Eat your heart out, Punxsutawney Phil!

I grew up only about an hour away from Punxsutawney, PA, home of the famous groundhog who pops up out of the ground each February 2nd and predicts six more weeks of winter. (Some Israeli, somewhere, is going, "פנקסטווני פיל? Why an elephant?") My little sister and I would always look outside at the February landscape consisting of various shades of brown and hope that this year spring would come early, but it never did. Even if the groundhog didn't see his shadow.

So I get great pleasure in tormenting all of you US-bound readers with you these pictures of Israel I took today at a nearby national park (Ein Afek)-- this is where I go jogging three mornings a week. I know, I'm lucky. The red and white flowers (calaniot and rakefot) bloom all winter, but in the past few weeks we've started to see spring flowers as well...

 

  

Above: I found a little turtle among the rakefot (cyclamen) and the clover

 

 

Above: I wonder if this is one of those kosher grasshoppers mentioned in the Torah?

A Quick and Easy Guide to Living in Celsius

When I first arrived in Israel, I had a very hard time gleaning anything meaningful from the weather report. Was I supposed to wear a coat in 20 degree weather?? What did it mean that the weekend would get up to 35?

I'm not alone. I once saw approximately this dialogue on Martha Stewart's TV show:

GUEST: It was very hot in Abu Dhabi. The temperature was about 37 degrees Celsius.
MARTHA: What is that in Fahrenheit?
GUEST: I think about 70 degrees.
MARTHA: Oh, that's not that hot.

(37 degrees Celsius is actually 98 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Yes, there are formulas to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, but these usually involve complicated formulas and knowledge of the number of times a grasshopper's wings beat per second. What I really need to know is this: should I wear a coat?

So here's my handy-dandy guide to living in Celsius.

If the temperature is in the 40s: It's HOT. Going outside is actually dangerous. The ocean will feel like a hot bath. Even in the shade, sweat will stream down your body. Close all of the trisim, turn on the air conditioning and drink lots of water. Any food you consume should be cold. (Farhrenheit equivalent: 100 and above. It actually got to this temperature in Haifa just a few weeks ago.)

If the temperature in the 30s: It's hot, but not HOT. You can probably go outside with proper precautions. Wear shorts and sleeveless shirts or light cotton clothing. It's too hot to wear full-length jeans or socks. You can probably handle a warm falofel so long as it's accompanied by a cold drink... although be warned, ice does not come standard in Israeli soft drinks. This weather is typical of the entire summer in Israel, except when it gets HOT, and is perfect for a game of matkot on the beach and a dip in the Mediterranean. (Rough Fahrenheit equivalent: the 90s.) Note: the upper 30s are HOT. If temp is 37 or above, follow guidelines for the 40s.

If the temperature is in the 20s: This is known as "mezeg avir naim"-- pleasant weather. It is warm but not sweltering. This weather (typical for October-November in Israel) is perfect for strolling around outside in jeans, a short-sleeved shirt, and sandals. You don't need a jacket but you probably don't need air conditioning. Kick out the grill and mangal some meat! Keep a light blanket near your bed, but you might not need it. (Rough Fahrenheit equivalent: the 70s.)

If the temperature is in 10s: This weather is cool, but not cold. You will probably want a blanket at night and a light jacket if you go outside. You might even want to wear socks, and you will probably appreciate hot soup for dinner. (Rough Fahrenheit equivalent: the 50s.) This temperature is typical of the Israeli winter.

If the temperature is in the 0s: This is what Israelis consider cold (and Americans where I come from consider normal fall weather). Wear a fairly warm jacket and warm shoes. Israelis turn on their heaters and bundle up in hats and scarves in weather like this. Because your house will still not be very good at heating up and staying warm, sleep with a thick feather blanket at night. (Rough Fahrenheit equivalent: the 30s.)

If the temperature is below 0: Israelis consider temperatures below zero almost too cold to bear. They will avoid going outside and will sit around huddled under blankets at home. They may or may not own mittens and so will be cold and grumpy when they emerge into the freezing air. If you own a warm winter coat, wear it. At least, this is what I guess happens-- it never got below zero last year in the Krayot. (Rough Fahrenheit equivalent: 32 degrees and below.)

The Israeli National Pastime: Mangal!

"Mangal" is the Hebrew word for "Barbeque," which always struck me as a little funny-- mangled meat roasting on a grill. However, "mangal" in Israel is a national pastime, and a very integral part of days off, going to parks, Saturday afternoons, what have you. Israel on the weekend smells like barbequeing Kababs (sausages), chicken, steaks. And it isn't Yom HaAtzmaut without some mangal, as well as the International Bible Quiz championship... which is kind of like the National Spelling Bee, only in Hebrew and about obscure portions of the Tanach.

We celebrated Yom HaAtzmaut yesterday at my husband's aunt and uncle's house. My husband's aunt (a good Polish mother) prepared about 500 types of salads--several involving eggplant and none involving lettuce. His uncle (a Romanian grilling master) cooked chicken breasts, kababs, spicy sausage, chicken hearts, a curious concoction of animal innards wrapped in foil, and more (the "more" involving what is delicately known as "basar acher"-- as in, the other white meat... oy... we didn't partake). And then about 12 kinds of cakes for dessert. Altogether, we passed out from calorie overdose after we came home from the barbeque... and I didn't get a chance to post yesterday. I think my brain is still swimming from the rush of sugar and protein.

I was just talking on the phone to another member of the Olim Omrim blog, btw, about how Independence Day in Israel is a much bigger deal than Independence Day in the US. On July 4th in the US you maybe grill, maybe go see fire works, maybe have a picnic... but here we have dancing, singing, concerts, speeches, candle-lighting, fireworks, parties. Then I realized that this reminded me of the description of Independence Day celebrations back in the wonderful "Little House Book" series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Back in the 1800s US pioneer life, independence still meant something. Here, too, we know that independence can't be taken for granted and should be celebrated to the utmost.

Happy Yom HaAtzmaut (a day late)!

Why Israeli women are named "Moran" and "Nurit" (get to know Israeli wildflowers!)

You can smell spring in Israel right now-- the air is light with the spicy perfume of blooming flowers. This weekend we went hiking in the "Gan haSela," a small park full of boulders in the lower Galil. The rocks were amazing (and fun to climb on)-- I'll post those pictures some other time. But on our trip, I annoyed my husband by spending most of my time photographing wildflowers. These are just a few of my pictures. I've tried to identify the flowers by their Hebrew names-- please correct me if I get any wrong!

Above: tofeach yerushaliym (left) and tzharon katan (right). The flower on the right is part of the iris family, obviously, but unlike the larger, showy irises, it's not called an "irus" in Hebrew.

Above: tiltan (good old clover, albeit a bit different from the clover I saw in Pennsylvania!)

Above: nurit (a "Jerusalem buttercup")

Above: rakefet (or, in the plural, rakefot)-- these are VERY common Israeli wildflowers. My husband bought me a pot of these as a houseplant last summer, but I promptly killed them. I guess they like Israeli outdoor conditions better!

In the picture above, you can better see how some of the rakefot are actually light purple!

Above: I'm pretty sure this are called nisanit (or possibly, nisnit). Does anyone know if the name comes from the month nisan?

Above: moran hachorash (I'm guessing this is why "moron" is an insult in English but a beautiful women's name in Israel!)

Above: Ok, so this is a foreign tropical tree (known as an "orchid tree" or bohenia) that has been introduced to Israel, and this flower is blooming in my yard rather than the Gan haSela. But isn't it beautiful?

Unfortunately, my picture of some of the most beautiful flowers blooming right now-- the calaniot-- came out blurry. I guess I'll just have to devote a whole post to them some other time!

I'm submitting this post to this site, which features more flower photography:
http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/