This morning a beaver (or a squirrel with an extremely large body) walked across my parents' back yard.
I am still surprised when I see gray squirrels abound, and can't stop myself from mistaking them for rats. I have only seen two cats since my arrival, and it makes me sad.
Yesterday my parents fired up the sprinkler for my nieces, and the water ran continuously for longer than I would ever consider showering. The Israeli in me resisted the urge to shut off the water, because it felt like such a criminal waste of natural resources.
Today I went clothing shopping for Raphaela, spent about $200 in three different stores that were all having end of the season sales; the experience of needing my mother to drive me has not necessarily fixed the situation, but it has cut through some of the tension.
I bought about 15 outfits, some toys and books, and had to consider that in the last week and a half since we landed in America, Raphaela has basically grown out of her current size of clothing. I wonder if any of the clothing sitting in her dresser in Jerusalem will fit her when we get home.
2 comments:
glad to hear it is better with your mom-shopping together is a great way to spend time together (especially if she ends up buying some clothes or all of them). your comments about water in this post and others needs some clarification. It is not a waste of natural resources here b/c it rains in the US on a fairly regular basis. When there is a drout/lack of rain there is rationing of water-for example one side of the block can water mon, wed, fri and the other side tue, thu and sat. the weather has been super hot (at least in NY/NJ) and the lawn probably could use a good soak.
Good!
Yeah, you're visiting a temperate rainforest, whether you realize it or not. They've got water to spare. The bigger problem with sprinklers is lawn pesticide/fertilizer runoff. Lawns contribute a lot more to waterway fertilizer pollution than farms do. Unfortunately, the best way to solve the problem is not to have a lawn, and that'll kill your property value.
We're a little more careful with water in the grassland biome where I live, but even so, it's certainly no desert here.
Post a Comment