A letter from Israel

Almond blossoms are the first sign that the winter is near its end. In the United States the groundhog is used to predict the end of the winter. I may have it wrong but apparently if the groundhog comes out of his burrow and can see his shadow then winter will lasts for another six weeks. In Israel the almond trees tell us that winter is drawing to an end. They are the first trees to blossom and brighten up the landscape with unexpected dots of pink and white. It is almost as if the landscape are draped randomly with large swathes of lace.

A soaked rose When you think of the land of Israel, images such as camels, deserts and thirsty palm trees pop into your mind. This country is, after all in the middle of the Middle East.  And the Middle East is known as hot (weathered!) area.

An olive tree with Haifa harbor in the background and my youngest playing around with her red balloon . Yesterday, we celebrated the birthdays of all the trees in Israel.

My street name is called Af Al Pi Chen - a bit strange sounding, I agree. Especially when you say it out loud. What is even more strange, is that Af Al Pi Chen is Hebrew for “In spite of it all”. Sometimes it is translated as "nevertheless", "nonetheless" or "notwithstanding".