Almond Blossoms -- Goodbye Until Next Year

This Today's Flowers post is dedicated to my Mom.

This past week I found myself wandering around Ein Kerem, at the southern end of Jerusalem, following an off-site planning session that, to my delight, ended an hour ahead of schedule. 

I was so pleasantly surprised by having this extra hour to myself  that it took me nearly 15 minutes just to decide what to do with it.  The sun, hidden behind the clouds, was due to set in about an hour.  Perfect photography light.

It's the end of the almond tree blossoms.  Ein Kerem is filled with almond trees -- שקדיות shkediot in Hebrew.  This tree's claim to fame is that it is the first to bloom, in the dead of winter, and almost out of nowhere.  

Now most almond trees in Israel are divided between bloom and foliage, with the white/pink blossoms contrasting against dark spindley branches and the bright green of newly sprouting leaves.  

Here, the flowers have already dropped off as the tree develops leaves and shifts into fruit-producing mode.

Another Spring, already on its way...

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Keep the balance,

ALN

Winter is Coming... Keep it Bright

It's Sunday (again) -- time for Today's Flowers.

I was never all that fond of bougainvillea, but when we moved to the Moshav I came to appreciate all of their various shades.  This one is from last week's trip to Beit Yatziv (a continuing education center for educators, in the heart of  Be'er Sheva), where they've made quite an effort to keep their courtyards flowering and manicured, and it makes all the difference.  Winter may be coming, but the bougainvillea know how to keep things bright and cheery.

Keep the balance,

ALN