Special to Lehigh Valley Source
Eilon, 2009
Hello friends
Viewed from that vast perspective of the very mundane, the grinding slowness of seasons, their procrastinations matched against our keenest yearnings or those slightest inconveniences that often so heavily weigh on us and our daily personal designs, the birth of a child [and in this case our very first grandchild] is indeed miraculous and special. We can frame this image above that of all those events, both great and small, of cataclysmic importance or of little consequence that the world soon shortly forgets. It is a day that otherwise is like any other involved in her many struggles; those great and ideal endeavors. The birth of a child is a transcendent experience surpassing those before it, the desert regains its seas, the endless steppes are restored to their once pristine mountainous terrain. Things are no longer as they once perceived-as the very mundane.
I have been working everyday for several months. My Saturday schedule comprises checking the fencing for break-ins and especially during the harvest, we are looking, or rather hoping not to find any evidence of thievery. There is no fool-proof system, at least without paying for it.
So with the fencing maintained, I am having trouble persuading the powers to invest in asphalt beneath the gates, where porcupines prodigiously burrow under. No matter what obstacle I put in their way, they have time and patience and persist in their digging. Obviously there is something worth pursuing within the orchard enclosure, otherwise they would not be so obstinate in their desire to "crash" the premises.
In Ya'ara, David insists that I am about the only person in Western Galilee who provides some attraction for wild boars, which assault the reinforced bulwarks that I continue to erect, so that the perimeter of the northeastern fence is beginning to look a bit like the German obstacles on the beaches near Normandy. Everything is there except a moat. I am thinking of researching the defensive fortifications of the nearby Crusader fortress at Monfort for tips before the battle of Hittin.
David was alluding to the fact that the European wild pig population has dwindled, or is keeping a very low profile after months of contending with the infectious classic swine fever [not to be confused with Swine flu].
Aside from that, October brings additional relief as far as the irrigation program is concerned. The fertilizer that we are readily injecting into the fields will not have to be replenished until next season, and much of the pressure is off. The fruit pick is the key, as it means that trees are obligingly less stressful knowing that their bounty will be picked. The days continue to contract, so there is less time for the irrigation water to evaporate and the transpiration rates decrease. If we are lucky, as we were last month, a day or two of appreciable rain might even suspend the irrigation program for a few days. In September 12 millimeters fell over two days in Eilon and conferred a respite from the daily routine. Significant September rains occur infrequently over an annual basis, and while we add the figure up with the greater tallies of October through April, September's precipitation can only have an immediate effect, adding nothing to the national accumulations that are gaged in the Sea of Galilee.
Returning home, Debby was planning to visit Maureen and Debbie's quilt gallery with Idit. It was left for me to walk Zed before napping. As you might guess, Mahmoud, who is also working today, phoned to apprise me of the ominous water levels of the eastern pool. Its recent notoriety for flooding in diverse and inexplicable ways has put Mahmoud on alert, especially on Saturdays while I am finally napping in a gentle reprieve from the warming rigors of a hot and arid September day.
In other news Shuki and Rachel are celebrating the birth of a grand-daughter who was born on Wednesday. It is their daughter Carmit's second child. We are mastering the transition into the grand-parenting mode. Love-Barry
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