What a Difference a Week Makes

When I walked out after my "senior citizens" fun activities in the shelter nearby I noticed that the almond tree had lots more flowers than last week. 

As you can see, the tree still isn't full, but no other nearby tree can compete. This is the earliest blooming almond tree in the neighborhood. Generally there are almond blossoms in the middle of the Jewish Month of Shvat which was last week.  And last week it took a lot of imagination to imagine a flower-filled shekaidiah, almond tree. Nearby trees don't even seem as full as this one was last week.  I'll keep you posted.

When we lived in Bayit Vegan, there was a big old almond tree right next to our building. We could see it from our apartment. Every year the preschools would come and gather underneath to sing:
השקדיה פורחת
Hashkediya Porachat
The Almond Tree is Blooming

Rain! Winter's Back

Shabbat was such a spring-like day. On Friday when I took a walk I even spied an almond tree in bloom. The middle of the Jewish Month of Shvat, now, is when almond trees are supposed to flower, so we just made it.

These are actually two photos combined. See my Instagram page, shilohbatya

We'd been enjoying the break from winter weather and knew to expect winter's return this week. According to the forecast for Shiloh, the entire week will be rainy. 

It's winter, 

and we need rain, 

so can't complain.

But can still kvetch...

yes?

Just before the rain fell this morning

There was enough light from the dawn to make the returning raindrops look like diamonds on leaves and the chair.

Our merpeset, terrace, gets the extremes from all weather, since it's on the southern side of the house. The twenty 20 meters of clotheslines are fantastic for quickly and easily drying multiple loads of wash. When it snows, this is the side of the house that gets the most, though it is also the first to melt.

I have so many things planned for this week, which I hope to accomplish while sneaking past the raindrops. I may arm/protect myself by wearing my father's heavy Land's End winter coat, which we left here when moving him to Arizona.

Looking outside, through south-facing windows, it looks absolutely stormy.

shot with a flash

shot without the flash, plus a drop of "tint" editing

It's the Jewish Month of Shvat when the last of the heavy rains are supposed to fall in the Holy Land. May it be for a blessing, Gd willing.

TU B'Shvat? Where are the Flowers?

There's a traditional Israeli TU B'Shvat song that most probably everyone who has gone through the preschool system here learns to sing, השקדיה פורחת Hashkeidia Porachat, The Almond Tree Blooms.


This year, being a leap year and all--which means that an extra month of Adar is added to postpone Passover-- it's no surprise that my almond tree looks far from blooming.

I just wonder if there will be flowers in a month.  Or will it take even longer?

Our Purim Tree

No, this is not a food-laden version of the XMAS tree...

I'd say that either

• G-d played a joke on us
• there's a power in words
• or maybe it's both the above?

When we lived in Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem, on Rechov Bayit Vegan there was a large shekadiya, almond tree in the empty lot right next to our apartment.  Every year during the beginning of the Jewish Month of Shvat, late winter, the local gannim, preschools would march the kids over to serenade it, when it was in full bloom:
השקידיה פורחת HaShekaydia Porachat, The Amond Tree is in Bloom

מילים: ישראל דושמן
לחן: מנשה רבינא

השקדיה פורחת
ושמש פז זורחת,
צפורים מראש כל גג
מבשרות את בוא החג.

ט"ו בשבט הגיע
חג לאילנות.
ט"ו בשבט הגיע
חג לאילנות.

הארץ משוועת
הגיעה עת לטעת,
כל אחד יקח לו עץ
באתים נצא חוצץ.

ט"ו בשבט הגיע...
The almond tree is blooming
and the golden sun is shining,
birds atop each roof
brush (bless) the arrival of the festival.
Tu bishvat has arrived
(it’s) the festival of trees.
Tu bishvat has arrived
(it’s) the festival of trees.
The land is crying out
the time of planting has arrived
each person shall take a tree
we’ll stride out with spades.
Tu bishvat has arrived…
We planted every hill and valley,
From Dan to Beer – Sheva:
And our land we will return and inherit -
A land of refined fresh olive oil (Yitzhar) and honey.
Tu bishvat has arrived… (translation from  My Western Wall)

That almond tree was an "institution" in Bayit Vegan. Nobody could imagine the neighborhood with it. I used to say to myself if we ever moved, we'd have to plant one. I just couldn't imagine living without those gorgeous late winter flowers.

A few months before we moved to Shiloh, a contractor broke ground in the empty lot next to our apartment and destroyed, uprooted the tree. People came from all over the neighborhood to cry and protest. A wealthy resident sent his gardener to try to transplant it next to his home, but the attempt failed.  The tree had been too seriously damaged to be saved.

We moved to Shiloh that following summer.  Gardening isn't my specialty, and we first lived in a small prefabricated cement home around which I planted simple flowers and bulbs.  The year after we moved out, a summer fruit tree was discovered by the front door.

My sons used to root the willow branches, of my husband's Arba Minim, Four Species after Succot.  One year we planted the "willow tree" right next to the front door, because willows need a lot of water I figured that the rainwater from the nearby drain pipe would make it grow well.  We kept waiting, and no big willow tree ever appeared. At best there were some pathetic skinny leaves. Then one Purim, after a very snowy winter, a full month after TU B'Shvat, we suddenly noticed a strange sight.  Almond blossoms on what had been our "willow tree."  Willow and almond leaves are very similar.  And if you look carefully at the bottom of the tree, you'll see what appears to be two tree trunks growing side by side. 

It took a while, but the almond tree began getting much stronger than the willow.  And here's a picture of the tree blooming this year.

Searching For Almond Blossoms

The Jewish month of Shavat is long gone, and now we're in the middle of the first Adar of this leap year. In Israel, we expect to see almond blossoms, certainly by the middle of Shvat, about four weeks ago, but this year we didn't.

A couple of weeks ago there was a serious, for Israel, snowstorm, and another is predicted for tomorrow. Actually, last week the experts were insisting that we'd have lots of snow by tonight. Today was supposed to be stormy, too.

But G-d had other plans and this morning we enjoyed an unusually beautiful sunrise. At least I made it to the livingroom just in time to see and photograph it.


Then, instead of a storm, we suddenly had gorgeous, warm spring weather. Just the day to stay home and open the windows and air the place out a bit. Don't forget about hanging out the laundry.

I certainly couldn't stay in all day, so I decided to take a walk and search for almond blossoms.

I started with the almond tree by my front door, not that I expected to see any on its pathetic branches. It's the "Purim Almond Tree." Quite a number of years ago, we've been in this house 22 years, we planted a rooted willow branch from the "arba'a minim," four species of Succot. The tree never really took well; though I watered it as much as I could. Suddenly, one Purim we noticed almond blossoms. Willow trees don't blossom like almond trees, though they have similar longish leaves. Looking carefully, we could see the runty willow growing right next to it. A few years before, someone must have dropped an almond which took root and grew. It's really miraculous, since very few of our agricultural efforts have been successful.


As you can see, it's pretty bare.

Next stop was the next door neighbor whose almond tree is just a few yards or meters from mine, but strangely, it's the most precocious of all in the neighborhood.


I continued walking and found just a few trees showing almost blooms.


Last years's beauty has barely awoken from its winter slumber.

Strange Erev TU b'Shvat sights

While I was hanging out the wash this morning, I saw a strange sight. It was a purple iris in bloom, rather precocious, weeks before I'd expect it. Of course I had to take its picture.

And while I was out, especially since it's the eve of TU B'Shvat, considered the Holiday of the Trees, symbolized by the almond blossoms, I just had to take a picture of almond blossoms, but my usual tree was bare!

How could it be? An early iris and a late almond, just meters apart? Maybe since that almond tree is slightly higher than that iris? The other irises nearby show no signs of flowers. Rather peculiar, I'd say.

Then I walked back to the sidewalk the iris decorates and saw some almond blossoms in the neighbor's yard.

חג ט"ו בשבט-חג השילוני--שמח

Have a Happy TU B'Shvat--The Shiloh Holiday!

We're celebrating 29 years since we've returned to the Holy City of Shiloh!!