Shavuot

Tonight begins the Jewish feast of Shavuot - Pentecost - which this year is 2 days ahead of our Christian Pentecost. This agricultural feast also commemorates the giving of the Torah to the israelites on Mt. Sinai.

Have been busy finishing the last part of my paper. I want to hand it in before Monday so I can be free to do other things during the summer. But fat hopes. There's still lots of reading and writing to do .... but hopefully I get a breather during the summer, even if it's just a few days. The last lessons for this semester are being taught this week, and some exams have already begun. Everyone is ready for summer holidays. Another school year will soon be over.

The 4 baby canaries are doing fine and I think my another week, they should be able to be transferred to the large cage. Their mums have already started their second clutch, so the babies have been booted out of the nests. The cats are waiting gleefully to eat them.

The mornings here are beautiful - it's cool and breezy, and the birds are chirping as early as 4am when the sun rises. I'm usually up by then, and I love to watch the sun come out over the Mt. of Olives. The muezzin begins singing at 3.45am from the mosque opposite our place.