After Jerusalem Snow of Century Clean Up Time

While the rest of Israel and world goes about its business, 

in and around Jerusalem it is not back to normal yet.

image Jerusalem snow, Israel snow photo, picture Jerusalem snow clean up

Snow and fallen trees are piled higher than a bus stop.

This is just #blizzrael – Blizzard – Israel – Unreal.

If you have lived through a large snow storm,

image snow Jerusalem, photo snow pile, Israel picture snow

then you are familiar with these grey piles of plowed mess on street corners,

image Jerusalem snow, picture snow Israel, photo how much snow Jerusalem, snow clean up

 trying to walk around them, 

image Jerusalem snow, Israel snow photo, picture snow cleanup

and sharing the space on the cleared streets with slow traffic.

But this is Jerusalem, Israel, not Boston, Buffalo or Brooklyn,

image snow in Jerusalem, photo snow Israel, picture snow

so there are plenty of palm branches on the ground too.

image snow Jerusalem, Picture snow Israel, How much snow photo

Another difference, people here do not leave a piece of furniture 

on the street hoping to save their parking spot.

Most of the pretty white images from yesterday are gone.

There was one pretty scene in front of Beit Hanassi, the President’s residence,

image streets covered snow Jerusalem, photo Israel snow, picture snow clean up

I guess the President’s staff gave up on clearing the sidewalk,

hoping the sun would do the work for them.

It was warming up finally,

image Jerusalem snow, picture snow Jerusalem, photos Israel snow

and this man was out in shorts.

image cat Jerusalem, photo cat after snow Israel, Picture cat on wall

The Jerusalem cats were back in their favorite spots,

image of snow Jerusalem, photo snow in Israel, picture snow cleanup

but the Paris Square Fountain was not flowing.

I have dozens more not-so-pretty photos of mountains of snow,

but I won’t bore you with so many of them.

snow Jerusalem image, picture snow cleanup israel., photo Bobcat

The clean up equipment was out, 

image snow cleanup Israel, Jerusalem snow photo.

only I always seem to find them on a break.

It is still a great time for tree-trimmers who work with large chain saws.

Along with the sounds of cars honking in blocked traffic,

is the welcome sound of buzzing of chain saws.

image Jerusalem snow, picture Jerusalem snow, snow clean up picture.

Just look at the amount and size of some of timber that was cut

and left in front of the Jerusalem Theater.

Now is a good time to collect wood for your fireplaces.

image Jerusalem snow, photo snow Jerusalem, picture snow cleanup

With so many scenes like this one on Emek Refaim Street,

picture jerusalem snow, image snowy steps, Israel snow

and these dangerous snowy and icy walkways,

image runners before race, photo runners ready, picture Afikim

it is no wonder that a few guys’ crazy idea to run to Eilat,

doesn’t seem so crazy anymore.

image Afikim run, picture Jerusalem night, Image race start

That is confetti not snow, as the runners 

left First Station at the start of their 36 hour, 360 km relay race.

Good luck guys!

We finally got full power back after a week,

so as long as it lasts I am going to 

keep my feet dry 

and hibernate.

Jerusalem Snow and More Snow and Black Ice

Snow in Jerusalem, Israel,

I waited for it to come,

and wow, did we ever get a lot of it!

Now I will try to explain how much snow there was 

and how crazy these last few days have been for so many of us.

What a mess it was when the white stuff started coming down.

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After a night of pouring rain,

it started snowing heavily around 7:00 am on Thursday.

By noon, 10 cm had accumulated, wreaking havoc with school and work schedules.

At midday, the sky cleared briefly, with a white covering on the ground,

image snow Jerusalem, Picture snow Knesset , photo snow Jerusalem

and I could see the Israeli flag was still flying over the Knesset building.

It then continued snowing most of the day,

Jerusalem snow photo, image Jerusalem snow

and by Friday, Jerusalem felt as if it was under siege.

In the words of the prophet Ezekiel, on “tenth of tenth month” of Tevet,

the Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem. 

The fast day took on new significance this year.

Jokes were going around, but for many, it was not so funny.

picture Jerusalem snow, image Jerusalem snow

Each day we were buried under new and increasing piles of snow.

image Jerusalem snow, picture snow Jerusalem

Five days after the storm began,

our small side street was finally plowed.

Jerusalem image snow, picture Jerusalem snow, Israel under snow picture

Sometimes the snow let up,

image Jerusalem snow, photo snow in Jerusalem, picture Jerusalem snow storm

leaving Jerusalem looking a bit like Switzerland,

but if you look, those are the roofs of Nahlaot in background,

 covered in white with no red tiles showing.

image Jerusalem snow clean up, photo jerusalem snow , picture snow in Jerusalem

Cleaning snow off cars with squeegees seemed like a good idea,

even if you could not get anywhere.

We left a good snow shovel in Maryland when we sold our house,

who could imagine needing it in Israel?

image Jerusalem snow , photo people walking in snow . picture damage Jerusalem snow

Friday there was no heat for thousands because of power outages, 

so it was warmer outside in the sunshine than inside.

Fallen branches blocking side walks were a common sight.

image Jerusalem snow, storm in Jerusalem photo, image street snow, picture snow Israel

Major intersections were plowed, I thought these piles of dirty snow

looked more like Boston than Jerusalem.

image Jerusalem street in snow storm, photo Jerusalem snow. picture plow in Jerusalem

Real snow plow or not, this was the only one

I actually saw moving the stuff covering the road.

See that sign on the right?

This was to have been a weekend with special hotel deals for tourists.

I doubt many made it with the roads into Jerusalem

 shut down for most of day.

image snow Jerusalem, picture jerusalem snow

There were more people out on these streets when they

were shut down for Obama’s speech last summer.

image Jerusalem snow, picture snow Jerusalem, photo people in snow,

This woman with small children was out early,

image snow in Jerusalem ,photo Jerusalem snow

but not many others ventured out into the winter wonderland.

image snow jerusalem, picture jerusalem snow park, photo sacher park in snow

Usually popular when it snows, Gan Sacher, Sacher Park was empty,

iamge Jerusalem snow, picture snow Jerusalem, photo people in snow Jerusalem

  the folks with big dogs were the first ones in the park.

image Jerusalem snow, picture Jerusalem in snow, steps snow photo jerusalem

Each day I had to clean the steps of new accumulations.

image cold room, Jerusalem snow phoot, image power out

When the room temperature became less than the temperature in the fridge,

I moved the thermometer inside to check on the food.

Fortunately we have gas to cook with,

since our power was off for four days.

It was a very quiet Shabat.

image jerusalem snow, photo damage jerusalem snow, pic snow storm

So now the snow has stopped, and it is time to get out from under.

image Jerusalem snow, photo Jerusalem snow, picture snow Israel

People began to get together to dig out their cars.

image Jerusalem snow, photo snow in Jerusalem, picture snow Israel

It was time to walk to the store and buy some milk, eggs and bread.

Then on the fifth day of the siege after the snow stopped,

black-ice covered the Jerusalem streets in the morning,

with people falling and cars skidding.

At least there are plans being made for some schools to open tomorrow,

perhaps with late openings.

#IsraelUnderSnow

#JerusalemUnderSiege

#shelegeddon

#SnowinIsrael

or whatever you want to call it.

I wanted a lot of snow for viral photo material,

but forgot to ask for electric power and working computer.

So watch what you ask for, no matter how crazy it may be,

like half a meter of snow in Jerusalem, it just could happen.

More Jerusalem snow photos   HERE

Oops, better push ‘publish’ fast, some of our power just went out….again.

Time for Tu B’Shevat in Jerusalem

Last week Jerusalem, Israel, was a winter wonderland,

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snowing hard enough that even friends from Norway and Canada commented.

snowman melting, Jerusalem photo

However, by Friday afternoon it had warmed enough that

 our snowman was not looking so good and had lost one radish eye.

Jerusalem after snow photo, Jerusalem photo tour

A few dirty old piles of snow and ice are still around,

Jerusalem photo, tree fallen

while piles of downed branches line many Jerusalem streets.

Jerusalem photo. tree dwon

Large limbs of trees fell near the Prime Minister’s residence,

Jerusalem photo tree down

and many large trees like this one came down because of the weather.

Jerusalem photo tree damage

In the Davidka Square, all the newly planted trees were ruined; 

only one branch was left dangling after the snow damage was cleaned up.

Jerusalem photo tree down

When the sun came out and temperatures warmed up, not everyone

seemed to be bothered by the branches that littered the sidewalks.

Jerusalem photo at night

Post-snowstorm,  there is still plenty to clean up on the streets,

 but if you are looking for ice,

fish store, Jerusalem photo shuk

 you’ll have to go once again to the Machane Yehuda market, the shuk,

where the fish shops are filled with fresh fish on ice.

shuk, market, Machane Yehuda photo

At the shuk, fresh figs were on sale yesterday ahead of Tu B’Shvat,

the New Year for trees, ten days from now:

a perfect time to plant new trees.