For readers who are knee high in snow at the moment, look away now. We in the Med see very little of the cold white stuff, in fact here in the coastal plain snow just doesn't fall. Last weekend on hearing the news of a snow fall in the Jerusalem area and the Golan, our…
Here Come the Blue Skies
The grey clouds keep rolling in and the thunder is in the distance but there is always a chink of blue sky out there, somewhere. Isn't there?
Here comes the rain again
October in Israel brings Rosh Hashannah, Yom Kippur and my favourite of all the holidays, Sukkot. You may remember my ramblings about the Sukkah (Succah, Sukka?) that we build in the garden every year. Where we eat, where I spend my evenings quaffing vino and where the kids play. This year, true to form we…
They’re Back
As the days heat up, the sun begins to really burn and the nights become stuffy we once again welcome the critters that dwell in these parts. I say welcome but actually what I really mean is dread. Since this time last year and my post When the Night Comes Falling there have been some changes…
Coat of Many Colours
At the side of the main coastal highway, wedged between the railway tracks and the noisy traffic there is a field. Israel has donned its Spring time coat of many, many colours. The red stretches as far as the eye can see. The poppies in this field have not been in bloom for 3 years (…
Just another winter’s tale
The sun is shining the temperature is 28 degrees Celsius and whilst Europe and the States is frozen in the grips of a polar vortex or 3 feet under water, the sun in Israel is shining as ever. No sign of winter here. In fact it would be fair to say that Spring has sprung…
Red Sky at Night
There are certain times of year when I am very happy that my home is in the Middle East. November is one, February the other. To me these were always the most depressing of months in the UK. November with only a bonfire and fireworks to brighten the dull grey skies and chilly long nights.…
How does your garden grow?
How does my garden grow? Well it doesn't. No scratch that, there are a couple of things that grow in my garden, the gigantic date palms and the Ficus trees and therein lies the problem. I grew up in an area where the garden was more likely to be waterlogged or too cold to grow…
Wake me up when September ends
After almost 2 weeks in the UK, husband arrived to spend the last week with us. He kept asking, 'how does England look to you'. My answer was always the same, 'green'. Israel is now shrouded in heat haze with dusty roads and fields, sandy and burnt, so England was like a lush paradise in…
The Heat is On
With the temperature gauge hitting 28 degrees at 8am it is fair to say that summer is upon us in the tiny strip of land I call home. The heat however is not the problem, summer in the coastal plain of Israel means humidity and therefore sweat, lots of it, even 3 minutes after you…
39 and Counting 