On Trees and Forests

sunset as seen through trees in Safed

With the aid of new technology, Police has only recently solved the case of rape and murder of a young woman found in a forest near Jerusalem 26(!!) years ago.

There were, sadly, many cases in the past, of  dead bodies found in the forests. That, and the wild fires that break out almost every year make me sometimes say "I love trees, I don't love forests". 
I'm aware, of course, of their huge importance to the planet; they are in fact the 'lungs' of the planet and stabilze climate by turning CO2 into oxygen, preserve the soil and support wildlife. And still...

Anyway, I do like those patches of forest arranged specially for picnics and recreation which bring  lots of pleasure and joy to people..

picnic area - Mizpe Ramon

picnic spot - Forest of the Martyrs near Jerusalem

As for trees, I love them all; the  fruit- bearing trees as well as the other species. Unlike the gloomy forest, the individual trees are bright and mood uplifting.

It goes without saying that we love fruit trees for giving us the best food on earth. I cannot imagine life without fruit. I eat them in all the forms possible: raw, cooked, with seeds, without seeds, and enjoy them immensely. I feel they are the true elixir of life.

cherries from the Golan Heights

 However, it is also those single trees,  fulfilling  a specific crucial function  in specific areas, that attract my attention; the trees providing shade in the desert, serving as lookout, marking a boundary, creating an urban 'green lung', ... the list is endless.

provides shade for animals in the desert (the Alpaca Farm) - desert

trees provide  shade to a cute  little puddle area

attraction on the Yarkon river bank - sort of decorative tree 

marks the boundary between town, cemetery, industrial zone

Green  tiny corner  ('lung'), for the passersby of Bialik street (Ramat-Gan )

Estonia, Here We Come

My most traumatic childhood memories are related to the   overflowing, after heavy rains, of the local Baseu river -  (north-east Romania). It involved evacuation and being  cut off from supplies.

Since then, I've never lived  too close to a body of water.
In fact, I 'm not keen on living  close to any of Nature's major elements: forests , volcanoes , mountains, seas  - certainly not now, with all those ominous predictions following climate change.

Although things have somehow improved regarding warnings, Nature always seems to surprise us in the most devastating of ways. I feel deep sorrow for all those who experience evacuations and loss due to wildfires, hurricanes, tzunami, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, floods, etc..

They say, based on statistics, that so far, Estonia is one of the safest countries ( natural hazards considered). Next on the list are tiny Andorra, Bahrein, Qatar. Estonia and Andorra are in Europe; Qatar and Bahrein in Asia.

Estonia (blue spot) - between Finland, Latvia, and Russia

 I know very little about Estonia, but we  are all acquainted with the fact that Qatar and Bahrein sit on great petroleum deposits. As for Andorra, it has one of the highest life expectancy in the world. Besides, it attracts thousands of shoppers as  it's a duty  free zone. Lucky places!

Anyway, I've got a theory. It seems to me that natural disasters have greatly increased  in number and intensity since Globalization  has been accelerated (namely, during the last decades). Globalization is kind of a challenge on the God-created world order. It is not new, it started in the days of Columbus. Perhaps, if we withdraw from it, things will calm down. Worth a try, considering the alternative of getting swallowed by the oceans.