Day 46: I'm in hot water now!

I cannot believe that I have only six days left here on the farm. What an amazing time. I still have five days in Jerusalem, and then I go to Madison, WI for four days. And then I'm home. Wow! What a trip it has been so far.

I had to crash a bar mitva to see the sunset last night. I got all of the food I could eat for free!

Today started with putting the compost down in the soon-to-be greenhouse. There is nothing like the smell of camel and chicken shit in the morning. It doesn't smell like victory. But I did after I got done working.

Then I got to weed in the citrus section of the orchard. It has not been done since last year, so it is pretty tough. There was only one snake that I saw, and it took off pretty quickly. But there were lots of other creatures.

This spider was crawling up my leg. I felt it, but I though it was the weeds because I was standing in them. But nope. He is about the size of my palm. He's tough to see in the picture, but once he was off of my I didn't want to bother him too much.

Here is an image looking down the row. I've finished the tree on the left, and there are so many more to go. The picture on the right is how the trees should look after the weeds are gone.

While we were working the neighbor's goats were going home. It is pretty cool to hear them walking by because some have bells. And there is always at least one person guiding them.

There were so many stickers in my socks and boots, which smelled like camel and chicken shit because they were full of it, so I took them off. It felt really nice to stand in the hot sand. It is like sticking your feet in hot water.

Day 45: Poison and pipes.

This afternoon we got to break into the pool again. It was just too nice. We got there just after three, and at four we heard the chain on the gate being rattled. Yeah, they open at 4. The lifeguard didn't say anything as he opened up the pool. I think they knew we were Ezuz people.

The family has been having trouble with unruly plants. I posted a blog or two ago about it with some pictures. So after we left the pool we stopped at two farms so that the family could see what these people do. I think I told you some time ago that the Arazunis are growing into being farmers.
So the first farmer has nothing to show and suggests the second farmer, who had plants a'growin. To get to them you have to walk into the secret door. I love that the Thai people who work here have to use latex gloves because of the poison. We eat this shit!

But look, the poison sure helps the plants grow. These are tomato plants. They have a string going up to a cable, and the plants are compelled to go there.

Here are some baby ones. It really is amazing to see a greenhouse this big in action, even if I wouldn't eat any of the tomatoes.

The plants definitely did what the farmer wanted them to. They grew up the string. He then took us to a second greenhouse that was even bigger than the first. The plants were bigger, too.

It was pretty funny that at the end the guy asked if he could buy some of the family's produce because he wouldn't eat his own stuff.

This was the last rock to leave--for
today, anyway. It was a monster!

 Then it was back to clearing the field, which, with the help of Shachar, happened today. I'm not sure why Avi is pushing us so hard to get this done. I'm telling myself it is because I'll be gone soon and he won't have the labor because this makes me feel good. But I don't want to be pushed into exhaustion, so I may have to say slow down. Even tomorrow, when we usually just cut fruit, we are going to keep working on the fields.

While we were working a platoon sized group of soldiers marched by. I can feel their pain of hiking through the desert, but their packs were much bigger than mine was last week. I remember marching with a full rucksack, LBE, weapon, ammo, canteen with water, and other shit we had to carry. I hated it then, but I miss it now. Is that weird?

And remember that elusive pipe from a few days ago? It is still elusive!

Day 44: My part in all of this.

I'm a bit sad today. At first I was just mad. Why do I have to do this when I want to do that--and that needs to be done anyway? Stupid Avi making me... So I had to take a breath and figure out why I was so mad; it turns out that I'm really just sad that I have only a week left. Anger is easier for me to deal with.

Once I figure that out I just let myself be sad. It is legitimate. I let all of the feelings get into my work and I feel much better. I'm still sad, but at least I know what I'm feeling and why. I could have used this superpower years ago!

And back to the stones, Mark, because that is what is needed for the family that you serve.

I leave the orchard when I have to poo, because, you know, don't poo where you eat. So I go down Runge Lane to a secluded spot in this busy part of the desert to do my business. I'm so glad that Runge Lane is being used!

Yesterday I had to finish two apartment structures for the cucumbers. Of course now that I'm leaving I've figured out a great way to make them stronger. At least the next persons to do this will know, if they didn't already.

Then I had to clear this field of stones again. The way this works is that the field gets plowed, the stones get removed, the field gets plowed again, the stones get removed, compost is added, the rows are tilled, and plants grow. It is a lot of work, but the fruits of that labor is so worth it.

So I walk across the field, crossing the short end, and I bring my trusty five gallon bucket with me. As I'm walking I fill the bucket with the rocks and stones that I find. Then I take and empty the bucket in to the wheelbarrow. It sometimes takes three bucket loads to get all of the way across the field. And I'm bent over for most of the time. I'm going to have the strongest back at Shorecrest.

This morning I finished the small field where the new greenhouse will be and started the larger field. Crap, but this is hard. I know, I know. I signed up for this. I'm not whining--much--I'm just saying how tough it is.

Here are some images of the construction going on. I don't know if I'll be here for the completion of the greenhouse, but at least I've done my part.

Days 42 and 43: Okay, I'm behind again.

I am just so beat up and ragged that it is tough to keep it together much less blog; a day missed is just fine with me. Maybe hiking a marathon through the desert mountains wasn't the smartest thing I've done lately. Maybe.

I'm kind of like Blues, pictured on the left. This guy is an absolute sweetheart! Even though he lies at night on a dirt hill just under my bedroom window and barks at the stuff dogs bark at--all night some nights--he is still such a wonderful creature. He craves love, and he returns it as the quintessential dog does. But it is time in the desert that I mean.

Blues was a ferrel dog that was wondering the desert around Ezuz. The middle boy, Shachar, worked for months on coaxing Blues to eat food from his hand. Eventually, Blues felt safe enough that he moved onto the Arazuni place and became a part of their pack. They said that when he first came he was so sad, hence his name. He still has a far-away sadness to him, and you can see it in his picture; but he knows he is loved here.

So thinking about Blues got me thinking about life--or death, really. Did you know that when dogs know they are dying they want to leave the pack and die alone? I read this somewhere; I think it was in "When Elephants Weep," but it was so long ago when I read the lines that I cannot remember--that is a great book, though, what I can remember of it. I think I'm like a dog in that way, the death thing. And I think that is reflected in the way I deal with death, which is isolation. I've never been a group griever. If you were close to me then you would know what I'm feeling; so back off and let me feel it. I wonder if this is because I never learned to grieve death. Nobody I knew--or really cared about--died when I was young. Then, while I was in the army we lost two guys in my unit immediately after we came back from Iraq. Adams put a .44 caliber in his mouth in the parking lot of our barracks. I remember that it was cold when we found his body because his car was still running, and I could see the exhaust puffing out of is car's tailpipe. We couldn't shut the car off until the MPs investigated. Miller used a .410 shotgun. He did it when he went home, the asshole. Why would he make his family suffer that? So to deal with the loss of two friends I used the tool that I used to deal with everything, booze. With some of the guys in my unit I got too drunk. But nobody cried. I think the army should have taught us to cry. We were so sad because nobody died in Iraq only to have two die right after we returned. But we ended up losing a bunch of guys after that, for sure.




Today we moved the stones from the Shelby Dam location to the Mark Dam location. It was a nice break from picking rocks from the freshly plowed field.

But then it was right back to it. Gleaning rocks and stones from the new field. Of course, the whole time that I was working the mountain range that I went to was laughing at me from all of that distance away. See the mountains back there? Can you hear them mocking me? But I walked on you so the last laugh is mine--once my blisters heal and hips and knees stop hurting!

This morning I was greeted by this large fellow. I was walking down the road and his brother was a couple hundred feet from me barking at me, as dogs do. But I kept walking because I had to go move stones. Then I saw this guy sitting on the side of the road, quietly watching me. I called him over, loved him up, and went on down the road. These mastiffs are bigger than me!

Then, so that I could take a break from moving rocks because my body is so wrecked, I had to find two water hoses so that we could connect to them for the new fields. One of them was no problem, but the other one, living somewhere deep within this empty deep hole, remains elusive.

We had lunch. Since there were only four of us Tamar made an omelette. I love omelette day! Then I had a snack. Two of my favorite desserts: watermelon and chocolate. Not that I like too much chocolate, but sometimes it is nice.

And the walk back to the orchard. Isn't the view amazing? And there are those mountains again.

When I got to the garden I was to build some apartment structures for some new cucumbers. But Avi took the tools back to the house, so I just got the materials and put them in place. Then I went around the garden taking pictures. Of course, I had to sample some of the produce. A cucumber right off of the vine is so delicious. Tamar makes the best pickled cucumbers; we don't get them too often, but when we do they are a treat.

There are quite a few vegetables that are grown here: cucumbers, squash, eggplants, corn, green peppers, cauliflower, pumpkins, and some others that I'm sure I'm forgetting. Plus there are a bunch of herbs that are grown. Don't ask me to list 'em, just know that there are a bunch.

 At times the plants become so unruly that they just grow wherever they want to. Of course, this means that they are happy and will produce a bunch of whatever they grow. So they don't get trimmed or tamed back into place. Just like everything on the Arazuni's place, children included, the plants just run amuck (all within loosely defined perimeters).

The kids really do remind me of the way that I want to think I came up, which is really how I do remember it. Mom worked long hours at hard jobs, so we were left to run amuck, too. We didn't get into too much trouble. Who am I kidding? We got into so much trouble.

But just like these beautiful vegetables I'd like to think that we turned out okay. Sure, I have a few blemishes, but I'm not worm filled and rotten.

Look at the size of these ants.

Two butterflies frolicking.

There are animals here, too. Tamar found a mouse and later a slow moving snake. There are plenty of birds and insects abound.

Day 41: Into the mountains.

When your hike begins like this you know it will be a great day! And it definitely was. I took a lot of video footage, and I'll try to get something together to post. These are just some of the stills that I took.

What did I take on a 40 km round trip hike? Almost not enough water, that is for sure. I took some fresh fruit and dried fruit, two hard-boiled eggs, a block of hard cheese, some almonds that I shelled, and six liters of water. I also took along a walking stick, some rope, and a blanket. I'm really glad that I brought everything that I did because by the time I got back I had only some dried fruit and almonds left. And bread, but it didn't travel so well, and most of it turned to crumbs.


There were old munitions everywhere. This part of the desert used to be used heavily for training the IDF. They didn't clean up after themselves. I took footage of a gas mask that I found. When I was in the army if you lost your gas mask you were in a lot of trouble; that was slightly below loosing your weapon. But there was a bunch of army stuff out here, ammo cans, ammo, gas cans. There was just a lot of refuse.

The mountains that I was aiming for.

The views that I got changed one right after the other with every step that I took. Going up or down a ravine or having the sunlight shift because of the clouds changed what I saw, constantly.

The peak is still off in the distance.

This is the highest peak, and look
how close I'm getting.

Of course I wanted to go to the highest peak in the mountain range. I wanted to look into the Sinai Peninsula, where Africa starts. There were a few options about getting to the peak, and, as you may imagine, I chose the most difficult. I went straight into the mountains and had to wind and weave, go up and down just to get to the peak. I promised myself that once I got to the halfway point with my water I'd turn around. I was so close to the peak, though, that I just pushed through. That decision, like many that I'd make that day including the one to make the 25 mile hike into the desert mountains alone, was just stupid. Nothing happened, but in retrospect I could be sitting out there with a broken leg waiting for rescue.

And yeah, I made it to the top!

But since I'm writing this you know that everything is fine. Well, except for blistered feet. And the bruised ribs from carrying all of the weight. And the windburned face. And the absolute drain on my body.

As much as I want you to see my no-manscaping, it is really the shoulders that you should look at. They were tore up after the hike. Not only was I carrying a bit of weight, but that weight was always being jostled. So as thickly padded as the backpack is, and it really is, I still got roughed up. I've not felt like this since my time in the army, where we were encouraged highly to march for long distances carrying loads of crap.

The day ended with a call to Val to let her know that I was safe and sound, if not a bit weary. And then I got me some doggy lovin'. This is the cute little monster who cleans up after patrons leave Cafe Ezuz.