Purple and Yellow Crocuses in Highland Park, New Jersey March 2010
Elsewhere in the Blogosphere
A friend sent an email with an article by Walter Russell Mead about Jacksonian Zionists. A curious term, the article didn’t really explain. So I went online and found this article The Jacksonian Tradition by Walter Russell Mead.
Daniel reviews The Once and Future King. Word of advice to parents: if you are recommending this book to your kids, tell them to read The Sword and the Stone. You may not yet want your child reading about the triangle between Arthur, Guenevere and Lancelot (voice of a parent who made this mistake speaking).
Jew Wishes found The Last of the Just by André Schwarz-Bart an enthralling novel.
Will this make a nice textured background for a web page?
Would this make a nice patterned background? Maybe if repeated with smaller flowers or leaves in between the larger flower. I think it would need to be toned down for a background or it would be too busy. Perhaps it would make a nice, simple header for a blog.
The textured pattern was taken from this shot:
Shown is the roof of Dairy Deluxe, the ice cream place we visited on this Ice Cream Bliss post.
Fallen Branches from Storm Behind Blooming Crocuses
One usually doesn’t think of the rain as being dangerous. As a parent, one often says to kids: “What? Are you going to melt?”
Sadly, the storm this past weekend in New Jersey and in New York ended in tragedy. The winds were ferocious, and some areas were harder hit than others. Numerous people died from being hit by falling trees, including two men (who leave behind mourning families) who were walking home from synagogue late Saturday afternoon in Teaneck, New Jersey.
In Highland Park we were fortunate to suffer only property damage: below is the remains tree that fell on a house near my own. Others had car windows smashed by trees or a fence downed by the wind. Compared to losing one’s life, it is mostly a discussion of who has insurance coverage.
And here you can see where it cut into the house it fell upon:
I decided to do a little research and discovered that one can study nearby trees to detect if they are unhealthy. Last year friend had noted that a tree overhanging our backyard had leaves on one side but not on the other; this is a sign of the tree’s ill health. My husband and I are happy that we informed our neighbors who own the tree, and they took care of the situation.
Some links for more information on hazardous trees:
I got two endearing comments last night on my sponge cake recipe (or Esther Robfogel’s z”l recipe) that I posted two years ago:
Esther G. Robfogel (1904-1997) was my mother. I ate her excellent sponge cakes on Pesach and throughout the year for many decades. I hope that my granddaughter, Esther F. Robfogel, will carry on the tradition.
– Nathan J. Robfogel
I’m Esther Robfogel’s daughter. Although I used to bake with my mom, baking was never my forte. As it happens, I was thinking about making mom’s cake this year. After reading your blog, I know I will. Thanks.
– Hanna
On a sad note, two men in Teaneck, New Jersey died walking home from shul at the end of Shabbat when a tree fell on them. I can’t imagine what Pesach is going to be like for those two mourning families.
