An egg roll

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For ABC Wednesday,  H is for head.

This is the skull of a Nile crocodile, displayed at the Negev Zoo.

You'll never guess what this croc does with its big mouth!
National Geographic tells us --

 One unusual characteristic of this fearsome predator is its caring nature as a parent. Where most reptiles lay their eggs and move on, mother and father Nile crocs ferociously guard their nests until the eggs hatch, and they will often roll the eggs gently in their mouths to help hatching babies emerge.

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(Linking to Camera Critters.)
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Feast for the jackals?

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So there I was, wandering in the desert outside Meitar, all footloose and fancy free (1).
Sometimes when I hike alone and find nothing special to photograph I ask God to send a sign or  just a little token of friendship.

But this one almost knocked me off my feet! (2)
First reaction: Oh, poor goat! 

But what was God trying to tell me?
That he has a bone to pick with me? (3)
That I should go down on bended knee? (4)  (Wait, Jews don't kneel.)
Or did he just want to pull my leg? (5)

Down the road a piece I found shoes and a pair of jeans laid out at the base of the trail marker.
All this was giving me cold feet (6) and I decided to shake a leg (7) and head home.
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1.  able to do whatever you want without any obligations
2.  to surprise or shock someone so much that he does not know what to do,
3.  to want to talk to someone about something annoying they have done
4.  to show a lot of emotion when you are asking someone for something, to act like a servant
5.  to fool someone, to trick someone, to joke with someone
6.  to become afraid and hesitant about something at the last minute
7.  to go fast, to hurry
More at http://www.idiomconnection.com/legfoot.html#B
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(Linking to Camera Critters.)
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Monastery of St. Gerasimus

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 H is for heresy, hesychasm, and hermit.
Today is the feast day of St. Gerasimus.

Since my visit to the old old monastery of Gerasimus near Jericho two years ago I have posted much about the beautiful Greek Orthodox  place in the desert.
In honor of his feast day, here are some more photos.

Saint Gerasimus and the animals.

The church.

I think it is the Father Abbot supervising a tree pruning.

 The mosaic workshop.

Another of the many desert hermit monks who practiced the hesychastic asceticism.

A repaired crack in the church wall, result of an earthquake.
The Jordan Valley is part of the Great Rift Valley, prone to quakes. 

Skulls and bones of monks down through the ages.

A modern cafe-oasis for thirsty pilgrims and tourists who like to visit this monastery.

The surrounding desert.
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(Linking to inSPIRED Sunday and  ABC Wednesday.)
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Carpal bones and curiosity

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"C" is for curious children, cranking levers to make bones articulate.

At Jerusalem's nice old natural history museum.
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For ABC Wednesday.
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