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A Blue-Chrome Sky | An Israeli Poem

A Blue-Chrome Sky | An Israeli Poem - 27 December, 2025  A blue-chrome sky The rain, or rather the on-and-off deluge,  has polished the skies to a bright chrome.  Large clouds strive to hide our solid sun  but the light pace like a hidden metronome Flood-filled grays tried its best to reign But the blue would often glow through Or at least sent a few bright rays Turning the storm clouds a lighter hue Dark and charcoal and ash-grey colours With loud noise and scary-looking shadows Eventually fracture over our ancient hilltops In Israel the melody of light never stops.  Flood-filled grays tried its best to reign  But the blue would often glow through  Or at least sent a few bright rays  Turning the storm clouds a lighter hue  In Israel the melody of light never stops Zichron Yaakov, 27 December, 2025

Hiking from Nachsolim beach to HaBonim beach

Although it is already nearly the end of October, the days are still very hot in here in Israel. The rains of autumn and that cool, clean feeling they bring are still just a wishful longing for the most of us. But one gets tired of sitting in front of the perpetual-turning fan or the headache-inducing hum of the air con. No matter how hot it is going get, I promised myself, I am going on a HIKE already!!

A diary of an administrator

A clerk: Raphael Kohn, and a cop : Joseph Kuperman Not a yet a city  but not a village anymore.. I live in Zichron Yaakov, a small medium-sized town in the northern part of Israel. We have grown from a dusty village on a hill top in the middle of nowhere to a large vibrant nearly city.  Though we still do not have any traffic lights, I am pretty sure that the Romanian founding fathers and mothers would not recognize the place anymore. They bought their land in 1882 but had no luck growing anything in the rocky soil. Also the nearby swamps were totally invested with malaria-carrying mosquitoes causing the death of far too many people, especially children.

30 clues that show you are an Israeli

How long does it take for a new immigrant to become a bona fide Israeli? See if you have mastered any of these activities of the list. I personally cannot crack sunflowers like a pro..yet. 1. You do not allow anybody to wriggle in front of you in a queue. We take our garlic VERY seriously in Israel!

Sitting around at the Tel Aviv art museum

My photo for the 52Frames Chair photo challenge I recently had to go into the city for a meeting but just before my train reached my stop, the meeting was unexpectedly cancelled…! Of course I wrote about the entire incident and how miserable I felt that cloudy winter afternoon with ice-cold winds whipping through the tall buildings... (yes, I can be a bit of a drama queen sometimes). But let me rather tell you what I did with my unexpected free afternoon in Tel Aviv.

The yearly pilgrimage to Cyclamen mountain

Every year TONS of Israelis make the trek to this hill top to look at the flowering cyclamens The news from Israel is often so depressing. Everybody always hears about the kidnappings, and stabbings and bombs exploding. People who live outside of Israel probably think that this place is a constant war zone...

Popular posts from this blog

The wild mustard flowers of Israel

The wild mustard is growing yellow and everywhere in Israel at the moment. But not the kind of mustard that you eat with ketchup on your hotdog! Wild mustard as in wild mustard plants! :) I am talking about  Sinapsis Arvensis , a tiny yellow flower that grows in masses in fields, along road sides and abandoned building sites. Up close the wild mustard flower does not look like much - a bit on the puny side actually. But just come across a field filled with mustard flowers and you will be enchanted - just as I am every spring.

When the almond trees flower

    The almond blossoms have a special place in the hearts of Israelis We are right at the entrance of spring now in Israel. Luckily we had a lot of rain this winter and everywhere is clean and green. We are already enjoying the spring flowers but one cannot talk (okay write..☺) about spring flowers without mentioning almond blossoms. These trees always bloom the first in Israel and is a wonderful reminder that the winter is about to come to an end. One has to really pay attention to see the almond blossoms though. They blossom only for a short time. One blink and they are gone until next year.                               The almond blossoms always bloom the first Even as I am writing this post, I know that the glorious white/pink flowers have already disappeared and the almond trees are already covered in fresh new leaves. Soon the small baby almonds will grow into the nuts that I love to snack ...

The torch-lighting ceremony of Israel's Independence Day

Screenshot taken from i24News.com Israel's Independence Day is actually celebrated over two days. On the first day we remember all the fallen soldiers who died since Israel declared its first independence in 1948. Officially it is called the 'Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of the Wars of Israel and Victims of Actions of Terrorism'. This day is somber and sad and I always cry my eyes out when the stories of the fallen soldiers are shown on television. There are wreath-laying ceremonies all over the county and every Israeli stands quietly when sirens ring throughout the country to acknowledge their sacrifice. The second day is PARTY time! Just about everyone is either having a barbeque or picnic or going to the beach. The fun is however bittersweet. The sadness of the previous day and the human cost of living in a Jewish country cast a deep shadow throughout the day. When and where are the torches lit? The end of the first day and the start of the second day is bridged...