Imagine a place that has seen war, strife, suffering, invading hordes and more for thousands of years.
Imagine now what a Thistle plant growing there might look like.
All this to prepare you for how a plant might adapt if it’s native home was such a scarred land, presenting a Thistle plant growing in the foothills of Mt. Hermon in the Israeli Golan mountainous region.
Ouch!
Jeff
I am very pleased that I captured this image of a rare, protected brush foot butterfly, in the very northern Golan region of Israel, the HolyLand. When you meet one such as this, vivid and fresh in color, you stop to appreciate how fortunate you have been! He required a very cautious, robotic approach, and that he held his ground and accepted a few camera clicks, Fantastic!
Parage aegeria are only found in the very northernmost reaches of the Galilee region and in the mountainous north of the Golan region. This is where Jesus and his Disciples walked and where the greatest of the Jewish Prophets lived. Amazing, lush green regions, watered by the Mt. Hermon range, so they are not desert-like, but instead vivid green and full of life.
‘Crazed Killers’ nearby. Yes. Now. It is reliably reported that thousands of Hezbollah, Iranian and Syrian fighters have moved close to there, to near the northern borders with Syria and Lebanon. Why? These barbarians hope to use that as a launching base to attack and destroy Israel, i.e., Jews, children and women.
Those who think of ‘2019’ as a year when the world has moved to new heights of civility? Guess again, cousins.
Rare, shy, sweet butterflies in the nothing-like-it HolyLand.
Jeff
Move This To The Top Of Your Travel Plans? The Golan..
Working the trails at Yeyhudia National Park in Israel’s Golan Heights, for butterflies. March 2016 it was, and there I was alone for hours, often stopping to Thank G-d for the opportunity to walk these ancient paths. I refrain from sharing too many landscapes here on wingedbeauty. On this trip to Israel, the Land was so lush, so verdant, that I realized that this rule of mine had to be slightly adjusted.
The recently ended winter produced average precipitation, and that insured that the Land of Milk and Honey would green from end to end, from Rosh Hanikra to Eilat. For decades now, Israel has been taking the husbandry and conservation of its resources very seriously.
This is the land that Americans never see. Our media prefers to blast the orchestrated, ready for camera/prime-time noise that they sniff out. Those 5’3″ settlers who began coming in the 1890’s and continued…
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I was just scrolling down some Facebook group sites and my eyes were again and again disappointed. People were posting their images of different tiny Israeli butterflies. I was especially drawn to images of rare, Protected Aricia butterflies. Most of their posts were of males, with their delicious reddish-orange spots along the margins of their wings.
Now I have spent hours seeking those same Aricia butterflies, with some success. Some, for they fly at breakneck speeds, making me rush after them, as they alight on a wildflower for 2.31 seconds, and then again speed away, to a similar bloom 20 feet down trail. Exjhilirating/Exhasuting. Both.
Their shares on FB had orange spots that were limpid, weak or washed-out. I remembered my own favorites, and it seemed to me that mine were richly hued. I didn’t hesitate for a moment to go to our Media Library of images, to see if my recollection was correct.
Here’s a favorite of mine. Aricia Agestis agestis. See my smile? I followed those bad boys for several mornings in my time, and I can now safely smile, for I like what I captured here.
That 12 hours flight, the drive to my daughter’s home, and days later, the 2.3 hour drive to the Golan region of Israel, an SPNI field house at SPNI Hermon. It’d blow your mind, as we used to say. Butterflying in the HolyLand.
Jeff
Just One Hour To . . . Capernum
Two Unforgettable flower stalks, perched on a rocky hill edge, overlooking the verdant (OMG! green) northern border of Israel. I was determined to save my film for butterflies, but c’mon, how could I not succumb to this temptation? March 2015 in the Golan Heights region of Israel. A wet winter insured the arrival of a Spring with flowers blanketing the land, and rare wildflowers determined to capitalize on the excellent growing conditions.
These Hyacinth Squill blooms (Scilla Hyacinthoides) dotted the sides of these hills, on the SPNI Hermon Reserve. They enjoy a short growing season, and are listed as a Protected Species. The expanse of view looks to the northwest, into Lebanon. Lebanon, a country wracked with violence. A pastoral view then, with bad-boy land to the horizon.
Yes, this is primarily a butterfly blog, but . . . the camera made me do it!
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Winged Beauty Butterflies 