Unexpected Benefits of Reading Ivrit Magazine I have previously mentioned my monthly subscription to Ivrit Magazine, published by the Jerusalem Post. The initial purpose for subscribing was to improve my spoken Hebrew by increasing my vocabulary necessary for day-to-day conversations. While I had an excellent education in Jewish Day Schools, I was more conversant with […]
Tree Planting Program in Israel Read More »
Beautiful Israeli Spring Flower One of Israel’s most iconic wildflowers is the cyclamen or rakefet in Hebrew. It fills the landscape from the Golan Heights, the Galilee, Judea and Samaria south all the way to the northern Negev. Its bloom time is January through March and it grows with a distinctive flower in white, violet
Plants have Relatives Also Read More »
Meeting our Main Character Scritch! Scrabble! Scratch! It was a beautiful summer day and I was quietly reading indoors in a room filled with golden sunshine. Blessed with good hearing and knowing that if I am hearing something odd, I may be in for a surprise. I looked around and walking across a window shade
green and Bug-eyed with Beautiful Variants Read More »
We all have heard about making lemonade when handed lemons by life. Sometimes an unusual gardening opportunity appears during our weird weather.
Unexpected opportunity during strange weather Read More »
Our world is generally divided into land, air and water. While we see and are aware of birds that utilize the air, we are generally unaware of those creatures beneath the surface of the water. We miss a lot!
Strange doings under the waves Read More »
Chanukah Symbol Chanukah is the story of religious freedom. It is demonstrated through the miracle of oil which burned for eight days despite the fact that the quantity of oil available should have been enough for a single day only. Perhaps it is time that we give some thought to the oil itself that was
Modality of Chanukah Miracle Read More »
This summer I had a large clump of an unknown plant in one of my garden’s sunnier locations. I was reluctant to tamper with it in case it was actually something wonderful. All summer it kept growing until it was about three feet tall. Finally, around September it budded, then flower and it seemed that
Heavenly Scented Flower Read More »
Summer Sighting We have had a bird feeder for many years now in consonance with about 50 million other Americans. I can sit by my kitchen window and see who shows up as I drink my morning coffee. Whimsical Bird Feeder Robin eating Magnolia Seeds – Courtesy of Sura Jeselsohn Before the installation of the
Shofar and Rosh Hashana Rosh Hashanah will soon be upon us. Although there is a special lengthy prayer service for Rosh Hashana, the central observance of the holiday is the blowing of the shofar. Because of the significance of the shofar blowing, we tend to focus primarily on the auditory aspects of the shofar; that
A Naturalist Looks at the Shofar Read More »
I love butterflies and have been to many butterfly houses all over the world. Last week I was honored to have this garden visitor. There are many kinds of swallowtails including black swallowtails and spicebush swallowtails (which are also black). I believe that this is a male swallowtail. See Video Male Black Swallowtail – Courtesy