Snowy Landscape North Of Israel
Oak Tree Natural Forest
This was taken this winter (2014) which was
surprisingly rich with snow, for Israel. It is a
reminder that Israel is a country with very strong
nature contrasts. The snow falls at the farthest and
highest North of Israel almost every year, and
stays on the Hermon Mt. at the Golan Heights for
a few months. This picture was taken in the Odem
Forest, the only large natural forest in the Golan
Heights. The camera faces the oak trees and the
southern slopes of the Hermon Mt. The lower
branches of the oak trees are seem to be trimmed.
In fact the are - by the cattle grazing freely in the
forest.
Crown Anemone North of Israel
We live in the kibbutz . It usually means a lot of
greenery around. There is large area covered with
pine trees. The pine grove floor is usually almost
barren and covered with carpet of the dry needles.
Last year the pine grove was treated by foresters
and dozens of damaged or sick trees were
removed, creating larger spaces between the
remaining trees. This winter, we got a major
surprise. The grove's floor, now getting more air
and light, was steadily producing carpets of wild
flowers. It is easy to see why the flower has
“crown” in its name.
Persian Cyclamen Growing on the Basalt Rock
This was taken in the autumn after the first rains.
It doesn't usually rain in Israel during April
through October, save for a very few surprises,
so the first green color shows in the autumn and
everyone is very excited about it. Persian
Cyclamen is a sign that the winter is coming soon.
It loves growing in the rock cracks and behind the
stones. I was taking my usual autumn trek down
to the valley and just had a hunch to look back
into the rocks. There was a beautiful bouquet set
in the black rock ...
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