Thursday, July 31, 2008

A foretaste

Israel is in the middle of her dry season. It usually lasts from around April until October. Normally the sky is cloudless and not a drop of rain falls. The last rain even has its own name in Hebrew: malkosh. And yoreh is the first rain in the autumn. That's how important they are.
But yesterday we were treated to a cooler day ("only" 28 C), a breeze, and a skyful of gray clouds! YAY!
This photo shows the situation at 8:00 a.m. as seen from my village, facing west, looking down into the Valley of Soreq. That's an electric power station marring the wooded Jerusalem Hills.
I can hardly wait for the yoreh. . . .
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There are over 300 skies to choose from over at SkyWatch Friday. Pop over and enjoy or better yet, join the fun and contribute your own sky photo.

41 comments:

  1. that's pretty much the summer season for us in hania - the last rain fell in may, and i don't expect to see any rain again until the beginning of october. it's a wonder how anything grows here, given our splendid vegetable gardens!

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  2. Ironic as we have too much rain.
    --Michelle--
    Rambling Woods

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  3. Dina: I like the view even with the power station. It's ao wonderful to see the Holiest of lands.

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  4. Fortunately it's different here this year. It's raining quite a bit, making up for some of the water we didn't get in the last 3 years.
    Cheers, Klaus

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  5. Yes, I agree, one hardly does see clouds like that in the summer in Israel. But the sky is still that beautiful blue. Lovely photo.

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  6. Great one for SWF! If someone were to think that trees are made to support the sky, they would all seem too short.... mine's up too hope you can drop by.... Happy weekend!

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  7. clouds over rolling hills---unbeatable combination.

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  8. There is much to be said for languages other than English. I think it's wonderful to have distinct names for first and last rains. I hope your first rain comes soon. Nice Sky Watch, Dina.

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  9. These clouds look like a serene blanket settling over earth!

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  10. Your sky looks almost like ours here in Lisbon.
    Have a great weekend.

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  11. This sky makes even the power station look pretty.

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  12. What a beautiful photo. I'm learning a lot about your country just by visiting your blog. Thanks!!!

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  13. It's really great when the time comes when the season is nearly changing.

    Hope you can hop by my SWF photos in these blogs:
    Jenn Was Here
    Shutter Happenings

    Thanks! Happy Friday!

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  14. I like the mystery this photo has. Happy SWF.

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  15. That is a long time without rain. No wonder the excitement at clouds! You could live here and you'd be fed up with them, cloud is all we seem to have!

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  16. I love the feeling of an approaching storm after a hot, hot day (especially when it finally arrives). (Did you ever experience Sydney's "southerly buster"?) Your blog is extremely interesting.

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  17. One of the best things about SWF is seeing such sights from all over the world. Thanks for sharing your view. Wish we could share some of our record rainfall with you.

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  18. That is quite a view. Droughts are difficult times, so I hope the yoreh comes soon. That's a lovely word, by the way.

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  19. It feels sort of funny to hope that you get rain but I know how you feel when there's too much of a dry spell.

    I haven't been able to get my Sky Watch again. Sigh... Maybe tomorrow...

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  20. Hi Dina - good to visit again after my week away. We are also having our dry season but when I got back it was very wet after a big downpour last night.

    Cheers!!

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  21. Thanks for your visits and good weekend.

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  22. a cooler day...good for you! while in my part of the world, ut's typhoon season and monsoon. it's wet, wet, wet everyday for the past few weeks.

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  23. A great post with great information.. perfect for sky watchers everywhere.. :O)

    Forgive this Copy and Paste part of my comment but I wanted you to know that your link works fine and you post is appreciated.. Thank you for joining in with the fun of Sky Watch this week.
    Tom :O)

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  24. I don't blame you for wanting the yoreh to arrive! I don't know if I could live in your climate for vry long although I'd LOVE to visit Israel.

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  25. I like your image but I also liked your text. Good post, Dina.

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  26. Is 28C a "cooler day" there?!!
    Beautiful report and shot.

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  27. Hello Dina! How beautiful the sky and the word, yoreh. It's not unusual to place emphasis on an event which is so critical. The Innuits,I believe, have hundreds of words describing the different phases and textures of snow. Have a wonderful weekend! Petra

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  28. Nice photo. Enjoyed the rest of your blog too on this, my first, visit to you.

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  29. YEA!! CLOUDS! We were told by our guide that Israel is in a five year draught (sp?). Of course, that was reason enough for us to pray for rain but we wanted the rain to wait until we left. HA!! Let me know if you get any rain soon. I'm skipping SkyWatch in favor of vacation postings. I'll be back to it next week. Blessings, JC

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  30. Beautiful picture of your country. I enjoy your blog very much!

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  31. Beautiful skywatch capture!
    Enjoy your clouds! :D
    Happy weekend, and happy sky~watching!
    Cat

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  32. I'll try and send some rain your way! Happy SWF :)

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  33. Glorious sky photo, lovely hills!

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  34. That is quite a beautiful photo. Our dry season is opposite yours.

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