WELCOME WITH LOVE OSS!

HE ASKED HER, SHE SAID YES! WE ARE VERY HAPPY! :-)

One more thing to be thankful for!

"SMILING HELPS A LOT"

" I look where it is good. I know about the bad, but I look at the good thing."

My friend Aiva sent me a link this morning. I am fascinated with it. I learned from it. I am listening to it real good. It contents meanings and wisdom gathered from a long life with certain great difficulties, that put my proportions in order - " it is not so terrible" - set them right, till I forget again and need another reminder to regulate them. When life acts out a bit on us and we are in danger of feeling sorrow of ourselves, of loosing our "good haze" and falling into haze of uncertainty and fear, it is always helpful to have someone to lead us back to the good things - because there are plenty of them. And even if life deals us really bad cards, this woman's experience and spiritual guidance may give us a helpful insight, a more optimistic outlook, and tools to survive.

"I learned to be thankful for everything
for not being hungry
for being in a good haze
of course of course
seeing the sun
seeing the smile of a good person
hearing a nice word of somebody
a nice word of somebody...

Everything is a present - everything - this I learned, to be thankful for everything."

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=ouC4_UKYp9o&vq=medium

Maybe this will cause you too to think matters over and after the cry arrive at a smile.

THE SKY WAS INCREDIBLY BLUE...

all day long, pleasing us during our long drive through the Negev, preserving its pretty hue till late afternoon and returning it the next  morning to the horizon. The chosen desert lodge (Chavat Nachal Boker, near Sde Boker) was waiting for us in the midday sun, its few tracks nothing but stony paths, covered with sand, surrounded by a small garden, with plants not minding the daily hot and nightly cold climate of the dry acrid region, but thriving anyway.

Our "hotel" was just a hut, a rustic cabin, built from natural material, like wood, bamboo and straw, roofed with palm fronds, integrating perfectly into the landscape, adapting, not disturbing the barren view of soft hills and shallow valleys. Very lovely and charming! Spot clean and comfortable! No TV, no telephone of course, but a porch to relax and to flow into a desert state of mind in the late afternoon and evening hours.

The breeze rushing in the few acacia trees and causing the hammock to swing gently was quietening down at night, only the lonely howling of the wilderness jackals could be heard.

Mornings in the desert are always gorgeous, the air fresh and scented. Birds awakening early.

Being more adventurous a tent could have been rented in an adjoining lodge, with shared bathroom facilities outside.

A pretty handmade set of a table and chairs waiting for a healthy breakfast being served!

Satisfied with a full belly we started out to reach our goal of Ein Saharonim (עין סהרונים), a small spring (ein) at the lowest point of the Machtesh Ramon, created from ground water, and the location of one of the most ancient Nabatean ruins, a caravansary, serving as a resting spot at the spice trade route, chosen for the water source being nearby. The road number 40 goes down from Mitzpe Ramon through the marvelous huge Ramon crater. A left turn is to be taken to the Be'erot Camp and from there a stony dirt road, passing over many dry wadis and flat water beds, arrives after several kilometers at a giant slanted stone wall.

Mount Ardon

The stone wall.
It contents red, green and yellow clay, the colors generated by different minerals in the rock, by water seeping through it, and by erosion. It is an amazing sight and worth a stop to investigate. After ten more minutes of driving the khan can be seen.

We parked the car and walked the short distance to the spring passing the caravansary on our left. 

During a visit many many (maybe twenty) years ago, we spotted onagers at the spring, the untamable wild Asian ass. I was hoping to see them again, but we had no luck. Just to show you: this one we spotted in April 2010 in the Negev, beside the trail to Borot Lotz.

The oasis of Ein Sahoranim is truly beautiful with rich desert vegetation and many puddles of water, even now at the end of the dry season. Our walk was short but full of images, the blue sky, the dark green and spiky plants, the colored rocks and many stones. The warm air was scented from the bushes and full of quiet noises, the rustle of the reeds, the gurgle of the water, the buzz of the insects...

I am happy - and I am thankful for such a wonderful weekend! It went right into my memory storage and I will dig it out whenever I want it or need it! 

Bedouine camels flanking the road on our way home.

Photos taken by my husband Uri Eshkar.

STERNBERGIA - clusiana

This is the other kind of Sternbergia, we found it yesterday at Lehavim in the Negev Desert. You can clearly see that the flower petals differ quite a bit. Helmonit Gdola. חלמונית גדולה

Photographs by Uri Eshkar.

STERNBERGIA (colchiciflora)

Helmonit zeira - חלמונית זעירה

Two kinds of Sternbergia grow wild in Israel - this one (it is more rare) and Sternbergia clusiana (חלמונית גדולה), which has rounder flower petals and is more common.
The yellow color of both varieties is just that, strong opaque sun yellow without any texture - very beautiful! They start blooming in late September and stay to please us till the end of November - autumn flowers!

Photographs by Uri Eshkar.