Special to Lehigh Valley Source
Eilon, 2009 Hello friends
The orchard crew sat about in the old Adamit dining hall awaiting the latest word concerning the weather. Most likely it was a cold gray sullen day, so much so that a reluctant sun delayed as much as it was possible its anticipated appearance. Intermittent lightning flickered throughout the night, and could plainly be seen beyond the northwestern ridge of Hafiya, far above the sea. Yet despite all this, the crew made its dutiful way to the dining hall, on the off-chance that the pruning work might resume or be called off because of the threat of inclement weather or the long anticipated "rain day".
Ron would volunteer to step outdoors, pace the thirty meters to the curb and standing in the fresh gale, beneath the roiling clouds and the swirling leaves declare, "I think it's clearing up." Satisfied with his wry projection, we greeted him as a hero. Fifteen or twenty minutes would pass drinking coffee and Jay F. would stand at the same spot, shielding his eyes, as though ensconced in the foremast of a Spanish carrack observing the English fleet maneuvering in the channel. He gazed above at the convergence of ashen clouds racing in a frontal assault across the hillock. "I think it's clearing up." he mirthfully concurred with Ron in the vast currents of rain.
Alexander was notified to "fire up" the ground generator [located near the basketball court] impregnating passing clouds with silver iodide, a stimulant intended to increase precipitation. No-one seems to know how successful this cloud seeding was and at some time the technique seems to have been discontinued in our region.
There were several components that conflated our communal thinking.
After months of fruit harvesting, the winter provided a respite, not only from the burdensome heat or the tedium of constant picking, but constituted a revival, much like spring, when cooler weather energized us and we could afford to be lenient in our work schedule. With the arrival of the rains, we felt that we had earned the product of its powers, but that it also compensated us for all of our previous endeavors. Predicting the severity of weather was impossible. In those days weather reports were limited to the most laconic forecasts on Israel's single television channel, and despite its reiterations on the hourly radio newscasts, barely provided a hint of winter. "Tomorrow intermittent showers are predicted in the North." Occasionally toward evening those unpredictable showers would intensify.
In Eilon, where much of the harvest is gathered in the winter months and the trees are bedecked in their fullest foliage, there was a policy of picking fruit according to a daily quota. Tzahi invested in heavy duty rain apparel that resembled biochemical protective suits. We appeared more suited for searching for weapons of mass destruction in the remotest Iraqi provinces. However, we have since learned that no matter how well dressed the fashionable fruit grower is, keeping dry in an avocado orchard in winter is unrealizable. Firstly, the large leaves on avocado trees provide little inlets that harbor fallen rain. Even as the skies clear exposing the most brilliant sun, one continues wearing a rain suit as the tree disembogues its pools of water on whosoever penetrates its confines.
What we have learned from all of this, searching for alternative work making repairs in sheds or assembling cartons in the old Adamit packing house in preparation for future seasons, is that one must be resolute when determining when a "rain day" should be faithfully observed or not. After the dulling summer months, any rainfall is deemed an event worthy of perusal. Rather than the ambitious frontal assault across a broad horizon, today's clouds like a tight end outflanked the orchard, and taking this route benefited from the southwesterly winds, driving rain through the colonnade of cypress trees adding a sense of urgency in the drive to find shelter "from the storm". Love-Barry
Our son Gilad was selected as "kibbutznik of the week" although a considerable time has elapsed since he last resided within the kibbutz structure. To see the brief article [in Hebrew] and photograph go to http://www.bimcom.co.il/ManOfTheWeek.aspx?id=30&ref=hp
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