Well I blinked and two months has gone by without writing here… absolutely slack I know. It's not for lack of material though, just free time and since September in Israel consists of six public holidays, I don't really have any excuse not to sit down and write today.

So Rosh Hashana has come and gone (New Year on the Hebrew calendar) which means the Shmitta is now over (a year in every seven where the ground is not allowed to be cultivated, among other rules). As such we can plant again at the gardens so things are getting busy. I have been recruited to the nursery in the absence of any British scholars though, so it is not affecting me much other than resulting in a long list of plants to propagate and get to the gardeners for planting out before winter.

I have also been given the tropical house now that our German scholar has finished his placement, leaving big shoes to fill and a lingering fear I am going to kill everything he has established. Na, should be ok and actually it's a great part of the experience as the fern and tropical plant propagation and maintenance is all quite new to me.

The dinosaur exhibit is still in the gardens in the South Africa section too, so I haven't really been in there working much but rather mooching around with my band of volunteers at the greenhouses. It's interesting staying on a placement for so long in a tight knit workplace, as you get to see the dynamics change with the arrival and departure of scholars and staff. At present it is only the Australians left, with a new British scholar due to arrive in October (the fifth since we arrived) and our coordinator has left on maternity leave so it's all quite different.

Anyway about these holidays.. It is Yom Kippor today which is a day of fasting and praying away anything from the previous year so a good decision is made by god for your year ahead (probably oversimplified and somewhat offensive but you get the idea) . As such EVERYTHING has stopped it is eerie, there are no cars or machinery, and you just hear the occasional kids mucking about or the odd bird chirping. Then next week we have Sukkot when the religious build outdoor tents or Sukka where they pray and eat for the week in remembrance of the time the Jews spent wandering after the biblical exodus from Israel. It's a nice time to be here and people are very welcoming to get us involved.

To be honest though I am somewhat distracted from the cultural experience these days but I reckon I've probably assimilated more than most visitors ever do here so I am not feeling like I'm missing out. Nope for me now the end is in sight, I have to get all realistic again and plan for the return to Adelaide (despite some of the staff's belief that I am getting married off and staying in Israel). That's not to say there aren't a few good adventures left yet though. I am hanging out for my brother and his Mrs. to arrive in November for an expedition to Jordan and Egypt and I have some other tales to tell, this blog was just a quick catch up to let you know I am alive and well. Actually, I hear there are ongoing reports of various troubles in my neck of the woods but day to day with no T.V I have no Idea.

Oh I nicked off to Turkey this month too so I better write about that later today…