Iran, the Houthis and Hizballah are threatening Armageddon (well that is a place in northern Israel you know, Har Megiddo), Hamas is still shooting rockets are way and it feels like we could write the textbook on "tense uncertainty" but nature doesn't wait for human foibles and the summer produce has ripened extra early in the heat and needs to be picked.
Braver friends than me have gone up north to do things like helping farmers harvest pears in the north-west Galilee or thin apples in the northern Golan not far from where a Hizballah rocket hit last week killing twelve local children and wounded many more.
More people I know are heading up tomorrow for a few days of volunteering on northern farms in areas that in these times are the riskiest in the country. Have extra respect for that little Jerusalem granny sitting next to you on the bus or in the queue at the supermarket, she might have just returned from harvesting lychees under rocket fire on the Lebanon border.
Me? I went to a farm about 15 minutes from my home to help with the grape harvest. I guess we all have our relative comfort zones. The vineyards are close to the houses of the moshav, so in theory we'd have enough warning about incoming from Iran or Lebanon to make it to shelter.
The grapes need to be picked and if all hell is going to break loose later in the week or month it was all the more imperative to go out and help bring in as much of the harvest as possible before that happens, right?
It's summer, kids are off from school and many were out with their parents and grandparents volunteering in the vineyards. I think we were a pretty effective group, kids included, and we managed to exceed the number of crates the farmer hoped to have picked and packed that day.
The grape harvest is happening now all over Israel. If you are able to go out and give a few hours it can make the world of difference to our super stressed farmers in super stressful times.
No comments:
Post a Comment