Peace amidst the noise

Left around 05:00 a.m. - it was still (very) dark and I can see it becomes light later than a while ago. Bridge totally dark so walked on. Peewee was still sleeping. Got my coffee from another place since Aroma at the Beach only opens at 07:00 a.m. and it was way earlier than that. Although there were already (a handful of) people there this small cat sitting all alone right in the middle of the boardwalk attracted my attention straight away. (photo 1) When I came closer and she or he started rubbing his or her head against my backpack on the floor near her I noticed she had a hurt leg. The poor little thing :-( I was contemplating what I could do for her but am sure that if I would have picked her up she or he would struggle to get free, and besides... what would picking her or him up help?

At "my" place I immediately noticed the bright pink plastic chair at the pier and I decided to descend the (4) stairs and sit on it, though I was a bit scared still. And yes, as I just sat there the sea drove his waves gently over the floor of the pier only wetting my feet and as I felt more comfortable I noticed the build-up of fierce waves right in front (and what was more "scary" on the same level I was sitting on) of the pier.

As time passed and fierce and gentle waves took turns in reaching me I started to relax. But in such way as I haven't felt relaxed in a long, long, long time..... It must have felt the same as people taking tranquilizers or having a massage or yoga or something. A total mental cleansing experience. Awesome. Simply awesome.

The muscles of my shoulders feel a hundred times better than after exercise or sleep - it is just a miracle really, all tension has gone (for as long as it takes of course).

Of course the crabs didn't get out of hiding because I was sitting there, but two of them did mistakingly venture out (one of them right next to me) only to quickly return into their hiding spots when they noticed me, LOL.

Photos of the sea, of the cat, of the Jasmine bush that is growing on the boulevard and whose odeur I distinctly smelled as I walked past it (plus one of new Jasmine buds), of this thing (don't know what it's called) where ships tie on to in the pond because of the sunray on it that gave me a 'warm' feeling, and of my foot because I thought it so cute a string of seaweed (growing on the mezah) had landed there....

Today I am sure that Snow-Egrets don't like to get wet. I suspected it for a while already, observing them, but I am sure now that the Snow-Egret who came visiting me at the pier today acted like a prima-donna haughtily, but gracefully, jumping away from each and every wave/watersplash the sea threw her way.

Is it true? Can it really be? This is my feeling since y'day afternoon. I write this down, just so I remember later... and will never forget the 'before" and the "after" concerning what I was told yesterday. Whatever developments will be, will never forget this intense feeling of gratefulness. Never, ever take it for granted.... or worse, complain later on.
Photo 1 shows my feelings. Because, obviously that ("my" pier) is where I went to first thing afterwards... And, photo 2 of the Egret looking at himself in the puddle of water on 'my' mezah - seemed as if he flew there especially to be with me for the occasion.

When I turned away from the sight of the sea and the skies finally yesterday evening I was stunned: thousands of people had gathered on the boulevard, there were (artificial) colored lights everywhere and voices and laughter... and so nothing like it looks like in the morning. I felt as if I opened a door and stepped into a surprise party: you don't expect anyone to be there and then....

The sea was very calm this morning. I left late cause went to sleep late y'day - but still there weren't many people on the beach. It's because of the 9 days before the Tish'a be-Av (a fast-day 2moro) I think.

Nevertheless, one of the fishermen ventured out on the (now calm) mezah and caught a Karash. He was so proud, I felt obliged to photograph him (only the fish) because he saw me busy with the camera and sorta made all movements to get into view. Sooooo :D (photo 3)

I caught the fishermen in a row (photo 4) on camera and when walking back via the pond I saw a huge flock of the smallest fish I ever seen (well away from the rods of the fishermen, LOL) (photo 5).

Listening to Glickeria (Matana cd) and placing these photos makes me happy.

Same old, same old

It was like yesterday (only left a lot earlier) and the sea was nice. A bit calmer than the previous days - There was lots of crab activity that halted soon as I peeped my head over the rim of the stairs to have a closer look. S., the waterhoser-man, was there and the same waiter at Aroma at the Beach from whom I usually order my coffee-to-go - The same fishermen and the same people over at the work-out place on the beach. I am welcomed like an 'old acquaintance' now, which is pretty neat. I ventured down the (3) stairs to pick some (very fast growing) sea-weed from the mezah. It is sleek, soft, delicate and falls apart into very thin threads if rubbed between the fingers. It is such a miracle that a weed (which is sort-of like a plant actually) can start growing just like that on rocks. Nature is totally beautiful.


I understand more and more what the sea is trying to tell me.

The photo is of a flower I took on route to the sea to try out some settings of the camera.

Experiences

Trying to get the Pied Kingfisher while standing on the bridge yet again (and again failing) but viewing a spectacular performance of at least 25 Snow Egrets standing in line as the real professional fishermen instead a tall, shabby looking figure was pacing up and down very near me. He looked like a druggie and with no other people around that early in the morning (except the occasional car passing by) I didn't like him watching me all the time, but it didn't bother me much either as long as he stayed away from me. Then... to my surprise a police van stopped and he was greeted by the policemen as a colleague. I bet he went on an undercover mission LOL. (Just letting my imagination run free here) :D
Anyway, it is final now: I don't like this camera. There is no way I can get Peewee (who was still sleeping when I arrived and looked so adorable that I really wanted it on camera) sharply on a photo. I tried all the settings and nothing works. Darn. Neither the Pied Kingfisher who I caught sitting on a wall and turned out blurred as well, grain is the problem here I think. Zooming in on 16 seems to make everything I want to photograph vague. Grrrrr.

The camera did get an interesting capture of a flying Egret though. The Egret itself can hardly be seen but its motion is rather euhm.... intriguing.

At the Aroma at the beach the personnel drew a heart over the cream of my coffee and gave me 2 chocolates instead of one. That was soooo cute. I hated to give the chocolates back because it was such a nice gesture. But I don't eat them...

Near "my" place on the pier men were pressure-spraying the wooden railing with water to clean it. One stopped as I walked by but I gestured him to please go on and let the cloud of microscopic waterdrops that was blowing away from it make me wet - it was very refreshing (after the more than one-hour walk from Ramat-Gan). As the water from those hoses sprayed away the dirt from the railing it landed in the sea. The Dutch expression "carrying water to the sea" took on a different meaning here :D

Later one of the men came up to me at my "hide-out" and asked very politely if I minded if he came to sit there with me for a while. It seems that I finally have learned to differentiate between the 'nice people' and the 'creeps' because I said "yes, fine - OK" and we had a very friendly conversation about all the subjects in the world - very enjoyable. I also told him he has a great job and I mean that for 100%.

There was this tickling feeling on my leg and instinctively I reached for it. I looked and I saw a creeping bug fall near my foot. He quickly regained his posture and came creeping up (one stair) to where I was sitting again and so I got up and let him pass. He crossed exactly where my butt had been before and went up the other side of the wall. So weird, because in front and behind me there was all the place in the world for him to pass to the other side but he stubbornly chose exactly where I sat (and risking the chance being killed).

He came closer

Yayyy - the Snow-Egret I mean. I was totally unprepared for this vote of confidence coming from a(wild) bird. While I sat watching the fishermen at the pond (not the wavebreaker this time) - he sat about 5 meters away from me and then..... he started walking into my direction and never stopped walking until he stood right in front of me. I was sooooooo honored. I was afraid to move even.
He stayed well within my handreach for as long as it took (for a dog to come running and thus him flying off) and that was certainly over 10 minutes that I had a rendez-vous with a Snow-Egret. A fisherman threw a small fish at him and he ate it (tried to swallow it whole rather) right in front of me....
The sea was relatively calm today, though at "my" pier he played up from time to time throwing his waves over it. The last photo is of the place I would like to stand -near the pier- holding on to that pole and getting soaking wet :D (if I find a solution for my backpack in the form of someone to watch over it in the meanwhile).

Left at 05:30 a.m. - because I don't like walking in the dark. After the 'regular' walk towards Shuk HaCarmel I decided to have a look at the grafiti in Shenkin, 'our' yuppie paradise, to see if there was any interesting graffiti there - which there was not really. I liked the "Inspire" one though - but that one you can see all over town... so.

Then I set out on a "house" seeing tour but probably took some wrong turns because I crossed a huge industry-terrain. However, I ended up in Jaffa and took some photos of houses - which mostly are dumps. One of the photos is such a house and it's for sale: 1 shop and 3 rooms... Wonder what they ask for it...Only closer to the sea houses started to look better. Still, when crossing one terribly reeking alley I noticed a writing on the wall of the house that explained exactly why the smell was so bad in that alley :D

I had walked some 5 hours constantly and dying for coffee and water - but... I didn't see any coffee shops and the one I had hoped I could finally sit down with some - was closed. And thus I sat down at the Jaffa's port near the water and when I looked down I saw like hundreds of little and not so little fish. Mesmerizing performance these little creatures were giving while the sun played along.

I then undertook the walk to the Carmelit busstation (being thirsty so not particularly feeling ayayay) - I finally saw a macolet and when I entered the girl behind the counter asked "So, did they find bodies?" Huhhhhh???? She saw my surprise and explained that the people working in that street on road construction had said there was a cemetery there and bodies were supposed to be found.... OMG: a street (street 920 in Jaffa) where people lived for ages and cars were driving over the road a cemetery was located underneath? And indeed I saw many, many people sitting on their knees sifting sand and filling bags with it.
The poor girl of the macolet was totally freaked out btw. I also find it a weird thought.


Photos of the above hereunder. The last photo showing Street 920. . .

Turtlelincidence

I never see turtles in Israel "in the wild" - and then I see one twice in one week (albeit one of them was -unfortunately- dead)?How much of a coincidence is that? But here he was, right beneath me in the Yarkon. I never paid attention even because I was battling to try to get the Pied Kingfisher on camera (which I didn't succeed in doing, just like all these weeks I've been trying) and having fun with Peewee (who -upon seeing me- immediately shoves away from that hole in the river bank he seems to watch over and started peeweeing). But, out of nowhere (because there was nobody in the streets yet) a man stood near me and after a first remark saying that the water of the Yarkon is polluted pointed me at the turtle. And there he was: quite a big sized turtle in the same color as the murky water of the Yarkon.... leisurely floating around -probably searching for food. (photo 1 & 2)


The overall sight on the way to the beach isn't that colorful anymore as it used to be, flowerwise. Many flowers are just "gone' and green hedges, bushes and trees remain. There still are some 'left-overs' from what was - but not even 10% of what I used to see before.
It's like they're having the summer-blues :D Still, some pretty remarkable flowers are to be found... if one pays attention. (photo 3 & 4)

The sea and I have a 'game' when I sit at 'my' pier. I try to photograph as much as I can and he tries to splash his waterdrops on my camera (photo 5). It is fun.... I was lucky till now - he didn't succeed in wetting my camera. Although we have a different "relationship" now - I don't go to him but let him come to me instead (after, of course, making the 1 to 1-1/2 hour walk to go see him) by letting him reach out over the pier and the railing to my safeplace - I now feel I would like to proceed a little further ahead. There's this pole (where ships used to tie up to?) some way up along the pier sea-inwards and it has handles on it where one can hold oneself on to. There, at that pole, he usually throws his waves to break into a million foamy water-drops with ferocious force. It lures me and maybe I'll ask H. to accompany me one time so, if she would be so kind, she can watch my backpack with camera in it so I can venture out :D It wouldn't mean emerging in the sea. That trust I am not yet ready to give... if ever.

When I returned from my walk towards the north I saw this pigeon on the boulevard that -wonder-o-wonder- didn't fly away straight away when I passed but rather seemed to apply the mirror effect method: I wasn't watching him, but he was watching me, LOL. He had beautiful eyes and his expression (not seen in the photo) was cute and 'naughty' - like saying "you know how much fun we have watching you people?" :D (photo 6) The only time he cringed was when a crow flew over....

The last photo is of a Mynah-nest they made in a lamp-post. I have been watching this for weeks now. Everytime I pass by they (there are two plus babies) - start screaming. Try to take my attention away from the nest. Today I photographed it though the babies can't be seen within the nest... (photo 7). Mynahs and Lapwings (like "my" Peewee) - I have found to be not that 'naive' as I initially thought them to be. They are both capable of chasing away crows and -in the case of the Mynahs- even cats, by hovering over those in some serious aggressive manner.