Although, over Shabbat the rest of the county was blessed with abundance of rain, Mount Hermon Israel’s winter wonderland received an abundance of snow.This will make skiers very happy.
Tel Aviv recorded the most rain with 200mm. I don’t know the official amount for Ma’agalim, in the Negev, where we live, but I can attest to the fact that we had a lot of rain and at times very high winds and it is still raining.
Lake Kinneret Israel’s major water source received some help from the rain, but the water authority said it is still in terrible trouble. The shortage has been disastrous for the past seven years and Lake Kinneret now is almost 68 centimeters under the bottom red line.
The last time I saw a major snow storm was in 1999 when I went back to Toronto to visit my mother a”h who was in the hospital. I remember walking in snow knee-high with the wind blowing and the temperature with the wind chill was -50F. Those were the days……..
Living in the Negev, we will never have snow… that makes my husband very happy, but sometimes I really do miss a good blizzard. Whenever the temperature drops and they forecast snow for areas 1 kilometer high and more, some of my grandchildren, who live in Gush Etzion, can hardly wait. Their kibbutz is 900+ meters high.
A few years ago when the area was having a major snow storm, my children and grandchildren who live in the Negev, came to the Gush, to play in the snow. They took back a pail of snow, to bring to gan [kindergarten] the next day for ‘show and tell’.
One day dreaming about winter and snow I wrote this poem.
Winter
The snow is falling,
the wind is gently blowing,
as I look out of my window
at the winter wonderland.
The trees are dressed
in their beautiful white clothes.
The children are playing and rolling in the snow.
I see someone built a snowman with a carrot nose
and charcoal for eyes and a mouth.
Cars are careful not to slip and slide.
The snow is still falling
the accumulation is starting to rise.
The weather report says 15 inches.
Tomorrow the sun will shine
and today’s beautiful snow
will start to melt.
A winter wonderland
has many beautiful sights.
BUT……………
For me
I’ll take the long lazy days of summer
with it’s cool, cool nights.
January 5, 2005.
Until next time
Miriam
