City Daily Photo Theme Day: My City's Skyline

Into the archives for this one. It would be a rather ordinary mid-size Midwestern city but for the big wicket. That part is something special.                  

Our skyline in the middle of nowhere

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City Daily Photo bloggers are presenting "My city's skyline" for today's Theme Day.

"City" is kind of a big word for my town.
Meitar has only ca. 8,500 residents.
Construction began in 1984 on the yishuv kehillati, our planned community; and it continues to expand, one neighborhood at a time.
The photo above is taken from the center, looking toward the Northern Neighborhood.
Just north of the planted forest, just across the Green Line, are the Southern Hebron Hills in the West Bank.
 Geographically Meitar is on the transition area where the Negev Desert meets the Hebron Hills.

A shot of the east edge of town, taken from the "desert" that surrounds us.
I like to hike out here in the lonely hills.
All these photos (which you can enlarge greatly) are from the half-year dry season; in the winter when rain comes, it all looks a lot greener. 

Just after twilight the perimeter lights go on.
They share poles with the Sabbath eruv wire.
We don't have a fence.
This photo is looking west, toward the Mediterranean Sea and the Gaza Strip.
Less than 60 kilometers to Gaza, not so far as the crow  as the rocket flies.
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In The End

Found on a boarded-up building on Cherokee Street. The possible references are many, particularly for Americans.       

African proverb: The little ant at its hole is full of courage.

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At the end of yet another hot day in the mid-30s I went for an hour's walk in the desert right around sunset, when the breeze starts.
Right in the middle of the path a zillion ants were scurrying in and out of their tunnel.
It was one of those times that I wished I had not worn sandals.

You can click once or twice on the photo if you really want a closer look.
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(Linking to Camera-Critters.)
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1966

I had to learn Roman numerals as a child, but then I went to a Roman Catholic school. The system isn't taught anywhere now, is it? (Unless maybe you take Latin, which is a bit hard to find these days. I was in the first class in my high school that only had to take three years of it, not four. Did you know that you can sing all 28,000 lines of Vergil's Aeneid to the tune of The Stars and Stripes Forever and the whole thing scans correctly? But I digress.)

So if the numeral system stuck in my brain correctly, the tattoo on this young woman's spine says 1966. I can guarantee you that she is not 50 years old. The meaning is a mystery.

               

Siamese-twin peaches

Summer in the Negev desert is a long hot and dry season that tries one's soul.
Will it ever end?
About the only good, refreshing thing about Israel summer is the many kinds of fruit that flood the shuk.
Even these Siamese-twin peaches.
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(I once read that  double peaches are thought to be caused by drought stress at the time of flower bud formation.)
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The Garden Wall

The entrance to the Redcross community garden.

The Scene

This year's Act Your Pants Off was held at a venue known simply as 2720 Cherokee. It has a stage (with lousy lighting), performance space and large bar on the ground floor. Two upper levels contain art gallery and meeting space. Seems to me I've been to some art event there sometime. No idea what the text in the bottom photo is about but I got a peak at the area beside the stage where the cast hung out.

I am so out of material. Work is a pain. Hope I can get out on the street this weekend. At least it won't be so hot.

Skyline

Reflections and shapes blending into the skyline at Aldgate.

Master of Ceremonies

Actor Paul Cereghino presided over the Act Your Pants Off silliness. He can reach for the stars or kneel in supplication. All-in-all, he did a great job of pulling the chaos together. Below, he holds the stage with Desiré Declyne, Peter Mayer and Linda Kennedy. A lot of cats to herd.

More Storms Coming

Evening Glow

Enjoying the last of the sun along the banks of the Thames.

I'm Mad As Hell...

I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore.  Some of you may remember the famous movie line. Act Your Pants off performers Bob Harvey and Jane Paradise (what a great name - and she lives in St. Louis!) seem to feel that way. Maybe it's because of the embarrassing things the so-called judges made them do as part of their acts. I feel that way at work sometimes, too, but my judges are the genuine article.

STL people, the Fringe schedule is online and it starts in just over three weeks. You better go.                

My Storm

Before The Storm

The Lavender Farm

field of lavendin

"Fancy a day in Kent?" asked emminlondon.  A break from Brexit, politicians, imploding political parties and to top it off clean air!  I leapt at the opportunity.

In less than an hour the woes of London were far behind me, even unreliable Southern Rail behaved and the train actually turned up and kept to schedule.

It was a glorious day as we drove through the lovely countryside and passed through quaint English villages until we reached the lavender farm.  Wow.  Our timing was perfect, it is just a week or two away from harvest so the fields were looking their picture postcard best.

In Victorian times this part of Kent was renown for growing hops.  As recently as the 1950's and 60's working class families from London would spend their annual holidays picking the hops which would then be transported to London to be traded at the Hop Exchange. Times change and for the family farm to remain viable they needed to diversify.  Beef, apples, dried flowers and honey are among the new products, but the biggest crop is lavender covering 85 acres making it the largest lavender farm in the UK.

field of lavender

To get a closer look at the fields and learn about the behind the scenes workings of the farm we took the one and half hour tour.  Starting in a magnificent field of lavendin with a flower stem in hand gently squeeze the flower bud to get the full nest of the scent, then off to an equally grand field of lavender to learn the difference between the two.  Well what is the difference you ask?  A rather big one actually.  Lavender is what we traditionally know, what our grannies put in the underwear draw, the little sachets under the pillow to help you sleep.  Yes it is a relaxant.  Lavendin on the other hand does the exact opposite, it is a stimulant and has a much stronger camphor smell.  Then it was off to the distillery to learn how the oil is extracted and the various products that are made.  Oils, balms and essences.  Medical uses and culinary uses.  Who knew that lavender was such a versatile crop.  Then it was a quick exit through the gift shop and off to explore more of the countryside, but that's for another post.

Castle Farm
Redmans Lane
Shoreham
Sevenoaks
Kent
TN14 7UB

http://hopshop.co.uk

Roadside gnomes in the Karoo

I always go on about all the treasures one get to discover when road tripping.  Well known landmarks, inadequately marked but well worth taking turnoffs, interesting attractions, beautiful views, fascination people, lekker food, unusual sights and so much more.  Driving back to Port Elizabeth from Graaff-Reinet the other day I passed through the town of Jansenville and a few kilometers outside of town spotted something from the corner of my eye.  My head swung to the right and I had to make a double take.  Was that a garden gnome I just saw next to the road?  "Full stop, Mister Chekov." Or Mr Sulu if you're still an old school Trekkie fan.  Sharp turn to starboard, u-turn made and back for a closer look.

And no, I wasn't mistaken.  Two garden gnomes sitting on an old drum next to the road, one in Springbok colours and the other wearing the Southern Kings colours, watching the traffic go by.  I seem to remember reading something about a gnome that used to sit around here that was broken off by some passing idiot, so this must be the spot and they're probably his replacements.  Two, so that they can keep each other company and chat about rugby and the weather. 

Not-real cats

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C is for constructed cats.

As if Israeli cities don't have enough stray cats roaming the streets, some Tel Aviv neighborhoods have added cat sculptures.
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(Linking to ABC Wednesday.)
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Blyre Cpanx

Blyre Cpanx is the stage name of Blaire Hamilton, a local artist and burlesque performer. 

Out for a Walk

Just loving their walk.

The Look

The fine folks at the St. Louis Fringe gave me a list of the performers names linked to one of my pictures of him. This is Kevin Minor. I'm having some trouble finding information online but I think he has performed in our Shakespeare In The Park Festival. 

Like all of the cast, he was amazingly versatile. The judges (well, they called themselves that) kept throwing absurd demands at the actors. Everyone picked them up and easily took the whole package to someplace new.  

 

Ted meets Bo

Hi, Everybody!

One of these days I'll get some information about the performers' names and accomplishments, but for now it's enough to concentrate on personality and style.This woman has a smile that outshines Donald Trump's hair. Whatever she did was gleeful.