Signs of Spring: Fresh Garlic!

The other day when I went down to our local Shiloh macolet, grocer-supermarket, I was greeted with a sure sign of spring, fresh garlic.

When we were newcovers to Israel, I couldn't understand what the garlicky smell was on buses every year between Purim and Passover. It was like suddenly being in an Italian deli.

It took a couple of years to discover what fresh garlic is, and that this is the fresh garlic season. When we were growing up, garlic was just of the powdered variety, bought in small jars. Very rarely did my mother ever buy a fresh garlic bulb/clove. And that was around the time I wasn't living fulltime with my parents and siblings.

The first time my husband and I bought fresh garlic, it lasted a year. I only cooked with it on very rare occasions. We still were using powdered garlic, and at that time I didn't buy the dried cloves/bulbs. Now, we always have a supply of "real garlic." And I don't buy powdered garlic, just the coarser ground in jars, which is rarely used.

Next week I'll have my husband buy fresh garlic in Machane Yehuda, and we'll hang it to dry before using. He's a shuq addict. I try to patronize the local store, but that's another post...

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

After Winter Will Be Spring

I discovered this "draft" which just had these flowers. I guess I had starting writing a post and never finished. So, since we're enjoying the G-d given winter this year, it's nice to remember that we can only have flowers if it rains.

The top and bottom photo were taken outdoors, and the middle one was a gift.

Crazy Week, Every Day a Different Season

This week dawned very wintery.

Even though it's the week after Yom Ha'Atzma'ut, I had to turn the heaters back on, and you can see from this picture, that there was lots of humidity at dawn.  I hadn't turned on the heaters for a few weeks.  My house is well insulated and retains the temperature pretty well, so the warm spring weather we had around Passover kept us very comfortable, as long as the windows stayed closed.

But then the cold and rain won out, and I was back in winter clothes and heavy waterproof shoes on Sunday and Monday.  Tuesday, when my friends came on a pilgrimage to Shiloh, it was suddenly spring.  We didn't need extra sweaters and coats, especially in the afternoon down the hill at Shiloh HaKeduma, Tel Shiloh.

And then yesterday when in Jerusalem, which is a drop colder than Shiloh, I had to strip off the lightweight jacket which had been perfect only the day before.

I hope that those last couple of rains cleaned off the koltei shemesh, solar water heaters from the dust of the spring dust and sandstorms.  I should be turning off the timer of the electric water boiler/heater soon, as soon as the night air warms up a bit more.  The living room heater is already off again.

Well, today is Thursday, and I have a lot to do.  Is winter over?  One thing I've learned after well over forty years in Israel is that this sort of weather is a typical spring.

Nu! Will The Weather Make Up Its Mind Already?

Spring, summer or winter?  What's going on?

Spring to summer seemed on schedule before Passover and even during the holiday here in Israel.  It was a very normal Passover season, but not we seem back in winter mode.  Maybe that's why the dawns are still beautiful.

Sunsets are usually prettier in the summer.  With daylight savings time, we have to wait longer, but it's sure worth it.

At work, customers are coming in begging for winter clothes, but we don't have any to sell.  One woman told me that she couldn't get heavy clothes for her one and a half month old baby who was born just after Purim.  She keeps him bundled in blankets.

It's crazy that the suppliers and those who order for the stores don't take into consideration that many newborns, even summertime, need heavy clothes. I don't think ordering and producing baby clothes should be a man's job. It's a job for grandmothers.

This year I finally had apple blossoms and flowers on the lemon tree.  I wonder if they've survived the rains and winds.

We pray for rain at the right time.  Is this the time for rain?  I know that it rains in other places all year long, but it doesn't rain in Israel in the summer/spring.  OK, some years it does rain in the spring.  And spring here is crazy weather, summer, winter, sandstorms, rain, winds and heat.  That's spring and that's what we have now.

What do My Roses Have in Common With My Nail Polish?

Take a good look and think about it.

In the meantime.... Don't you agree that I do have the most gorgeous roses, thank G-d.  Honestly, He is a better gardener than I am.

Just to show you the potential grapes growing...

Does anyone know what these roses have in common with my nail polish?  I'll give you a few days to guess. OK?

Signs of Spring in Israel

Yes, we're an agricultural society and People and Land:

Nu, do you know what these are?
Please comment, thanks.

G-d Celebrates Passover

Wild flower season here in Israel is generally between Purim and Passover. After that there's no rain, and the ground dries. Traditional agriculture, native to the Land, which doesn't need artificial irrigation, is limited to winter grains and trees and vines. Grapes, olives, almonds, figs, pomegranates and dates feature in traditional foods here.

Flowers, the types you'd find in a European garden, are water guzzlers and don't really suit our climate. Grass could be described as criminal, considering how much water it requires. Many people here invest in artificial grass for that reason.

In terms of beauty, nothing beats the wild flowers which are now in bloom. Feast your eyes. In a few days they'll have dried up. Only rain "in the right season" will bring them back in the future.

Ugly Spring

This year's spring is ugly. I can't think of another word. We haven't seen blue skies here in Shiloh for quite a while. It's generally dirty white and grey. There has been lots of wind and some rain.

Before the spring flowers dry out

I took these pictures here in Shiloh last week or so about.




We have to irrigate to have flowers all year, since there's only rain in the winter. And it's really dry here, more desert than anything else.

It's like living in a clothes dryer

We have been having "chamsin" weather. It's like living in a clothes dryer. Really.

Hot, dry and windy.

and I'm not functioning. Can't function in the winter, nor the summer.

And it's just spring. We had mud rain. Everything is filthy. I hope that we get one final good clean rain before it's really summer. Must clean off the solar collectors which heats the water.

Hungry, time to eat.

Sorry about the kvetching.

Spring in Shiloh

Friday morning I took a walk around the neighborhood, in the other direction, from my usual. The views and flowers were gorgeous. This is the nicest time of the year. In Israel it rains in the winter, only, so the winter is green and spring is colorful. Passover is for taking pictures, a good excuse to get out of the house and burn those Kosher l'Pesach calories!

Here's the Beit Knesset Mishkan Shiloh, the Shiiloh Tabernacle Synagogue, Shiloh's largest, modeled after the Biblical Tabernacle, which "rested" in Shiloh for 369 years and was the spiritual center of the Jewish People during that time.

To the North of Shiloh is Eli, and to the west is Ma'ale Levona.

And enjoy "nature," since within a short time, it starts drying up.

Springtime for sure

One of the first signs of spring here are the new leaves on the grape vines. I noticed them a couple of hours ago. Grape vines always look dead in the winter, and just before winter ends, you're supposed to give them a "crew cut." My son did that during his last visit, the day after Purim.

This year the irises are each "doing their own thing" and blooming almost "one at a time."

And soon I'll be off for my weekly babysitting for my granddaughters, who are featured in the latest Carnival of Family Life. Take a gander; there are some great posts.

Winter's Back

It rained today, and the sky's a funny color. It has gotten much colder, much. But that frequently happens between Purim and Passover.
"Winter's last stand."
Though sometimes the cold, wind, rain, thunder and all keep returning even as late as Lag B'Omer (mid-May.) As spring comes, it's mixed with sand in this climate. The wash comes back dirty after hanging outside. Four years ago, there were sandstorms even in June.
Weather Seasons aren't like Tax Season. Spring doesn't get fined if it's late.
We just have to "take it," enjoy the weather for what it is... messages from G-d.

Spring's on the ground!

The irises are quite precocious this year. Today, coming home from work, I saw a white one. They're not usually this early in the year. In addition, these tiny bulbs are blooming, now, too.

Everything's blooming now, since there was rain this winter. There will probably be another couple of rains, and then it will stop for the summer. By the end of the summer, it's brown and dry.

But in the meantime, we're enjoying the beauty.

I know the picture under this looks like a bus stop, but no buses stop here. They put up the bus stop as a "monument" to the public transportation we once enjoyed. They think we'll sit around waiting for rides. I'm not the type to sit around, unless I really can't move.