Update #4 Early winter - December 2010

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It's not quite winter; we still have about a week to go to the winter solstice. But we have had wintry conditions since early December - very cold temperatures and the first snow flurries and snow showers have fallen. The leaves are all down. I spent three of four Sundays blowing them and raking them into the street and most of them have been taken away by the town. Chanukah ended a few days ago, so now we can start cleaning for Pesach.

The esrog saplings are doing well. I have eight at work, and six at home. I gave away five saplings at my family's annual Chanukah party. I gave them to the married couples - my parents, my two brothers and sister in laws, my niece and spouse, and my nephew and spouse. I also gave out "care and feeding" instructions along with the saplings. Attached are two pictures. One shows my esrog "grove" at home. You will notice that one of the saplings is about a foot tall. It was the only one that grew from a seed that germinated in water. Since I put it into soil, it has been growing very fast. The other picture shows a sapling that is about three inches tall. In the planter is a small stone that comes from Jerusalem. It was brought back by my daughter, who is spending the year in Israel. She came back to visit us over Thanksgiving, and gave me the stone. She thinks that having a very small piece of Eretz Yisrael near the esrog sapling will help it grow. I agree with her.

I have booked my flight to Israel in February, for a short visit to my daughter. I will bring back some more stones, for the other saplings.

Look for the next post in about a month.