I. My Fig Trees - Second Page
2002_06_11; last update: 2002_11_10    

2002_06_11; last update: 2002_09_18
See also: In Love with Nature - The Fractals of a Fig Leaf

After 17 years of wanderings I "ended" (???) in a rented flat.

Evictions by the authorities, heavy fines and "invitations" to Court
"matured" me for a "normal life-style".
And when Immanuel and Efrat wanted to move back to the Galilee,
and needed a place to host I's kids on Tuesdays and other occasions,
I agreed to rent a flat with the financial help of all three children.
I chose the town Modi'in, 26km NW of Jerusalem, founded in 1996.
On June 12, 2001, 30000 inhabitants lived here,
among them 10000 children, and among these 7 of my grandchildren.

When and how and where I found the flat, is truly mystical.
One aspect of the Where is the "Titorah Hill" opposite my street.

It's believed to be the place of the Modi'in of the Maccabees
who fought a fight of freedom against the Seleucid Empire.

In the beginning I called it "the Mother Breast Hill",
because it invited me into it's wild nature,
so I would be able to bear living in "civilization".

Just before I settled down, a fire destroyed all vegetation.
The hill's appearance was blackish until the rain started in November.
In time I'll sculpture my love story with my hill.
But today I only want to put here Alon's photos,
while I was mowing my path with scissors.

Walking the 10 minutes path, I started to make in February, twice a day, didn't help.
The crazily growing vegetation covered not only this new path,
but also the "official" path, which I had been walking from June to February.
Finally I started the sisyphus work of mowing the path all the way up until it's connection with the dustroad.
I'm almost finished now, but maintenance has to be done every day.

My path going up to "my" two figtree, with Arnon and Ayelet walking on it.

My path going down from "my" two figtrees to my street

2002_06_02
A phone-call! T !
"Grandma! your hill is burning! I can see it from my window!"

2002_08_13

A Time to Harvest

"Is this your tree?", asked Itamar this morning.
"No! But I'm the only one who takes care of it,
and so far the only one who enjoys its fruits".

I could have added, but didn't:
"Even you prefer fruits from the supermarket."

None of my grandkids is keen on walking on my path,
or on watching me work - leave alone on participating.
But sometimes I try to make a deal:
"If you come with me, I'll go with you".

Today they complained about the bees, but enjoyed the butterflies.
And when I asked them to photograph me sawing dead branches and gathering unripe figs,

they came up with some marvelous shots, deeply meaningful for me.
And when I had suddenly freed part of the stronger branches and they could climb on them,
Yael said twice: "It's fun being here!"

I knew, that she said that, not only because she felt it,
but because she wanted to compensate for too many "no's" from her and the others.
And then she wanted to carry the ripe figs I had gathered.

2002_08_29

Instead of doing "serious work" on the Succah Peace Process,
I indulge in creating a story about the growth of my three fruits.

2002_09_02

People under my figtree!!! - Workers, Arabs and Jews!!
They have to preserve the mosaic of the ancient oil-press.

One of my very first photos with my digital camera, a gift from Uri, my son-in-love,
shows this part of the mosaic in spring: 2002_03_16



Maajid, the responsible man, teaches me about figtrees.
He lives at Sho'afaat, next to annected East Jerusalem.
Today they remove herbs from the Crusaders' fortress.
This time I meet only Palestinians, Maajid among them.
I ask him more questions about how to tend my figtree.
"A tree is like a human being, even more so,
because it just gives and gives," Maajid says,
"A tree needs light and air and being talked to.
Even in war we are to spare the trees!!!
The old ones, the children, and the trees".

They are excited to be photographed,
except one, who only agrees to shoot.
On the spur of the moment, one grasps my saw.
So we are holding it together - like a weapon?

"When will it appear on the Internet?"
"Right now!"

"And go, find Shuka, a very nice man in the Deparment for Antiquities,
in the Rockefeller Museum in East Jerusalem!
Ask him to give you some workers to help you cut your path."

Which I did immediately!
Here are photos of the fortress taken in April 2002