A time thankfully gone by

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This eyesore of a shack around the corner from me burned to the ground last week.
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I can't say I'm sorry.
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Visit Aileni for more monochrome meanderings.
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Galilee Sunset

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This was the view from our festival campsite last weekend. Camping on the banks of the Sea of Galilee and this gorgeous sunset over the hills are just two of the things that makes Jacob's Ladder a truly unique experience. Add in the great music and it's no wonder people keep coming back year after year after year.
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I'd also like to extend a special invitation to all those here from Skywatch Friday to participate in Summer Stock Sundays - a new photo project which will run here at Around the Island. Summer Stock Sundays will begin on 31 May. Share your barbecues, your beaches, your cannonballing kids, that island sunset, an old pair of flip flops, anything that says summer to you.

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We'll be playing each week all summer long - the linkie will go up each Saturday night at midnight Israel time (5pm EST) so keep those cameras handy and see you on the 31st.

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Through the tarp

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This peekaboo look at the sky through two contrasting tarps really appeals to me. Sort of like a sneaky little window to the sky.
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Taken while sitting out on the grass last Friday listening to some great acoustic rock.

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And now for an important announcement:

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*drumroll please*

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I'm delighted to announce the upcoming launch of

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Each Sunday, beginning 31 May, Around the Island will be hosting a brand new summer photo project and you're invited!

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Share your barbecues, your beaches, your cannonballing kids, that island sunset, an old pair of flip flops, anything that says summer to you.

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We'll be playing each week all summer long - the linkie will go up each Saturday night at midnight Israel time (5pm EST) so keep those cameras handy and start grabbing those quintessential summer shots.

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See you on the 31st for

Summer Stock Sunday!

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Ultralight Glider Casting Off and Upcoming Summer Stock Photo Project

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Click to enlarge

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And now for an important announcement:

.

*drumroll please*

.

I'm delighted to announce the upcoming launch of

.

.

Each Sunday, beginning 31 May, Around the Island will be hosting a brand new summer photo project

and you're invited!

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Share your barbecues, your beaches, your cannonballing kids, that island sunset, an old pair of flip flops, anything that says summer to you.

.

We'll be playing each week all summer long - the linkie will go up each Saturday night at midnight Israel time (5pm EST) so keep those cameras handy and start grabbing those quintessential summer shots.

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See you on the 31st for

Summer Stock Sunday!

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Bonfire of the Vanities

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No, not that kind. This kind.

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No self-respecting kid in Israel would settle for the piddly little teepee-style campfire we used to build to make s'mores or grill hot dogs on sticks. (Of course these poor deprived souls don't actually know what a s'more is, not having graham crackers here. Perhaps if they did they'd build more manageable bonfires.) To prepare for the annual Lag B'Omer bonfires (see the link above to learn more about one of Israel's stranger holidays) Israeli children spend weeks hauling wood, pallets, discarded wooden furniture, and just about anything else that will burn around town in "borrowed" grocery carts, hiding their stash somewhere their rivals won't find it.

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Then, come Lag B'Omer eve, all hell breaks loose.

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Every single vacant lot in the country is suddenly filled with two, three, four, five, even six different bonfires, with every group vying for the biggest and the best. Lest you think I'm exaggerating, I've seen teens with bonfires four, yes FOUR, stories tall. Thankfully my kids are still young enough that we require them to have adult supervision, keeping things down to the size of a small housefire or so. A few kids in Itai's class are allowed out unsupervised but his mean rotten mother told him tonight in no uncertain terms that he is not allowed to visit their fire (or anyone else's) until his father comes home to take him. I'm picky that way, I prefer my children lightly seared, not charbroiled.

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His class had their official bonfire last night (in a lot which contained four other bonfires one right next to the other). Itai is the one in the red shirt, watching their fire with a few friends. The other fires you see in the background are other classes from other schools. Vacant lots are in short supply in the city.

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Here's their bonfire as it was just getting started.

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I'd show you pictures of the main event this evening but I'm home hiding, house closed up tight and all laundry safely taken in. My long-suffering husband is out with the kids - two of mine and one other who's sleeping over so they can watch a big soccer match on tv later - with grill (because the fires are too big to actually cook over), chairs, corn on the cob, drinks and assorted salads in tow. (I forgot to buy more hotdogs. Somehow I suspect they'll manage, since in typical Israeli fashion each family is likely to bring enough food for an army.) It's not even completely dark yet and there's already a red glow in the sky and the air is filled with wood smoke. By tomorrow the entire country will smell like a four-alarm fire.

It's grand, isn't it?

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Visit Ruby Tuesday for more red shots, hopefully of things that are less of a fire hazard and which don't send this asthma-suffering blogger into hiding.
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Festival roundup

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We're back after another great festival weekend. The music was great, and now that the kids are getting older we're able to actually sit and listen to more and more of it, even the weather mainly cooperated. It was a lot cooler than it's been most years, which was great during the day (even if it did mean that a quick ten minute dip in the pool was more than enough). Nights got a bit, umm, brisk, which would have been fine if I'd been dressed appropriately, but after so many hot years it didn't occur to me to throw in a few extra warm clothes. The kids were fine but I froze my ass off. Oops. Especially at an outdoor bluegrass jam that went on until 3am until Jay took pity on me and brought out a sleeping bag for me to wrap myself up in. (One of the headlining bands was apparently still jetlagged after flying in from Canada, not to mention apparently quite sloshed after finishing their official set, which led to all sorts of late night hilarity, not to mention some really amazing bluegrass licks.)

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Yes, we did stay up until all hours for lots of late night jamming. Both nights. And yes, between the tent and the kids we did have to get up way too early. Both mornings. I think I got a grand total of 8.5 hours sleep all weekend, but it was worth it. (And no, the children didn't stay up that late. As they do every year they fell asleep in their sleeping bags on the lawn and were then carried back to the tent later. Dang they're getting heavy though. The second night we made Itai walk so that Jay could carry Maya after I nearly crippled myself carrying her all the way back the night before. I think next year she'll be walking back as well.

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Home sweet home

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A look around the neighborhood

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No, even Israeli camping isn't usually this crowded - the festival is held on the grounds of a hotel. Some people do stay in the hotel (not us now that both kids are old enough to warrant exhorbitant additional costs - we're back to camping for the foreseeable future) but most camp - everywhere. It's a bit like a tent city, but it's an amazingly calm and happy tent city with a fabulous vibe and hundreds of your nearest and dearest friends around. Of course it helps that we know enough people there that I can always scam a hot shower from someone staying in the hotel. That doesn't hurt at all.

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It's such an amazingly vibrant and colorful event, but I was too busy enjoying the music (and going to all the various children's activities with my kids, well really with my daughter, my son is old enough to go off on his own with his friends) to do much shooting. I'd considered leaving my camera home this year but since I felt queasy every time I thought about not having it I did end up bringing it, only to leave it in the tent most of the time. I think next year it's time to concede to the inevitable and just leave it home and enjoy the festival.

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