I have always wanted to see the spring flowers in bloom in Israel, and on my recent trip, I had that opportunity. Too bad my daughter thought the day too cold for an outdoor trip, but to me it felt like April in Boston.

There is a song in Hebrew for these beautiful red flowers that show up all over the landscape in February in Israel: kalaniyot. The English name for these flowers is anemones.

The ones I saw were not yet open. I asked my son who is spending the year in Gush Etzion if he saw any red flowers, and he said, oh yeah, he did see a lot of red flowers. Probably wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t said anything.

This is rakefet – cyclamen in English. Turns out there is a song for rakefet as well!

This is an almond blossom. That one, too, comes with a song: Hashkedia porahat. In about one month parts of Israel will be full with these blossoms.

I saw this chicory flower as well. I think the Hebrew is olesh.

There is history in the park as well. Supposedly, somewhere in the plains David battled the Philistines.

I’m not sure what city that is in the background, but when you reach the top of Tel Azeka on a clear day, you can see far in many directions. I think the general area is called Emek HaEla – Valley of Ela.

For more Nature Notes:

Once upon a time there was a rich man (played by my daughter, see above photo). He was throwing a party. He told his servant to invite one particular guest. His servant messed up and invited the wrong guy. Ooops. Major oopsie doopsie. The rich man was super mad. In the end, a temple was destroyed, and the Jewish people scattered. Yes, to those who know, this is the Bar Kamtza story. Learn more here:
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/404863/jewish/Kamtza-and-Bar-Kamtza.htm

Or use the Wikipedia version:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamsa_and_Bar_Kamsa

And if you want a really long detailed discussion of the whole story (this is from the yeshiva where my son is, Yeshivat Har Etzion):
http://etzion.org.il/vbm/english/3weeks/9av-65-ryb.htm

Rich Man Insults Unwanted Guest – Bar Kamtza Story in Photos

My daughter played the rich man. Here is the story (or some of it) in photos:

The invitation says: You are invited to Mr. Ashir's Birthday Bash! If your name is Bar Kamtza, don't come.
TIME: Sunset – Sunrise
PLACE: Somewhere

Mr. Ashir the rich man instructs his servant to invite Kamtza to his party. Servant messes up (note the similar names between the friend and the enemy), and Bar Kamtza shows up the party instead.

Mr. Ashir screams at the top of his lungs at Bar Kamtza. Now that is one unwanted guest!

Bar Kamtza takes his revenge by putting blemishes on these cows. Everyone including the Roman emperor gets upset. Disaster happens. Temple is destroyed. There are lots of morals of the story (you can look up those up if you are really interested).

Notes on Bar Kamtza Story

1) We never find out anything about Kamtza. He does not seem to be a part of the story. Just has a great name (probably a fake one, like Ploney Almoney).
2) What in the world did Bar Kamtza do that made Mr. Ashir dislike him so much?

Your Turn, Please

If the wrong person showed up at your party, what would you do? How would you treat him or her, especially if it were someone you didn’t really like? What if you were a guest, and a host starting yelling at an uninvited guest? What if you were hurt by someone – what do you do with the hurt?

This past fall I have gotten busy with work and haven’t had a chance to post much. Now that it is quiet, I am taking the opportunity to post a few of my favorite posts from this past year. If you want to learn ways you might do a year end post of your own, check out: How to Create an End of Year Post – 2015 Version

Sandy Hook

I had a lot of fun visiting Sandy Hook with my daughter and her friend. So much history and scenery!
https://www.leoraw.com/blog/2015/08/sandy-hook-nature-and-history/

Shakespeare at Rutgers Gardens

I greatly enjoyed watching Shakespeare performed in our local Rutgers Gardens.
https://www.leoraw.com/blog/2015/07/shakespeare-at-rutgers-gardens/

Montréal Botanical Garden: Signs, Art, and Waterfall Shots

A highlight from our trip to Montréal, Canada was the beautiful botanical garden.
https://www.leoraw.com/blog/2015/07/montreal-botanical-garden-signs-art-and-waterfall-shots/

Cucumber Seedlings Grow (and Portulaca)

In the spring I watch my cucumber seedlings grow and took photos along the way.
https://www.leoraw.com/blog/2015/06/cucumber-seedlings-grow-and-portulaca/

The Reluctant Videographer: Miss Hannigan

My daughter played the role of Miss Hannigan in our local show of Annie. I was the reluctant videographer.
https://www.leoraw.com/blog/2015/05/the-reluctant-videographer-miss-hannigan/

Recipes: Favorites from 2015

I’ve been making Squash Carrot Soup again and again. I also re-posted my Cashew Berry Pudding because happily it is a dessert that my daughter loves (and it’s healthy!).

Backyard Highland Park: Spring!

I am posting this one with the photo of a bird in flight.
https://www.leoraw.com/blog/2015/04/backyard-highland-park-spring/

Watercolor Portrait of a Young Man

Finally, here’s a watercolor of my eldest son:
https://www.leoraw.com/blog/2015/01/young-man-watercolor-portrait/

One of the nicest parts of living in Highland Park, New Jersey is the way the little borough celebrates events such as Veterans Day and Memorial Day. This year I was fortunate to be able to attend the Veterans Day Parade in Highland Park, NJ. The parade begins at the dough boy at the corner of Raritan Avenue and Woodbridge Avenue and goes down Raritan Avenue into New Brunswick.

The whole avenue is closed for a few hours as the ceremony takes place at the dough boy, and then the marchers head down the avenue towards New Brunswick.

Rabbi Kaminetsky (chaplain of the police department and rabbi emeritus of Congregation Ohav Emeth) read something – I think it was called a convocation? at the beginning of the ceremony. A talented teenager my daughter knows sang the Star Spangled Banner.

Mayor of Highland Park Gayle Brill Mittler spoke – her speech was posted online on the Highland Park, NJ Facebook page. Here is one piece of her speech: “If you are an employer, hire a veteran. If you own property for rent, seek out a veteran who is looking for a new home. Welcome our veterans back home with more than words and parades.”

Congressman Frank Pallone mentioned in his speech electing politicians that support benefits for veterans.

Freeholder Jim Polos spoke as well.

I really enjoyed this dog who seemed to a spectator at the parade; he and his master were hanging out with the veterans before the parade began.

There were lots of children at the Veteran’s Day Parade. I think they had school, and they came with their teachers for the parade.

This group of cheerleaders seemed to be having a great time at the parade. The Highland Park mascot is an owl.

I know the Jewish War Veterans were there as well – they were mentioned. You can see a post about the Jewish War Veterans from several years ago, when my son was in eighth grade.

There was a variety of people gathered – next to these young drummers, you can see older men wearing jackets and stars-and-stripes ties.

Here is Gayle Brill Mittler walking down Raritan Avenue – she and many others were handing out those little U.S. flags. It made the whole atmosphere festive.

Groups from New Brunswick marched as well.

It was neat to watch all those fire engines all lined up.

Have you ever seen a Veterans Day Parade? Do they celebrate and honor veterans where you live?

I’ve been making this butternut squash carrot soup a few times this fall. Learn more about its creation in the note at the bottom. If you are creative, you can serve it in a pumpkin along with a pea soup by its side. I didn’t do the pumpkin.

Squash Carrot Soup – Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash (or one half if quite large)
• 4 -8 carrots, peeled and cut in circles
• 1 leek
• 1 small onion or 1/2 large onion
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1 tsp. cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil or coconut oil for sauteing the onion and leek
• A few small leaves of fresh rosemary (optional)
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh ginger root (optional and recommended – I left it out because my daughter doesn’t care for fresh ginger, sigh)

Peel the butternut squash. If really large and you just soup for 4 people, you might consider using just half a squash. Cut in half, and pull out the seeds. Place in a pot; fill the pot with water to cover the squash. Let it cook. Meanwhile, slice and cut 4-8 carrots – even more if you have the energy. Note: this was originally a carrot soup alone – see note below. Add the carrot circles to the butternut squash with water that is cooking. Next: get a pan ready to saute the onion and leek. You can saute in olive oil or coconut oil – whatever you prefer. Chop the onion and leek finely first and add the oil to the pan. When the pan is hot (add an onion piece and watch it sizzle), add the onion bits, stir for a few minutes, and when the onion is tender, add the chopped leek. After sauteing for about 10 minutes, add the leek and onion to the pot with squash and carrots. Add the spices (allspice, cumin and ginger if using). Add a bit of chopped, fresh rosemary if using. Let the squash soup cook for about 1/2 hour. Then either use an immersion stick directly in the pot to blend the soup, or transfer the solid parts of the soup to a food processor, blend it and transfer back to the liquid. The advantage of the latter method is you can add less liquid if you want and have a thicker soup. I do the food processor method. Serve warm, although if you are quite hungry, it tastes OK room temperature, too. Enjoy!

Note: this was originally just a carrot soup. My neighbor told me verbally how to make it. She had made it along with a pea soup, and she served the carrot soup along the pea soup in a pumpkin. Yes, each of us had our own pumpkin as a bowl. It was yummy – even my daughter ate it. So this soup developed because my daughter wanted a carrot soup. However, the carrots I had when I first made it were organic and thin. I would have had to have peeled at least 20 or 30 to get a substantial soup. So I changed it to a squash/carrot soup so it would stay orange. My first attempt had two leeks, not enough carrots, and turned green. Green is a fine color for a soup, but not a fitting color for a carrot soup.

Soup Reaction – What’s in Your Soup?

Have you ever made a similar soup? What ingredients did you put in? Did you use any particular cooking methods?

Tech notes: if you look at the bottom of this post, you will see a link for both the category for recipes and tags for other carrot recipes or carrot topic posts. If you click on the recipes category, you will see a list of clickable tags in all the recipe posts. Starting now, at the end of each post, I will attempt to write a little about blogging that might help some up-and-coming blogger out there.