More about the old forester's tower

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 Just to finish the report from my previous two posts about the dedication of Mitzpe Noam, a new forest lookout and monument for fallen soldier Noam Rosenthal, here are better shots of some "ruins" which share the hilltop.  
Many readers were asking about the barbed wire.

A little bit of barbed wire was recently put around the abandoned cabin to discourage further graffiti and desolation.

I can't find much information online but apparently in the mid-1980s when the community of Meitar was begun and the Meitar Forest was planted, a forest ranger was stationed on the highest hill, with a lookout tower to watch from and a simple cabin to live in. 

Before the addition of barbed wire, I once went inside the old house and snooped around.
It feels quite mysterious and full of history.
If you enlarge some of the photos, you might get the feeling. 

I heard rumors that the Keren Kayemet/Jewish National Fund afforestation authority plans to renovate the place, especially now that Mitzpe Noam is completed right next to it, and open it as a way-station for Israel Trail through-hikers to overnight in. 

Let's see what happens . . . 
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Shade for all

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The view from the Beer Sheva-Meitar bus window. (Nicer than in the previous post.)
A flock of sheep and goats takes shelter from the noon-day sun.
The Keren Kayemet (Jewish National Fund), Israel's tree management organization, was nice enough to plant these trees at scattered places in the desert.
(I know it's the KKL's work because I enlarged the photo and found a white pillar with the emblem.)

And also taking advantage of the shade -- two Bedouin girls under a tree.
Even though they sit with their back to the flock, one or both of them must be the flock's shepherd.
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(Linking to Our World Tuesday.)
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Harvesting desert floodwater by savannization

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Meitar Forest is just a short walk north of my home in  Meitar.
See the parallel ridges in this late-afternoon photo?
Keren Kayemet (KKL)/Jewish National Fund (JNF), which is creating this and other forests in the northern Negev, explains it:

The tree planting method is called savannization, and it is based on harvesting desert floodwater.  

Terraces, furrows and ridges halt the rainwater and prevent it from running off. 

This method causes most of the water to be absorbed and stored in the earth, deep enough not to evaporate and close enough to the surface to be utilized by the vegetation.

Kakal (KKL) has some nice short videos about savannization on YouTube.
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(Linking to Our World Tuesday.)
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The Israel Trail -- so close to home

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The Israel National Trail goes right through  Meitar's backyard.

Wiki describes it: 

The Israel National Trail, (Hebrew: שביל ישראל‎, Shvil Yisra'el) is a hiking path that was inaugurated in 1995.
The trail crosses the entire country of Israel. Its northern end is at Dan, near the Lebanese border in the far north of the country, and it extends to Eilat at the southernmost tip of Israel on the Red Sea, a length of 580-620 miles (1000 KM).

The trail is marked with three stripes (white, blue, and orange)  and takes an average of 45-60 days to complete.
The Israel National Trail has been listed in National Geographic's 20 most "epic trails."
 It is described as a trail that "delves into the grand scale of biblical landscapes as well as the everyday lives of the modern Israeli."

Here there is a play on words:
Lalechet beshvil / bishvil  habriut =
Walk for health / Walk on the healthy path.
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(Linking to SkyWatch Friday and Signs, signs.)
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UPDATE:  More info at http://www.natureisrael.org/INT

and a Trail map at   http://www.natureisrael.org/cms_uploads/Israel%20National%20Trail%20Documents/IsraelNationalTrail_map.jpg

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The beauty of wood

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It's hard to believe that just a week ago today I was anxiously waiting for the movers to come to my place in the Jerusalem Hills and to move me to the southern Hebron Hills in the northern Negev.
I really like Meitar!

 Here is something pretty I discovered while walking to the town's supermarket.
The structure is in the yard of Meitarim Junior High School.
The logo says KKL so it was built by the Keren Kayemet LeYisrael (Jewish National Fund), the people who care for Israel's trees and forests. 

Look what beauty can come from simple pieces of wood.

I grew up in Chicago playing with Lincoln Logs,

but they were never cut quite as nicely as these real ones.
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(Linking to Our World Tuesday and Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors.)
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Revitalization of a drained swamp--the Hula

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On a cold and rainy day last week our tour guide took us to the Agamon Hula Ornithology (Bird Watching) and Nature Park.
It lies in the Great Rift Valley and is north of the Sea of Galilee.

At the big Visitor Center were some of the quiet modes of transportation permitted in this special nature reserve, like this family bicycle complete with a baby seat in the middle.

Our group of 37 would go in a safari wagon, seen here from the back.
The man on the tractor doubles as driver and guide.
At sensitive places he whispers into the microphone.

It had been raining a lot and we had to ford this flooded spot on the track.

A few rays of sunlight broke through and painted the distant hills of Naftali a bright green.

And created a rainbow too!

We sighted our first birds up over the papyrus.

A flock of small birds looked so pretty against the dark background of clouds and mountains.

Finally we came to the Crane Observatory where the standing cranes made a nice reflection for Weekend Reflections and Camera-Critters.
Go ahead, enlarge the photo, enjoy!

Our safari wagon sat quietly for a while, but when we inched forward, the cranes knew their limit and took off.
It was exhilarating to see and hear these big birds fly right past us!
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Twice a year 500 million (!) waterfowl, birds of prey, and song birds from 400 species fly over this area on their great migration between Europe and Africa.
As the brochures says, "The crane is the king of the Hula. In the autumn more than 100,000 cranes fly over the Hula Valley and a quarter of them winter here and fill it with their cheerful uproar."
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In the pre-State years many pioneers in this region got malaria from what was seen as "the malaria-ridden swamps of the Hula" and in the 1950 the Jewish National Fund/Keren Kayemet drained the lake.
Back then, projects like this were seen as part of the great Zionist endeavor of "redeeming the land." (See a good explanation here.)
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However, the mistake of tampering with nature in the Hula Valley soon became apparent as newly dried underground peat deposits ignited into smoldering fires that defied all extinguishers' efforts and rendered much of the area unsuitable for cultivation.
And phosphates and nitrates in the earth were washed into the Sea of Galilee, polluting its water.
So the JNF/KKL went back and reflooded part of the valley in 1995 and annexed it to an existing nature reserve.

This is what some Israelis sarcastically call "redeeming the land from the redeemers."
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For more details see Wikipedia and/or the Hula Reserve page.
The park that you see in my photos even has a Facebook page called Agamon Hula.
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More about my 4-day guided tour in the North in the coming days.
Shalom!
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Plant a free tree for Gilad

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Want to plant a tree in Israel, for FREE, in honor of Gilad Shalit and his family?!

Just click here and write a few personal words to the family. It's easy.

Be quick--the offer expires on Sunday.

The Keren Kayemet / Jewish National Fund is offering one free tree per person to be planted in celebration of Gilad's release.

For over a hundred years the KKL/JNF has worked to make Israel green with forests.
But today they do much more.
The seven action areas are Forestry & Ecology, Water, Community Development, Security, Education, Research & Development, and Tourism & Recreation.

Keren Kayemet workers call themselves "Caretakers of the land and people of Israel."

This blog has shown other examples of their good work.
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I hope thousands of people around the world will respond to this free tree offer.
(Normally one tree is purchased for $18.)
I'm hoping there will be a Shalit grove or wood or even a whole forest!

And YOU will enjoy having your own baby tree growing up in Israel!
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Good-bye trees, thanks guys

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Having just missed the infrequent bus to my village yesterday, I started the 35-minute walk home along the road.
But what's this?!
Almost all the trees, albeit dead trees, along the right side of the road had been cut down!
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Then I saw the sign:

CAUTION !
KKL [Keren Kayemet LeYisrael] is thinning out the forest in this area
in order to create firebreaks and to keep the forest healthy.
You can call us at 02-6204672.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
KKL, Mountain Region
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Carefully I looked over the steep and now bare slope.
Down below, a man was attaching a rope or chain to the log so he could skid it out with the tractor. (Click on the photo to find him.)

Others were cutting down tall pines, sawing them up into smaller lengths, stacking them and getting them ready to load on trailers, boiling a pot of coffee . . . .
I felt a tinge of envy . . . .

Last July a forest fire killed these trees in the valley.
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That's my moshav (village) in the photo.
The only road out of our village was closed, with fires burning on both sides of the road.
The fire was stopped at the very gate of our village, thank God.
It was a scary time watching the flames come nearer.
There was no way for the fire trucks to get down into the valley, and the few small planes could not work fast enough.
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That is why I am so glad that the wake-up call is being heeded now.
Keren Kayemet-Jewish National Fund is on the job, bless them.
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And I did, I called the telephone number on the sign, and said a big thank-you.
Even got to speak to the head Forester of the Mountain Region, Eli Yaakov.
He said "Before new trees can grow, the burnt ones must be cut down."
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Let us hope and pray the new trees will never feel the pain of a forest fire.
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Happy scenes from the International Book Fair

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This week's Jerusalem International Book Fair had 100,000 books, with 30 countries exhibiting, and 100,000 visitors were expected during the five days.
As I promised you yesterday, here are some more curiosities from the fair.

Sefer Hazahav! The huge Golden Books list the years and names of donors to the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet leYisrael).
This is more fully explained in my post from the last (2009) fair, along with a glimpse inside the venerable book.

"All roads lead to Italy," I think that's what it says.
And with TWO boots instead of the traditional one boot of Italy's map, I suppose walking those roads is easier.

Germany always has a mega-exhibit of quality books.
But cardboard boxes?! Several stacks of them formed philosophical building blocks.
If you know German, enlarge the photo and enjoy the quotations.

So sweet. The French offered a kid-sized reading corner for little readers.

CDs of Israeli songs, but sung in Esperanto!

Zamenhof, a Jew living in the Russian Empire, published his book about the international language he invented in 1887 under the pseudonym "Doktoro Esperanto" (Doctor Hopeful), from which the name of the language derives.
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My world of trees

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The almond trees are blossoming!

Right on time for their Tu BiShvat holiday.
That's the New Year for Trees that I posted about last Friday and Saturday.

It has become a custom in Israel for classes of schoolchildren to go out and plant baby trees in honor of the Birthday of the Trees.

In the week before this Tu BiShvat over 800,000 trees were planted!

The Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet leYisrael) is the body that manages our beloved groves, woods, and forests.

Since 1901 the JNF has planted 240 million trees!

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Please see my post about the JNF's gigantic Golden Book, dating back to 1901.

And their nice forest markers here.
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The pushke in the above photo is the famous Keren Kayemet donation box which Jewish families here and in the Diaspora always had in their homes.

It was, and is, very special to help make the barren land green.
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Growing up in Chicago I always dreamed about someday living in nature. Now it is true--I live on a little mountain surrounded by the forested Hills of Jerusalem.

Happy to say That's My World.

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Santa Claus at the Jaffa Gate!

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Early this morning I went to the Old City on a blogging mission: to cover the annual Christmas tree distribution to the Christian residents of Jerusalem.
And boy, did I luck out!!

Santa Claus himself was at the Jaffa Gate, ho-ho-hoing!

You remember from last Sunday's post. Jaffa Gate, built in 1538 by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. It is the main entrance through the Old City wall.

But to see the plaza outside the gate full of Christmas trees was a first for me!

Look, even a white dove of peace flying above!

Apparently the Christians residing in Jerusalem (e.g. U.N. personnel, diplomatic corps, clergy, foreign correspondents, etc.) were supposed to show their ID card or passport to get a free tree.

A few did.

Santa passed out a few trees to those good folk.

But mostly it looked like a free-for-all with people grabbing trees each time another pickup truck of the Jerusalem Municipality drove up.

One hundred trees were supposed to be distributed between 9:00 and noon, but by ten o'clock they ran out of trees.

City Hall footed the bill, paying 70 shekels per tree to the Keren Kayemet/Jewish National Fund, which provided the trees.

Santa did a lot of posing with trees and with people as the cameras rolled and clicked.

He spread Christmas cheer and wishes for peace in flawless English.

See the strange "trunk"?
 That is because these are actually crowns from trees that needed thinning out at their top.

I read that some were Atlantic cypress, some pines.

More info at the KKL JNF website.

They all smelled so good.

People took their trees home however they could.

This woman just shouldered her tree and started walking.

Some piled them on the 3-wheeled pushcarts that porters use to transport goods along the narrow lanes of the Old City.

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For these very religious Jewish boys, this was the closest they ever were to anything related to goyishe Christmas. They seemed in shock that this was happening.

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I think in response to ultra-Orthodox grumbling, the Jerusalem Municipality told the Jerusalem Post:

"Just like the municipality pays for hundreds of menoras to go up all over the city during Hanukka, and just like we assist with preparations for Ramadan, we also distribute Christmas trees. There are people of faith from the world's three major religions living in the city, and we respect them all and want them to enjoy their respective holidays."

In the interviews Santa seemed exceptionally articulate and diplomatic.

I heard him speaking Arabic when he was not on camera.

He was a jolly good fellow.

Oh, and his name, Issa Anis Kassissieh.   Issa, is Arabic for Jesus.

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A treasure at the Jerusalem International Book Fair

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Every day this week over a hundred exhibitors are showing their wares at the 24th Jerusalem International Book Fair.
But it seemed to me like only half the usual number.
Most likely some countries cancelled due to the recent fighting in Gaza and the rockets being fired at Israeli towns around Gaza.
The brave ones who came bearing books came from Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Lithuania, Nepal, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, UK, and USA, and of course Israel.

The sheer size and the gorgeous front cover of this old book was breathtaking!

The gentle lady at the Jewish National Fund booth explained that the Golden Book, Sefer Hazahav, was a list of those who donated money to the JNF's various projects from 1901 to 1911.

It was the first Goldenes Buch; by now there are 26 more.

Click to enlarge this picture and you will see that Dr. Theodor Herzl himself gave 10 Pounds Sterling. The book was handwritten and bound in Basel, Switzerland, appropriately.

Following the First Zionist Congress of 1897 Herzl wrote in his diary: “Were I to sum up the Basle Congress in a word - which I shall guard against pronouncing publicly - it would be this: At Basle I founded the Jewish State.”

The great achievement of the Fifth Zionist Congress held in Basel in 1901 (the time the Golden Book was begun) was the establishment of what would become know as the Jewish National Fund or Keren Kayemet LeYisrael which was to raise funds for the purchase of land in Palestine.

The famous tin JNF Blue Box graced Jewish homes throughout the Diaspora. Families would put their spare coins in the "pushke" and feel connected to the dream of a future return to the homeland.
The saplings you see above represent the 220 million trees the Jewish National Fund has planted, some of which I see looking out my window on the now-green (once bare) Jerusalem Hills.

I say THANK YOU to all those good people in the huge old Golden Book who dared to dream and to give.
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