Welcome to Israel! World Quilting Travel Adventure

Welcome to Israel!

Hey, we made it! And you are going to love our visit to Israel. Did you check out the virtual tour that I posted earlier? It is amazing and if you haven't checked it out yet, please do. Don't forget that you can 'look' anywhere by moving your mouse and the camera will look with you -- up, down, front, side to side, and even completely backwards. It was so much fun. Someday, my husband and I would love to have our feet on the ground and walk the route where our Lord and Savior, Jesus walked.

But until then here are a few known and little known facts about our next destination, Israel.

1. It is well known that the Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth, but what is less well known is that it is 850 feet lower than the next lowest place, Lake Assal (a crater lake), in central- western Djibouti.
2. The Dead Sea is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean. People can easily float in the Dead Sea due to its unusually high salt concentration. It is nearly impossible however to dive into it.
3. Nine out of 10 Israeli homes use solar power to heat water.
4. There are over 100 sushi restaurants in Tel Aviv making it the city with the most sushi restaurants per capita after Tokyo and New York City.
5. Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship in the world.
6. Israel has the highest rate of entrepreneurship among women and people over 55 in the world. Is it just me that thinks that is fantastic!
7. Israeli banknotes have braille markings on them.
8. Israelis consume the third most amount of vegetables and sweets in the world.
9. Israel is quite technologically advanced. It is considered "Silicon Valley East," the world's second-largest creator of IT software and systems.
10. There are more cellphones, bookstores, laptops, and museums per capita in Israel than in any country on earth.
11. The worldwide green revolution began in Israel a century ago. More trees per acre have been planted in Israel since 1900 than in any other country on the planet. 
12. Water-saving drip irrigation was invented in Israel.
13. Every citizen when they turn 18 are drafted into the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). There are some who are exempt or excused due to religious reasons, however, many do serve. Boys are required to serve three years and girls two years. I personally think this is awesome and believe that service to ones country is the true meaning of citizenship. 
14. In spite of its large media presence, Israel is very small. You can run across it from east to west in two hours and north to south in nine days. The area is 8,550 square miles.
15. Israel's form of government is Parliamentary Democracy. The Capital is Jerusalem and the major river is the Jordan.
16. Israel has the highest levels of bird traffic in the world with over 500 million migrating birds crossing its airspace! WOW.
17. In 2008, Israel chose the Hoopoe as its national bird during the country's celebration of its 60th anniversary.

As soon as I saw a Hoopoe which I had to learn how to say...click HERE, I knew it had to be our next souvenir. The more I learned, the more personal the souvenir became. This post is going to be a little longer because I just have to share more about this magnificent bird with you so you will feel as connected to the hoopoe as I do.

First, hoopoes are stunning birds with their flashes of black and white combined with a liberal dash of pale orange, offset by long, sabre-like bills and topped with an extraordinary headdress that appear like fans. They are also known as butterfly birds because of their back and forth fluttering way of flying.

They have many unique sounds depending on their mood and what's going on. Here's a few links for you to click on so you can hear and see:

• Normal calling. I love watching his/her movements and the sound is lovely, soft cooing "oop...oop...oop.
• Mama feeding her young. Hoopoes nest in holes and are particularly fond of old wood.
• They love dust baths and sun bathing.
• The are monogamous, but their bond with a mate only lasts for a single season.
• The males are extremely territorial and make calls continually to advertise his ownership of an area. 
• Hoopoes have a tremendous predator defense. When threatened, hoopoes have a smelly surprise for their enemies. If alarmed, a hoopoe releases a fluid that stinks of rotting meat from a specialized gland above the tail. Even the young ones have this ability to protect themselves. It is believed that this foul smell also acts as an antibacterial agent and deters parasites. I know I wouldn't want to be sprayed with a rotting meat scent. And here I thought skunks were the worst scent!
• Hoopoes love grubs and include many different species of grubs that we consider pests such as the processionary moth making hoopoes a protective species in many countries.
• Unfortunately, in Morocco hoopoes are traded live as medicinal products. This is unregulated and has become a threat to local populations. 

Birds add life, sound, and color to our lives. Spring seems right around to corner here because I am beginning to hear many bird songs each morning and throughout the day. Watching birds is a natural way of releasing the pressures and issues of the day. I cannot imagine a world void of birds. Birds have been used as indicators of the state of our environment for years because of their sensitivity to habitat change. Usually a drop in bird populations is the first indication of an environmental problem. 

We as stewards of our wonderful world must take care of it and even the smallest form of life or we endanger the entire structure of our planet. If birds can live on our planet, we, humans can live as well. 

I still have to quilt my souvenir that I designed for you. I'm not sure how others design their creations but for me it has been a hands on, get down and just start meddling until I get in a zone. The zone is sometimes pretty illusive and I must fight and struggle to stay the path. I'm definately not a fast designer and that's okay. Our trips are not set in stone to be monthly. Some may take longer and some may happen faster. I'm just glad you are joining me on the journey!

I'm nearly done writing the instructions and will get them emailed as soon as possible.

May I introduce you to: Dressed-to-Impress -- the flamboyant Hoopoe!

Dressed-to-Impress - the flamboyant Hoopoe