In the early Spring when I visited the dentist in Rosh Pina, this very same field was filled with gorgeous wild flowers, and now it's filled with purple thistle balls, or at least that's what I call them! And let me tell you, a field packed with them is just stunning!
And it just so happens that I have a particular affection for these prickly guys because it goes like this:
In my past life as a designer of sorts working in Manhattan, I went to the flower district to purchase some props for a photo shoot. I fell in love with some dried purplish prickly balls, and couldn't resist as they were so unusual. Flash forward to a year or so later, and I find myself on a bus climbing the gorgeous hills of the Galil in Israel. I look out the window and what do I see? The hills covered with those very same purple prickly balls!
Every year I think about cutting some and trying to dry them, or at least enjoying them in a vase, but so far it just hasn't happened for whatever reason, or the fact that one really needs heavy garden gloves to even consider getting near them. But oh how I'd love a vase full of these purple balls, so maybe just maybe it will happen this year, maybe even in time for Shavous, when we decorate our house with flowers and greenery! (Okay, not likely, I've still got tons of cooking and baking to do, as opposed to taking a hike with the kids.....)
Wish me luck, I'll let you know if this is the year when I realize my prickly purple ball dreams, or whether it's one of those dreams that should just stay a dream!
