Day 27: Connecting with the past.

This is an image that I photoshopped together out of six pictures because "Bustan Arazuni," the Arazuni family orchard, is just that big. I'm not sure if the image does it justice, but you can get an idea of the scope of the place. All of the way to the left are the two future wheat fields, and all of the way to the right are the greenhouses and vegetable gardens, with all of the fruit trees in between--all organic, mind you. We even took a break to eat some of the carob pods, which some people use as a chocolate substitute. It was delicious! You can see the carob trees in the right center of the picture; they stand above all of the other trees. The trees with fruits are covered in nets to protect them from bugs and birds.

The big hare (not St. Pete, FL big hair)
is in the center.

We passed through the bustan to get to our destination, the shita trees, because that is where the gully started. I'd walked there and seen it, but only briefly because I was working. I knew I wanted to revisit it when I had more time.

Well, today is that day! The first interesting thing that we saw on our way (besides the big hare) was a girl from Hong Kong taking the neighbor's goats out. She is volunteering on the "Goat Milk Farm," which we visited on our first outing.

The owner gave us so many samples that I bought some cheese from her. She kept apologizing for the price, which was twenty shekels--less than $6. The cheese lasted us two weeks. The owner and her husband were two of the first to resettle Ezuz. What great vision they had, because now the village is thriving; there are three places to eat in the village, one cafe and two restaurants, and they all do a great business it seems. I asked Avi how this could be so; he said that they are the only three in the area, and he means this part of the Negev. Tourists come here every weekend to stay in one of the many B&Bs in the area.

Once we got passed the goats, the two trees were easy to see from afar. It really is amazing what grows where out here. The trees rest in one of the valleys where there is plenty of runoff, and the soil, some type of clay, holds the water for a long time, which is how the ancient farmers worked the area.

Walking along the cutout was really interesting and fun. There is so much to see if I'd only open my eyes and look. I wonder how many paths I've taken where my eyes were closed and I missed the magic that the place had to offer. I'm closing my eyes now and thinking of the most majestic places that I've been and they are reeling by like fantastic film. I'm sure I've missed some, but my life has been truly great to this point. I cannot imagine a person who could have been as blessed as I am.

As we walked I saw a place in the wall that looked like a face. Well, it is only dirt, so I started carving. I was having fun, but I don't think Laurette or Lulu were. I will go back with some tools and make a relief image in the wall. As I walked away I looked back, and I saw a dragon looking at me..

Then we came upon a Nabataean terrace. The valleys here are filled with them. The Nabataeans used to thrive in the desert, but it was not quite the same as it is today. They used to have more water to work with. Still, they did amazing stuff, according to what I read and what the Arazunis said. But the Romans--dear, dear Romans--took this part of the world, and, like they did in many places, dispersed the people who lived here. They also supposedly had potted plants and did ceramics. I'll keep thinking about the treasures that are to be found as I'm walking through the desert because, just what if?

 Like this cistern that we found. I mean, there could be any number of treasures in there. But Lulu was too panicked to even go in. Sheesh. I'll have to go back--hopefully not alone--and explore it. It only goes down some feet, but I'd hate to be stuck in there. It is crazy because you cannot even see it until you walk up upon it. There are no markers, just a hole in the ground.

We walked for quite a while, but only in the area. We just picked out interesting landmarks and went towards them. This is the only tree in this particular valley, so we went to sit in the shade. Once we got close enough to the tree it was easy to see inside the branches. I don't have to tell you that property in the only tree in the valley is a premium, and I stopped counting the nests when I got into the 40s.

Sitting in the shade under the only
tree in the valley.

Yeah, I can read that.

Then we headed back because we ran out of water, and Lulu is the best herding dog that I could attach myself to. Even though the bustan was in site Lulu made us drink the remaining water that she had by the capful because there was only enough for a capful each.

So my Aunt Marcia died yesterday. She has been ill for some time, and as sad as my Uncle Jim and Cousin Aaron are I hope that there is some relief. But perhaps that is me projecting. I don't really do death very well. I tend to get away from people and certainly don't do public death stuff like funerals. The last one I went to was my dad's in 1998. But that wasn't a funeral, really. We had a huge party, which is what he wanted. Just like him, the occasion was drunken, debaucherous. With one of his dear friends, Janet, I poured his ashes into the Hillsborough River (Ha, suck on my dead dad S. Tampa!).

Aunt Marcia was a wonderful woman full of stories and opinions. Val and I were lucky enough to drive her around our town a couple of years ago when Aunt Marcia came to stay on the beach and then again just after that when we drove from Boston to Vermont when we stopped at her place in NH. We laughed and laughed at the stories she told us. It really was nice because my family unit is not very tight outside of the nuclear family, which exploded in some reaction many years ago sending its particles to various locations--some still unable to reconnect. So I'm thinking about you Aunt Marcia, and loving you for what you've given me. And you too, Uncle Jim and Cousin Aaron. Perhaps we can connect in some way.