Whew! I just returned yesterday from our amazing trip to Israel and have a camera card full of pics and a head filled with ideas and inspiration! As I recover from a night spent in Jersey's airport, allow me to share some photos from the Negev desert. This area is an oasis within the dry region and is a well-visited national park called Ein Ovdat (this is according to Google map, the park brochure spelled it Avdat).
Without too many plants to oogle, I found myself admiring the linear and dramatic nature of the rocks and cliffs. The rushes growing in a line along the stream below serve as a textural counterpoint.
Textures were the other thing my eyes focused on, such as this stream-bed of stones and their impressions in the mud after a spot of rain.
I'm still drooling over this! A low stepping terrace with water trickling along the way. Oh, please let me make something like this someday!
A tree bends down to put a reassuring branch on climbers' shoulders. The steps set into the path made the hiking easier without putting too much of a human fingerprint onto the experience.
