creative jewish mom

Judas Tree Blooms In Keshet, Israel

One of my greatest pleasures when spring comes to Northern Israel are the abundance of flowering wildflowers, bushes and trees, in addition to orchards full of fruit trees! The Judas Tree, or Red Bud tree, or in hebrew klil hahoresh blooms with bright pink flowers and native trees dot the landscape with pops of color that are just so very beautiful. While the tree is a native here, of course some are planted in residential areas and in city parks as they are quite simply stunning. After working for a good week cleaning our home for Passover we took a 3 day break to explore the Golan Heights, spending shabbat and our nights in a special spot called Moshav Keshet, which I highly recommend. The weather was chilly and sunny, perfect for local nature walks and there were so many beautiful things to see, which I'll be sharing with you here! But first, a look at my beloved Judas Tree, now in bloom in Keshet! And then take a look at my previous post from 2018 to see some lovely up close shots of the flowers, here. 

Ah yes, and if you'd like to read more about our abundance of wonderful native plants, take a look at all the posts in the category called Native Plants of Israel.

An Almond Tree Blooms Next Door, In Northern Israel

The almond trees are now in full bloom in Northern Israel, and while I missed it last year, this year, no way! I forced myself to grab the camera and get out of the house for a little photo shoot, this time to capture one of the trees growing just up the street, which I've funny enough, never thought to photograph, The tree is located just on top of an old stone house ruin, so it is especially photogenic, and to boot, I was able to capture it with the distant view of Mt. Meron as well. I think I'll go back in a few days in the morning for another go, but in the meantime, enjoy, and try to imagine the lovely delicate fragrance of an almond tree in bloom!

A Vacation Rental Under The Grape Vine In Kibbutz Harduf

This past summer we has the great pleasure of, once again, enjoying another successful airbnb vacation rental. I will say that I really do my homework before reserving, and this really pays off. Renting someone's personal home is always a bit of a risk, and can be strange, but in this case the home was clean, the bathrooms and kitchens spotless, and we loved the overall feel. You can check out this rental on Kibbutz Harduf here,

My goal was to explore something new, and really feel like we had stepped into another world, while only an hour or so from home, and this rental did just that! Not to mention that the house was full of waldorf style crafts, which I will be sharing with you, and that the kibbutz itself has stunning views, is wonderful for walking and the people were very friendly! Okay, lets take a closer look!

A Touch Of Fall Color In Northern Israel!

Fall has certainly arrived here in Northern Israel, and I'm grateful for even one little tree proudly displaying its fall color! So sweet really, as it can be seen from afar, which is why I ended up taking a walk with camera in hand to begin with! Of course there are many bare trees and lots of patches of earth normally covered with greenery, and the meadows seem to be slowly drifting off to sleep, but there is nothing like orange hued leaves to shout out, hey, winter is coming! So enjoy the photos I took yesterday on my neighborhood fire trail, and how about making a sketch from one of them, great idea!

Stunning Views From Kibbutz Harduf In The Galil

This past August we had the great pleasure of a 3 night stay on a kibbutz in the southwestern Galil, by the name of Kibbutz Harduf. I chose it because, well we'd never been to that area, and I was craving mountain views, something new, and within an hour's drive from our house. The vacation rental was on the edge of the kibbutz, meaning it felt like we were in the middle of nature. Here are just a few photos of the views from the rental and on the dirt road just below the rental. The view is looking West towards Haifa unless otherwise indicated. Enjoy, and consider exploring parts of Israel that you've never heard of, there are so many delights!

Views Of The Kinnerest And Har Arbel From Hararit

This past August during our 3 week summer vacation, we had the great pleasure of exploring some stunning mountainous areas in the lower Galil, under an hour's drive from our home, and yet new to us. One of my favorite locations was a community called Hararit, where there are stunning mountian views on two sides of the mountain peak top location as well as a lovely view of Lake Tiberius (the Kinneret) and Mt. Arbel, another favorite location. Hararit is located on the Netofa mountain range, which is parallel to the Meron mountain range, the end of which we see from our home. So friends, enjoy my photos and think about visiting this amazing location yourself someday.......ask me about it if you like!

A Sunburst Over The Galil In Northern Israel Just Before Sunset

Yesterday as I was pondering whether I had time to do a #sketchfrommywindow for my ongoing Instagram sketching challenge, when I suddenly spied rays of light coming from behind a cloud, and ran to grab my camera! Not every spectacular thing in the sky can be captured by a camera, or at least not mine, so I was very pleased to see that I did manage to capture this "sunburst" over the Galil, and more specifically over the Meron mountain range! So now, when someone draws a sun with rays coming out of it, well, we can say we've actually seen something just like it! Okay, lets take a peek at some more photos, shall we?

A Visit To The Yodfat Monkey Forest

This past August, when I realized that the historic site of Yodfat (written about here) as well as The Monkey Forest of Yodfat were just a 20 minute mountain-ridge drive away, well we just had to check it out! My husband and I and three very grown up teens visited the Monkey Forest, and while it is certainly geared towards younger children we actually had a nice time and it felt good to support their work as a refuge sight for monkeys that no longer fit into the zoo scenario for whatever reason.

The Yodfat Monkey Forest is a 10-acre wildlife refuge situated in the natural oak forest of Moshav Yodfat. The Yodfat Monkey Forest has harbored a troop of squirrel monkeys since 1976, as well as rescuing and providing a life-long home for animals that have been subjected to deprivation or neglect. Their goal is to provide the animals a life of dignity and respect and instill a love of wildlife and nature in our visitors. So friends, plan a day in Yodfat, and be sure to visit the monkeys! The most memorable part of the visit may not be the alpaca with the crooked tooth, but rather the squirrel monkeys whose giant cage you walk into, and whom you can feed worms purchased on site. The monkeys come quite close to take the food from your hand, which is certainly exciting! Okay, lets take a look.......

The Gravesite Of Rebbi Matya Ben Charash

I wish  I could tell you that all the holy gravesites of our great sages were wonderfully taken care of and a visual delight, but sigh, that is not always the case, and more often than not I am just grateful that the location still exists and we have access to it, amidst all the challenges our tiny country faces!  And in this case, that sage happens to be buried in a location that years later became an Arab village by the name of Eilabun, so while fenced off and somewhat well known, it is not exactly a hot spot for visitors. Fortunately unlike some instances one does not have to enter the village, rather the gravesite is actually across the highway and above an aquaduct, which explains all the fencing, just in case someone might think it is a great place to swim.....it is not. But this gravesite is a great place to pray for miracles, so of course we put our aesthetic needs aside and got to work! (When we found ourselves in the Lower Galilee not so far away, we decided to have a little adventure! ) As it turns out, there was another family there as well, so together we perched on the side of the hill on the hot summer day, and some of us lit candle after candle as is customary to do. If you are interested in that, just look it up! Okay, lets take a look!

Stunning Variegated Bougainvillea Bushes Grow In The Galil, Israel

Wow, when I saw this bougainvillea bush with variegated leaves during our recent stay on Kibbutz Harduf, I just could not believe my eyes. I thought I new just about everything about bougainvillea, but apparently not! It is widely available online, but I have not yet been able to find any info about it, and we are now heading out for more adventures! I can say that just as soon as the shemittah year is over (at rosh HaShana) and I can once again garden this is a plant on my list to purchase as it is truly stunning! The leaves remind me of my bower vine and the blooms are classic bougainvillea, just lovely! Keep on reading for some more photos!