Rain - Water - Fencing

When I was a little girl ׂ(ages ago), my mother used to wash my hair with rainwater, as it was considered beneficial to both scalp and hair. I suppose nowadays, mothers wouldn't do this to their girls as rainwater is full of all kinds of pollution particles  that cause damage to soil, to humans, to our flora and fauna. 

And yet, in spite of its contaminants, we badly need rain, want rain, dream of rain, pray for rain, expect rain, feel miserable without rain.  Rain cools the air, and makes the heat of summer more bearable. It prevents famine and thirst .

fountains - as a "cooling" sight.

Despite smart desalination and irrigation water systems, and the bombastic headlines style " Israel helps world fight water shortage" - the sad truth is that water is a never-ending problem in our country, because of rain, more precisely - lack of it.

It rains mainly in winter, and even then, not daily or weekly. Maybe 'Climate Change' will change that, and bring us some more rain, who knows. I wouldn't count on that, though. This Climate thing is quite unpredictable and very, very scary!  In the meantime, we have to keep an eye on our water supply and consumption, so that we don't get into deep trouble.

There are things that can be done to prevent water waste without affecting our life too much. Here's one tiny example - replace living (green) fencing with the various other options: wood, metal, stone,wall, bamboo. Living fences (shrubs) need  water (quantity depending on the requirement of the plants that make up that particular shrub).

living (green) fence, neatly trimmed

dry fence ; no water - no living (terrible sightֱֱֱֱֱ!)

Most house owners  prefer a green fence, it's a favorite, but this is gradually changing, as water is not the only one problem with this type of fence; there's also the regular cutting and trimming process which requires time/patience/money. In addition, there's the growing awareness that home and garden security might be better assured by the other options, especially stone and metal.

overgrown shrub - not trimmed, not nice fence

white wooden fence

wall-type fence

bamboo-type fence behind the bus stop.

Some Thoughts on Pictures

Life offers a lot of subjects to write about in our blogs. I like to accompany my writing with pictures which, as everyone knows, "are worth a thousand words." However, that's not always possible, and as I don't like to borrow from the internet, I let the subjects wait...

Sometimes, I browse through my picture archive, and come up with the conclusion that it's very true what they say about dogs and kids 'stealing the show'. I always take an additional look at this kind of pictures as they give me much fun and pleasure.

dog watching his owner eat; expecting to be treated with leftovers

kid and pigeons - heartwarming sight!

boy and girl curiously contemplating the chickens in the enclosure 

happy baby in Grandma's arms

I often ask myself what makes a more powerful photo: an individual or a group? The answer is: both. 
The indvidual kiosk owner, surrounded by colorful fruit and veggies, squeezing them to get juice for his thirsty customers; the solo arab woman making the pita bread to be sold with 'labane' - make very attractive, powerful photos.

kiosk owner squeezing fruit to get juice (pic.taken in the evening)

arab woman preparing the dough for the pita bread

So do groups. See below, the group of japanese ice-cream 'lickers' (Moscow Red Square) , and the group of musicians performing in the city square of Prague. Both groups got an 'audience':)

japanese tourists licking ice cream in Moscow

musical band performing in the main city square

I'm not surprised when beautiful setting gets overshadowed by people. It's always people that draw the most attention. Who cares about the lovely tree on the Mound with stairs leading to it, when nearby there's a chat going on between what seems like father and daughter dialogue.

The red painted military lookout on the strategical top of Mt Hermon at the border with Lebanon, makes no impression whatsoever without the young , lively soldiers that stay on it day and night.

father &daughter chatting outside the Habima theater building, TA

soldiers at the border Israel- Lebanon, up on the mountain

Anyway,  I like to have people of all ages in the pictures I shoot. Human presence adds interest and value to whatever else appears in those pictures: buildings,  landscape, food, critters.

Photography, even the simplest one like mine, from a 'point and shoot' little camera, can definitely enrich both the blog and my knowledge of things.