spring

Passover, in the States, preempts spring by as many as six weeks depending on how early or late it falls in the calendar. So although I've always known that is a holiday of the spring, even when it's been very warm for March in Maine or New York, it's never really felt like spring.

But in just the past week, it has become full on beautiful in bloom spring here in Israel. I've seen so many new things bloom and blossom that I've lost count. Here are a few photos of things I discovered just this morning as I was walking around doing last minute Pesach preparations.


Above is a fig tree. Complete with a tiny fig that seems like it sprouted overnight


These are an interesting fruit called Sheseq in Hebrew, and Loquat in English. It is not related to the Kumquat, but shares a similar etymology from Cantonese. They are related to apples and pears, and turn a beautiful pale orange color when ripe. A friend of mine most accurately described the flavor as that of a hypothetical "lemon-peach."


The bizzare alien probosci coming from the date palm pictured above are seed pods. The emerged slowly and I wasn't quite sure whether I should be alarmed or intrigued. This morning I saw one that had burst open. And there were the countless immature dates pictured below.



Tonight is the Passover Seder. I'll be spending it with some good friends. We'll be spending time thinking about the contemporary relevance of the liberation story, especially in light of the mess that is politics in this little strip of land. I'll try and post something about it soon.