by tears, prayer, and loving caresses, while above it looms the Dome of the Rock. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There are healing rocks here, such as the blue-green Eilat stone, also called the Israel stone, while the salty hot Dead Sea rocks resemble icicles.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Yes, this is a land of revelation and bewilderment where rocks have sovereignty. Ancient, hard and sun-baked, rocks continue to reign supreme, stoically standing in piles far from from my garden.</span></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-41724694457614234332022-04-27T07:48:00.001-05:002022-04-27T08:49:08.403-05:00Intrepid flower chasers<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: #454545;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhExt5EfRxb8fS72amaIVYbFNFB7jFO4YoZPNXTfcNMWzYdZsEUC2WDn4BGV1RINl-DPuVw9FV2vfps3fBZv7yOgS7ZlX2qPHmHBRPEHzadn3FSRA4_llenpST0FFIoG9cex3_F8p6iXU2WihDeSD-k2RZR_I8tdRozOVjwe3Bdy0Djyc7w/s640/Attachment-1.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="616" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhExt5EfRxb8fS72amaIVYbFNFB7jFO4YoZPNXTfcNMWzYdZsEUC2WDn4BGV1RINl-DPuVw9FV2vfps3fBZv7yOgS7ZlX2qPHmHBRPEHzadn3FSRA4_llenpST0FFIoG9cex3_F8p6iXU2WihDeSD-k2RZR_I8tdRozOVjwe3Bdy0Djyc7w/w385-h400/Attachment-1.jpeg" width="385" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This was attempt number two. Last April, I found myself hiking in the Meiron Mountains, searching for a flower. It was a different sort of walk as I usually focus on the trees and the views when I walk, not on my toes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: trebuchet;">We were looking for a pink flower. “Admonit,” my friend called out, scouring the path. People ahead were also on the search and indicated that it had been recently spotted not far from this spot.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #454545; font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">We walked and walked until I ran out of “Where’s Waldo flower time.” And as soon as I headed home, I received a photo of a pink flower. A trophy and a sign from my more persistent friends that yes, the Admonit had been spotted.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Of course it was found just when I left. But I did not feel FOMO as I am not one of those ‘spring flower people.’ In Israel each spring, loads of people will drive hours just to see a flower. They comb the Negev for rare blooms, climb the Gilboa for the purple Gilboa Iris, trek over coastal sand dunes to catch a sight of black irises, and drive to Lupine Hill to see, guess what, lupines!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This is serious stuff for the intrepid flower chaser. People will drop a pin on their phone to locate the last sighting of a rare flower and will photograph the prized bloom along with each member of their family.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">During Pesach this year, I decided once again to pursue the Admonit. Driving through a Druze village, we saw friendly guides sitting at several corners aiding errant flower searchers. We soon arrived at a huge parking filled with cars and a KKL-JNF tent complete with festive flags, hot coffee, and tour guides. All for a flower.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidaiSjWj72sWn5psMIrZs_ppN8QBhw3gldkSnfJGUJbKCAkx36EspCNykP7CLIJ5GKFsafykyU9PeLYKbbLNZSGrqkICdFGWmzdcxWQ66LHSQf_tXVpReM2EN-JZkJ7PzIiH72I3G_0NKnDJ2Zzl_x8PYx4QYA8YEY5UlROEIWpPXy88YuYw/s1600/PHOTO-2022-04-19-16-50-27.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidaiSjWj72sWn5psMIrZs_ppN8QBhw3gldkSnfJGUJbKCAkx36EspCNykP7CLIJ5GKFsafykyU9PeLYKbbLNZSGrqkICdFGWmzdcxWQ66LHSQf_tXVpReM2EN-JZkJ7PzIiH72I3G_0NKnDJ2Zzl_x8PYx4QYA8YEY5UlROEIWpPXy88YuYw/s320/PHOTO-2022-04-19-16-50-27.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Packed parking lot of flower chasers.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #444444; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">We started off with a guide but the going was too slow, so we decided to do this solo and picked up the pace. We entered a forest and again, I was told to look for a pink flower. Feet to the forest floor. Nothing.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">We passed a group of Druze school children on a flower tour. They were eating lunch on the trail and wished us a warm ‘chag sameach’ as we passed them. After half an hour of walking, we came across a group of people crowded around a single bloom. The elusive Admonit! </span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I took one look at it and said, “But that’s a peony.” My friends looked at me in disdain. Yes, but this is a peony that only blooms for a few days in one very small part of a tiny country.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">“Ohhhh,” I said, trying to put this in perspective. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">We did the photo thing, found a few more blooms, then called it a day. I did not pin it on my phone or send celebratory messages to flower friends. I may love nature but I guess I am yet not an intrepid flower chaser.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Living in world that is primarily focused indoors and is cut off from nature,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I find it sweet and endearing to know that Israelis will drive far and then trek at length just to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>glimpse a flower.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-32533375085820490002022-03-31T08:01:00.002-05:002022-03-31T08:06:20.363-05:00An Israeli Winter<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #454545;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4b1JXnpkDhLpHZkuS9I8WfLLCo-PoeRs1fqu8bZjGVquvo893CvzNbpg_W4AUTphctpfcq-Q1pHgE0y9CPrZfG2MOvxaGgugAbcIRiqXdp84j77HJvSNKgIs8jIkne7QQjS_Vzni4GUMJ6W0JyhajqlcZLiEcsa2b8rQO8pr2twBzAdDyg/s1280/IMG_5289.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1101" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4b1JXnpkDhLpHZkuS9I8WfLLCo-PoeRs1fqu8bZjGVquvo893CvzNbpg_W4AUTphctpfcq-Q1pHgE0y9CPrZfG2MOvxaGgugAbcIRiqXdp84j77HJvSNKgIs8jIkne7QQjS_Vzni4GUMJ6W0JyhajqlcZLiEcsa2b8rQO8pr2twBzAdDyg/w344-h400/IMG_5289.jpeg" width="344" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Israel is supposed to be a very hot and sunny place, or I thought that was true until this past winter. Living in Amirim, perched high atop a mountain in northern Israel, the weather proclaims its own kingdom, and Mediterranean this is not.</span><p></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It has been a long winter of hail, sleet, and snow, along with freezing cold temperatures. During the day, the clouds would huddle in the valley below as if waiting at a bus stop, then sweep up the mountain and swirl through the pines, creating a shield of thick fog. Like shapeshifters, they would slide right under my front door and seep through the window cracks, adding dampness to the chill.</span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Those who have fireplaces would cozily huddle inside sipping tea, the fire’s smoke twisting from chimneys into the cold night air. Those without fireplaces (like me) would simply freeze while staying indoors. Israeli houses, or at least the ones I know, seem to have windows that entice the cold air inside. The doors have no sweeps, so the cold air finds another way to intrude, nudging underneath.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">As there is no central heating, regular air conditioning units are called upon. They have a so-called ‘heat’ function, but they groan under the stress. I fondly remember those centrally heated houses in Canada where people could comfortably wear a T-shirt inside all winter long, while Jack Frost was safely locked outside to doodle on the windows.</span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">In our house during this Israeli winter, we tried to keep warm using two air conditioning units that have a hole cut into the window screen for the compressor hoses. Sensible piece of engineering, I thought, as I stuffed these wide openings with towels. But still the wind found its way inside.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw89eonOXkpaP-ll4m3LI5PMxKn5tNMXDLfQpkMwyQ9J7n8P2D1oqBXPIIxhz_NvYLhRXv-4jT3TcOeu1NmiKbu8OSQrlo0txr1g1RIztwim1mKNRY7gbiIP--80D1ujA28Mg2xO-PkOqCq2f92qCCue3ZHY1slg15HfR-vMb9AabUFvEIRg/s4032/4kaGlT%25YTwS8ynttv7WlQg.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw89eonOXkpaP-ll4m3LI5PMxKn5tNMXDLfQpkMwyQ9J7n8P2D1oqBXPIIxhz_NvYLhRXv-4jT3TcOeu1NmiKbu8OSQrlo0txr1g1RIztwim1mKNRY7gbiIP--80D1ujA28Mg2xO-PkOqCq2f92qCCue3ZHY1slg15HfR-vMb9AabUFvEIRg/s320/4kaGlT%25YTwS8ynttv7WlQg.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">So we plugged in a few small electrical heaters that we could move around the house from room to room. These were so tiny and ineffective, Amir called them hair dryers.</span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Last week, both of the large air conditioning compressors were moaning, with one calling out shakily in a form of a death rattle. I went outside to inspect and saw that it was covered in ice as if it were in the deep Arctic. The other unit simply shivered until we finally turned it off, throwing another coat on top of our layers in order to stay warm.</span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">At this point, I was wearing two pairs of leggings, two sweaters, a hat, and two coats - inside. I would have worn gloves but was unable to type on my keyboard with them on. I so wished I owned a nose warmer (if there even were such a thing) and I was sure I could see my breath. Even my potted pineapples and palm tree called it a day.</span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The most interesting part was that it was actually colder inside the house than outside. I would often exit the house wearing my regular ski wardrobe of two sweaters and two coats, only to find that I did not need this winter apparel outside.</span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxwp6A0waMAhXVK6cD8YXCDCJHUBRbmUhe_unsLXJGYZVnKN94ps-v2nGEKbHdHQG9cEhSNtjo8PgbMaJio_ljhzWb4wvMchcy2pSUeNpWm2Rx5PHrNujb0QTLCfbLIZ88qqMVORPxdly1MvHFjkR4w7JKkKrT9Nk8H-XJ_3DL2uDjaSbTQ/s4032/AMvnYIGoS9qI3i9oLZpE1g.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxwp6A0waMAhXVK6cD8YXCDCJHUBRbmUhe_unsLXJGYZVnKN94ps-v2nGEKbHdHQG9cEhSNtjo8PgbMaJio_ljhzWb4wvMchcy2pSUeNpWm2Rx5PHrNujb0QTLCfbLIZ88qqMVORPxdly1MvHFjkR4w7JKkKrT9Nk8H-XJ_3DL2uDjaSbTQ/w240-h320/AMvnYIGoS9qI3i9oLZpE1g.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The cold continued from January, February, and right through March. March is ‘supposed’ to be hot here, but not this year. I have also never seen so much rain. It formed two rivulets down my street, turned potholes into ponds, and clad the trees in moss.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The rain transformed the earth into squishy red mud which my dogs would then trek across the house. We set up a paw washing station outside the front door complete with bucket, brush, and towels. The dogs would stand outside offering us a paw while we massaged the mud from their feet and fur.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Yet the mud found its way inside, imprinting the floor with perfectly formed paw prints, which was efficiently caked on, care of the whirling cold air. I would take a mop to ‘depaw’ the floor only to find a fresh red trail readily reappear.</span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">A few days ago, the sun started to wink at us from behind the clouds, revealing magnificent rainbows. While driving one afternoon, I saw four rainbows within a half hour, jumping out of the car to marvel at them like an overexcited child. The clouds retreated, the rain stopped, and a blinding indigo sky had us blinking like badgers.</span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTenehhzdR3kTKB9L5nJIfRMj0KjB7ljug86JTzN9aMUe5Rghro0EAk35J3S-Lu0DsiaaUT-maJQm7JEM_TOnfTQl0KA6293Io6JbmDsQJ7t6oL7TEkNJ6Vk_Tyv53Jg1K1vonT9LzcvE3L_W3bBJ6bgvcF6Phl_0pih7o60UAyVJVCa6EvQ/s1280/IMG_5288.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTenehhzdR3kTKB9L5nJIfRMj0KjB7ljug86JTzN9aMUe5Rghro0EAk35J3S-Lu0DsiaaUT-maJQm7JEM_TOnfTQl0KA6293Io6JbmDsQJ7t6oL7TEkNJ6Vk_Tyv53Jg1K1vonT9LzcvE3L_W3bBJ6bgvcF6Phl_0pih7o60UAyVJVCa6EvQ/s320/IMG_5288.jpeg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The sun has now taken full reign, turning this battered mountain enclave into a Mediterranean paradise. There is not a cloud in the sky and I may not see another one float by until November. The sage and lavender are in bloom, the birds are busy nesting, and those mucky puddles have evaporated.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The walls of this house are warming up and the windows are wide open. I have disbanded the paw washing station and removed the towels from the windows. The ‘hair dryers’ are no longer required and those fatigued air conditioners that are supposedly heaters can finally take a well-needed vacation. </span></div><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I can sit now inside with one layer like a regular person. But why stay indoors when spring is beckoning?</span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p></div>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-44309967820501740932022-02-28T08:50:00.001-05:002022-02-28T08:50:48.667-05:00Oh, Canada<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: times; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: times; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: times; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyyappkLoXi44QHJEjDMf46-r4bwMwUZ5LXKu5c5G-4YzAIW8a9Q3VS-9KfKr-VWp5URkawpW3H5gAwIPMa978uWD1lzgQEnwpRQsRWdaO4BHEUQNkCIgskeNsCPBjEzb3eqoSsgrT1QFffU8xGhpOZ1wC5Ltf5D8YA8MP53x6orgAEkA2WA=s5184" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyyappkLoXi44QHJEjDMf46-r4bwMwUZ5LXKu5c5G-4YzAIW8a9Q3VS-9KfKr-VWp5URkawpW3H5gAwIPMa978uWD1lzgQEnwpRQsRWdaO4BHEUQNkCIgskeNsCPBjEzb3eqoSsgrT1QFffU8xGhpOZ1wC5Ltf5D8YA8MP53x6orgAEkA2WA=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="-apple-system, "system-ui", "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@dmjdenise?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, "system-ui", "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Denise Jans</a><span face="-apple-system, "system-ui", "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/canadian-flag?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, "system-ui", "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />After months of feeling doom and gloom, it is a relief, like a ray of warm sunshine, to come outside mask free and see those Green Pass signs stripped from restaurants and shops and malls and wedding halls and museums.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #454545; font-family: times; font-size: large; text-align: left;"> </span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large; text-align: left;">And then “it” hit Canada, my place of birth, the country described as “strong and free” in the national anthem. Canadians are polite, quiet, respectful, and tolerant. They do as they are told, wait in line in a dignified manner, and end their sentences with “please” or “thank you.” They even sit at street lights until the light turns green.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I can say all of this as I am a Canadian living in the wild Middle East, a place where the word lineup is a suggestion, or more likely, an open invitation to bud in. As getting onto an Israeli bus from a crowded stop means shoving and elbowing, I would rather walk, thank you.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Here, sitting in a car at a red light requires edging forward the millisecond before it goes green, or being honked at with fury. Yes, it can be exasperating. And so I look to those patient, honest, hard-working Canadians with great respect.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">To actually witness Canadians out there protesting in sub-zero conditions means they have had enough. And it takes a lot to get a Canadian to complain, thank you. Their recent display of protest was because they had enough lies, enough rules, enough of a ruined economy, stunted childhoods, and lack of decent education.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I was cheering the truckers on as if they were my long-lost buddies. I wept along with these burly men as I watched videos of them receiving letters filled with hearts and thanks and homemade cookies from grateful children. I saw a Canada united by hope and by a yearning for true freedom. I saw people from many races and languages and professions coming together in a hug fest.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">And then I saw that this was not being covered in the MSM, until the devious lies began. They turned these innocent people, the young and elderly alike who paraded about with flags of red maple leafs, into dangerous terrorists. They turned horn honking into the words ‘Heil Hitler.’ It was ugly and distorted and a full-out lie.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The Canadian government would not even take the time to sit down at the table and talk with these people about the freedom they wanted. The government also refused to listen to many learned doctors and scientists who had important information about public health and keeping Canadians informed.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Instead, Trudeau passed the Emergency Act, beat up the innocent, arrested the truckers, took away their licenses, and froze their bank accounts.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">What kind of freedom-loving democracy with so-called elected politicians is this? The people are supposed to be in charge of their destiny and the government is supposed to work for the electorate.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">This is a scary, slippery slope and sadly, I must welcome Canada into the totalitarian Hall of Fame where Israel is already a long-standing member. You may say I am over reacting. I am simply observing and I see that life is not going back to how it was, not in Israel, not in Canada, and nowhere else in the world.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I now question everything, especially messages in the media that contain the same script. And I look for information on other platforms, finding many voices who feel the same way. I will refuse fall prey to fear as this is a tool to weaken and create chaos just as has happened over the past two years.</span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">As one deadly chapter sputters slowly to its end, I hear a prologue for the new fear that may require our subservience. Look up at the warming air and out to the diminishing sea, for I now hear complaints and fear-mongering about climate change in the media.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Will this soon become a woeful story about our giant carbon footprints stomping all over the place? Then perhaps those digital passports will need to return after all, in order to make this world a healthier place.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I am grateful to see through the charade and invite others to observe this tragic parody. Think I should catch a ray of sunshine outside while I still can, please!</span></p></div><p><br /></p>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31592657.post-58822937847536605462022-01-31T06:05:00.000-05:002022-01-31T06:05:56.550-05:00Congratulations Israel for Being Number One!<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: times; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDUMh_6ihjDj-UXIZ9gaai_ITWYtg5R1vKBSmb0HUvOl2XbVseO-v3bMLg-OIUw4chwr49JYXqNXg6iQyyXjE_ahaI0FaePaCXmlqdrhUwNoY9DYdi5sorAz9wmGLmCd7tg97HwIO4ksLbDV23hVRT7p3brNNppP6GAuTLkblwUcExwJJdwA=s5282" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3521" data-original-width="5282" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDUMh_6ihjDj-UXIZ9gaai_ITWYtg5R1vKBSmb0HUvOl2XbVseO-v3bMLg-OIUw4chwr49JYXqNXg6iQyyXjE_ahaI0FaePaCXmlqdrhUwNoY9DYdi5sorAz9wmGLmCd7tg97HwIO4ksLbDV23hVRT7p3brNNppP6GAuTLkblwUcExwJJdwA=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, "system-ui", "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@giorgiotrovato?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, "system-ui", "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Giorgio Trovato</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, "system-ui", "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/winner?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, "system-ui", "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Israel, congratulations!You are number one in the world – and this is no small feat for a small country. But you tried so hard, and now you are the number one in Corona infections in the world!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div></span></div><p></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">All of those va((ines you delivered. The government was so efficient, Israel soon become the number one va((inated country in the world! They turned this place into one testing laboratory and used the citizens as guinea pigs. The citizens complied, rolling up their sleeves for an unproven product.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">This product was supposed to stop transmission but seemed to only invite it. It was supposed to lessen the side-effects of the disease in the elderly and immunocompromised, but if so, why also go after the robust, healthy population, pregnant women, and children with perfect immune systems?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">And despite the fact that the short-lived trials never offered extra doses for protection, you took on the medical mantle and decided to take a risk. You kept offering more doses, and more, becoming the first nation in the world to administer a fourth! <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">All because you want to be number one. Desperately. Meanwhile, many other countries are taking a step back and looking at Israel and scratching their heads. Why are the numbers so high? And why are so many of the infected va((inated? And why are they vaccinating the Israeli children? </span></div><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">And why are they keeping the totalitarian green passports if this virus goes after immunized and non-immunized equally, without checking their papers at the door?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Because you love control. In fact, like thieves in the night, you passed the Enabling Act on January 26, giving yourselves even more bracing controls over the public. Is there a relationship to the act by the same name that Germany passed on March 23, 1933? After Hitler was appointed chancellor in January of 1933, he wasted no time in getting rid of democracy in Germany. Hitler’s Enabling Act of 1933 enabled him to pass unconstitutional laws without objection. This paved the way for a legal dictatorship, and the rest is history.</span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Times are dark as liberty is engulfed into shadow. Meanwhile, a large part of the Israeli population is either sick or recovering, homebound and weak. People try to go to work, but are often find themselves back home in quarantine again and again and again. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Meanwhile, many are running for the fourth va((ine, in the hopes that it may offer extra protection, but by now, everyone knows immunity wanes after a few weeks. Yet the virus mutates, becoming even more evasive and contagious in the hopes of visiting up all. Some things you cannot escape.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><p class="p2" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Israel needs to stop trying to control a fight it may never win. Light, love and trust are our healers, along with healthy doses of vitamin C, D, quercetin, and zinc. </span></div><p class="p1" style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Natural immunity is also under-rated, but it a G-d given gift. Go out and exercise, enjoy friendships, and keep a sense of humor. It may be a long, tough ride, but darkness never stays triumphant.</span></div>Life In Israelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683003989935360823noreply@blogger.com0