Beware of butcher birds

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You know you're not in Israel when the only potential danger from above is a BUTCHER BIRD attack! 
I saw this sign while walking my granddog in our leafy northern suburb of Sydney; I didn't know whether to laugh or run!

(I came to Australia in November to see the grandchildren and now I am housesitting for them until late January while my daughter and their family tour America.)

A little research came up with this:

Called butchers because they hang their meat: "Grey Butcherbirds are aggressive predators. They prey on small animals, including birds, lizards and insects .... Uneaten food may be stored in the fork or a branch or impaled." and "Butcherbirds get their name from their habit of hanging captured prey on a hook or in a tree fork, or crevice. This 'larder' is used to support the victim while it is being eaten, to store several victims or to attract mates."
Another source says "With its lovely, lilting song, the Grey Butcherbird may not seem to be a particularly intimidating species. However, with its strong, hooked beak and its fierce stare, the Grey Butcherbird is not a bird to be messed with. When a nest or newly fledged chick is around, if you venture too close, a butcherbird will swoop by flying straight at your face, sometimes striking with enough force to draw blood, and each swoop is accompanied by a loud, maniacal cackle."Another source says "With its lovely, lilting song, the Grey Butcherbird may not seem to be a particularly intimidating species. However, with its strong, hooked beak and its fierce stare, the Grey Butcherbird is not a bird to be messed with. When a nest or newly fledged chick is around, if you venture too close, a butcherbird will swoop by flying straight at your face, sometimes striking with enough force to draw blood, and each swoop is accompanied by a loud, maniacal cackle."

Happy new year 2019 to you all! 
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Beer Sheva billboard work in progress

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Don't you love to watch guys tearing down the old ads and putting up new ones?! 

I almost never pay attention to billboards (maybe because I never buy or need anything), but I do enjoy observing the low-tech old-fashioned work that goes into them. 

Even if we consider roadside billboards like this one in Beer Sheva to be "visual pollution" we can still appreciate the men who work on tall ladders in the hot desert sun to keep them maintained and up-to-date. 
And yes, Israel does have many digital billboards, but they lack this human touch.
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A banner for Ramadan

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I came just at the right moment today to witness four Jewish students putting up a banner that says in Arabic 
HAVE A GENEROUS RAMADAN, ACCEPTABLE FASTING, AND A DELICIOUS IFTAR
And the Hebrew parts says
tsom kal -- HAVE AN EASY FAST.  RAMADAN KAREEM

At the Student Union building, Beit HaStudent, at Beer Sheva's Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. 

The month of Ramadan begins today.
Unfortunately for the Muslims this whole next week Israel will be suffering a heat wave.  
Imagine not being able to drink anything from sunrise to sunset when it is is 41 degrees C.  
Kol hakavod, respect, to those who fast. 
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(Linking to Weekend Reflections and signs, signs.)
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"Holy ceremony" underway

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Six Israeli Border Guard policemen were there at the entrance to the tiny room which contains the tomb of Jesus.  To keep order. 
Hundreds of eager pilgrims and tourists were in line, waiting for their one minute inside. 
Hundreds more were there on that Easter in 2012 when I took this picture, filling every space in the huge Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 

Just recently I was surprised and happy to find something new in the ancient church--this police barricade or small fence which now says 

"Holy ceremony"! 

On the sides are the insignia of the Jerusalem District Police. 

I must admit, it is a big improvement over the older ones in the first photo, which say in Hebrew "Mishtarah," which means Police. 
I think it shows more sensitivity.  Slowly slowly we are learning.  It has only been 50 years since Israel got responsibility for the security and safety inside this holiest of Christian holy places.  Be patient. 
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(Linking to inSPIRED Sunday,  Our World Tuesday, and signs, signs.)
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At Kasr al-Yahud River Jordan baptism site

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For the Latin church (the Roman Catholics) today is the feast day called the Baptism of the Lord.
Hundreds walk in procession down to the Kasr al Yahud baptism site on this day.
I was there on a much quieter day, just a few weeks ago.

Our bus passed the minus 300 meters sign and continued to descend even lower to the Jordan Valley, a bit north of the Dead Sea (the lowest spot on earth).

Flags greeted us at the entrance.
The Israeli flag and that of Nature & National Parks Protection Agency, and also of the Judea and Samaria Civil Administration (because it is in the West Bank, east of Jericho).

You had better pay attention to the rules.
Don't even THINK of wading across the river.

The other side is already the Kingdom of Jordan.

The border runs down the middle of the River Jordan and that is why the sign says, Do not pass, in Hebrew, English, and Russian. 

A new Greek Orthodox church has been built on the other side and we could see the Jordanian flag waving in the breeze of late afternoon.

Many Christians step into the water for a renewal of their baptism.
Some new Christians get the total immersion with the help of their priest or pastor.

The river is very shallow now after 4-5 years of drought.
In the rainy stormy weekend we just had, the level of the Jordan rose by 35 centimeters.
It's not likely you will need this red lifesaver, but it hangs on the tree just in case.
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(This blog has five posts about Kasr al Yahud baptism site, if you'd like to see more.)
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UPDATE Jan. 10: The Franciscans today published their short video of Sunday's pilgrimage to the baptism site:
http://www.terrasanctablog.org/2018/01/10/faithful-on-a-pilgrimage-to-the-jordan-river-for-the-celebration-of-the-baptism-of-the-lord/

UPDATE April 12, 2020:  good news! --
https://www.timesofisrael.com/just-in-time-for-easter-qasr-al-yahud-site-declared-mine-free-after-53-years/
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(Linking to signs, signs,  inSPIRED Sunday and  Our World Tuesday.)
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A message from the Mosque of Omar

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In Jerusalem's Old City last week I peeked through the locked gate of the Mosque of Omar and was surprised to see this sign in the courtyard. 
It is apparently sura 3:51 of the Quran which quotes none other than Jesus! 
The banner says
[in Arabic:] There is no god but Allah. 

"Jesus Said:

'I am indeed a slave of Allah,

Allah is my Lord and your Lord,

so worship Him Alone.' "

The mosque, with its tall minaret, is right across the lane from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  
I wonder how many Christian pilgrims on their way to the church  pause a second to look at the mosque and at the unexpected message on its wall. 

The Mosque of Omar, built in the 1460s, has a fascinating story in itself.
You are welcome to read about it in two of my earlier posts. 
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Tomorrow is Friday, the Muslim holy day, and al Aksa mosque will be packed.  After the prayers big protests are expected against Trump's declaration on Jerusalem.  Palestinian officials have called for "days of rage."  Let's hope and/or pray that no one loses his life. 
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(Linking to inSPIREd Sunday.)

An electrifying kiss

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Suddenly crazy dazzling streaks across my laptop and TV screens, then a huge flash of light outside my window and a loud PATZ!!  And then my place and the whole neighborhood were plunged into darkness. 
I grabbed a big flashlight and walked down to the corner to check the big electric pole, the one that says "HIGH VOLTAGE,  DANGER OF DEATH!"

Our town's security team was already there, calling the Electric Company's emergency repair line.
Curious neighbors were milling about and pointed out to me what had fallen from above to the hard pavement below.

One pigeon sitting on one high tension wire had touched a second pigeon sitting on a parallel wire, forming a short circuit and causing the big bang and their own electrocution!
Totally charred wings, so sad.

The poor pair of pigeons had only wanted to kiss each other good night.
Even in death they were locked together. 
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(Linking to Our World Tuesday, signs signs, and Camera Critters .)

Tmol Shilshom, Only Yesterday

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For the brand new version of the long-running meme ABC Wednesday that begins today, my A is for Agnon.
Shai Agnon, 1888-1970, was the only Israeli to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Alongside the walkway of the long Train Track Park in Jerusalem I was delighted to find this clever waist-high sign.
You can read (if you know Hebrew) either the cut out letters in the metal or the shadow of the words on the ground.
The quotation is from Agnon's famous masterpiece Tmol Shilshom, published in 1945.
Just a few years ago the book was translated into English as Only Yesterday.
You can sample some pages of the peculiar style here in Google Books.
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UPDATE:  More about where this is located:
https://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.co.il/2012/12/park-hamesila-railway-park.html
and
http://worldlandscapearchitect.com/jerusalem-railway-park-tichnun-nof-landscape-architects/

(Linking to signs, signs and old-new ABC Wednesday.)
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World Chocolate Day, sweet memories

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Today is World Chocolate Day!
July 7, 2016 marks 466 years since chocolate was introduced to Europe.
It arouses sweet memories of a trip to the north on a rainy day in March.
Right there where we were staying, in Kibbutz Degania Beit, was a small chocolate factory! 
Or as their sign says,

Galita, the chocolate farm
Exciting chocolate experience

The store had a precious cocoa tree full of cocoa pods (behind glass!).
The cacao plant was first given its botanical name by Carl Linnaeus in his original classification of the plant kingdom, who called it Theobroma ("food of the gods") cacao.

After lots of free sampling, I decided on a little bottle of delicious chocolate liqueur.

Who knew!  Jews had a hand in the production and spread of chocolate centuries ago. 
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(Linking to signs, signs.)
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A good sign for Burgerim

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Seen from the bus in Beer Sheva, a sign on the way to a Burgerim fast food place?
It's an unusual contribution to Lesley's meme,  "signs, signs, a weekly meme of interesting, funny, ridiculous and unexplainable signs."

Burgerim opened its first place in Tel Aviv in 2008 and is now a successful Israeli franchise, with more than 80 stores in Israel.
The idea is to sell to each customer several different kinds of small burgers instead of one giant (and messy) one.
In Hebrew, burgerim is the plural of burger. 
I've never eaten there, but here is a short video telling the story, if you really want to know.  :)
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Desert Embroidery's Mobile Library in Lakia

Looks like a shelf stacked with kids' books in Arabic and Hebrew, right?

Actually it is the side of a truck, a library on wheels!

The project was started 15 years ago by some very energetic and courageous Bedouin women with vision living in the town of Lakia, here in the Negev.
The Mobile Library travels around Lakia.
It also goes out to several settlements in the Bedouin "diaspora" which are not recognized by the State of Israel.

The library's webpage, where you can see more photos, explains like this:

Although 58% of Lakia’s 10,000 residents are children, Lakia has no public library.  The Mobile Library Project was set up in 2000 to provide children in Lakia and the unrecognized villages in the area with an opportunity to read and exchange books to improve their reading skills, instill a love of reading and facilitate their educational achievement.
Three days a week, the Mobile Library travels in Lakia and the unrecognized villages of Abu Kef, Owajan and Alatresh, all of which are denied municipal services. At each stop enthusiastic children check out books in Arabic, Hebrew and English. Volunteer university students organize story hours and operate the library in exchange for a small stipend. We estimate that the library reaches some 1,750 children of all ages.
Future plans for the Mobile Library include extending operations to a full week, the expansion of library visits to more unrecognized villages for the benefit of even more children, development of an area for games, and the procurement of new books.

 The library is only one of the projects of Desert Embroidery, Association for the Improvement of Women's Status, Lakia.
We can learn a lot by reading the three sections of Overview at the website and then looking through the other text and photos.
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(Linking to Our World Tuesday and signs, signs.)
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Not such a pleasant ride this time

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A cool reflection of a single street light pole, but a sad story for my Beer Sheva to Meitar bus.

About 10-15 minutes out of Beer Sheva, last Wednesday, a passenger went up to our driver and said a window was broken and that when she had gotten on the bus she saw the glass was damaged but now the glass was starting to fall out.

When the driver got to a stopping place on the busy road, he stopped.  

It was the bus stop just outside of Omer.

He took a look.  He asked if there were any witnesses.  No one had heard anything hit.

So no one knew when or where it had happened. 

You see the tiny hole on the bottom?
Could it be a bullet hole?
Or is that how it looks after someone throws a rock?
I don't know because--miraculously maybe--I have lived in Israel many decades and have been spared first-hand experience with such events.

Our driver telephoned Metropoline and asked whether to continue driving or not. 

No, they would send another bus to collect the many passengers.

People asked what happened, some got on cell phones, everyone looked at their watch, and then we all sat quietly and just waited;  I myself felt a bit like like a sitting duck.

Finally, 20 or 25 minutes later we were let off.
Someone foolishly pressed on the pane and more glass fell out; there goes the evidence.

 

Soon the replacement bus came and within ten minutes our same driver got us to Meitar, my town. 

Good wishes (and how to pronounce them) in the languages most heard here in the Beer Sheva area: Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, and English.
Let's hope so . . .
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(Linking to Weekend Reflections.)

Servez - vous

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The new NGO Women Wage Peace had a meeting in Meitar a few nights ago.
After the lectures each of us was given a flower for International Women's Day.

It reminded me of  when I volunteered at Grandchamp, next to les grand champ.
For a few months every year one farmer would plant a huge field of flowers. 
The Swiss had a Help Yourself option, based on the honor system.
Pick as many as you want, just put 3 Euros in the brown metal box for each bouquet.

Here's a nun selecting flowers for the chapel and the refectory. 

Good memories . . .

(Linking to signs, signs and to ABC Wednesday, I being for international.)
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Remembering Hong Kong on Chinese New Year Day

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Happy Year of the Monkey!
In honor of Chinese New Year today,  I'm pulling up the only photos I have of China and remembering a pleasant 6-hour wait in Hong Kong Airport last August.
After a 12-hour flight from Tel Aviv, the coffee was a necessity and the young people making it were lively and friendly.

Plenty of planes of many colors to watch on the busy tarmac.

Signs on the moving walkway ask you to pay attention to children and old folks while walking, and not have your eyes glued on the cell phone. 

Hong Kong International Airport is big and bright with free wifi and free computers all over.

I found this interesting, both the instructions and the language.
Click and enlarge if you'd like to read about a multi-faith prayer room.

Finally it was goodbye to Hong Kong, and another long flight down to Australia.

Happiness, good luck, and prosperity to you in the Year of the Monkey!
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(Linking to OurWorld Tuesday.)
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Bronze bicycle, bare bum

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As promised, here we are at the Open Museum which is part of the hi-tech industrial park near Omer, in the Negev.

This sculpture is especially for today's ABC Wednesday.
B is for bronze bicycle and bare bum.

Too bad BICYCLE is so hard for Israelis to spell.
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Effluents, drinking "frohibited"

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We have a double W word today for ABC Wednesday: wastewater!
Since the public gardens in the Negev town of Omer are irrigated with effluents (wastewater), drinking from the town garden taps or hoses is . . . is what?!  -- "frohibited"!
Haha, another Israeli sign blooper!

Purple is the conventional color to warn of effluents.
I have seen big purple valves in fields but this was my first time to see all the drip irrigation hoses thus marked. 

The funny signs and the purple pipes are all along this long hedge, and behind the fence are several kindergartens.
Maybe that's why they are being so careful to warn about the water.
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UPDATE Dec. 17, 2015: Funny, just a day after I blogged about greywater, Ben-Gurion Univ. posted this article on Facebook:  
Greywater Reuse for Irrigation Is Safe and Does Not Cause Gastrointestinal Illness, According to Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research Study 
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(Linking also to signs, signs.)
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Meine Damen und Herren

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Today being World Toilet Day,  just wanted to show you these cute Damen und Herren signs on the door of a new WC in rural Austria.

It is inside this little cabin called Wanderhütte Fernblick, in the state of Burgenland, Austria.
Apparently here you can get refreshments and a sit-down during the hot summer hiking months.
The panoramic vista of the hills and valleys is free.

Next to the typical wayside shrine they have a weather stone suspended.
Enlarge the photo a few times to read how it works.
Weda-stoa is Austrian dialect for German Wetter Stein.

Stone wet - Rain
Can't see the stone - Fog
Stone is quiet - No wind
Stone white - Snow

Stone warm - Sunny
Stone ice cold - Frost
Stone is swaying - Storm
Stone is hopping - Earthquake
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(Linking to signs, signs and SkyWatch Friday.)
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