Waiting for Spring

Spring really is just around the corner, 

                  even if it doesn't seem to be possible.

 

At home, I wait for the crocus to peek up in my snow covered lawn, then the yellow daffodils and red tulips.  When spring has truly arrived, the Lilacs fill the air with an all too temporary aromatic bliss for this girl that ushers in summer. 

I saw across the parking lot from the office window, what I thought was a cherry tree in bloom.   It made me smile because it was a lone beauty in a vacant lot, overrun with litter and weeds, not the place you would expect and oasis of fragrance and beauty.

Leaving that evening, I stopped to cut a flowery twig to take back to my room and I was struck by two things.  This was the fragrance I had noticed for a couple of days that reminded me a wee bit of the heady Lilac’s from home, and the Cherry tree was decorated with almonds.  Not a Cherry after all, but Almond tree!  

Now that I knew, I couldn’t help but see these portents of spring all over the city.  A tree that I’ve learned is reputed to be amazingly difficult to start from seeds, almond trees have literally planted themselves everywhere! There is one in the courtyard across from my room that I’m sure was planned, but like the one in the vacant lot near the office, once I saw it, I also saw  three other “volunteers” standing nearby.      

I've had some previous experience with almonds.  I fell in love with them while I was living in Sacramento, the home of Blue Diamond Almonds.  They had a great ad campaign in the mid 80’s, “One can a week, that’s all we ask.”  That’s all I needed to start down the path of life long almond love.  Not just highly susceptible to a catchy ad campaigns, in my defense, they’re really good!   Add to that the high protein content and other nutritional bonuses and they are still on my list here in Jerusalem!

I had a client while I was in California who was an almond rancher, wrangler, herder, or whatever they’re called.  He was the one that explained why some people drop the ‘L’ when they say the word.   They are almonds on the tree, he assured me, but in the harvesting process the trees are shaken quite dramatically dropping the ripe almonds to the ground where they are swept up by a tractor with a special attachment. 

During this process, the ‘L’ is knocked out of them. 

Now if that doesn't preach…

For more practical information on the wonderfulness of the Almond visit:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3085/2

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/almonds.html
http://ww2.odu.edu/~lmusselm/plant/bible/almond.php