Poppies, Poppies Everywhere!

It's March 1st which means that the height of the poppy season in Israel is now coming to a close.  The poppy, (Kalanit כלנית in Hebrew, and in "science speak", anemone coronaria) has become emblematic of the blooming land in the late January, early February,which in Israel marks the beginning of spring.  The flower blooms in nearly every color including white, purple and yellow, but the most iconic color is bright ruby red.



Two weeks ago, when the weekend weather was simply fantastic, Yotam and I decided to drive all the way down to the "Pura Nature Reserve" near Kiryat Gat by Beit Kama- a park famous for it's fields of poppies.  As it usually happens in Israel on warm, sunny weekends, the national parks are packed and this one was no different. Most Israelis find this  frustrating, and granted, crying babies and whiny kids and slow moving hikers don't exactly do it for me, I'm still consistently pleased that nature is so ingrained in Israeli culture.

So, we spent the late morning walking through the bright green fields dotted with a light carpet of bright red flowers with young families, old couples, and packs of twenty somethings like me who were eyeing the pastures for a good place to set up a picnic.

After a few hours,we decided to wander off the beaten trail into the quiet green pastures for a while and snap a few shots of the amazing scenery.

Here's a short peek at the fantastic view.