...I came up with a full lunch and was rewarded with coffee(s), dessert, and even a few places to live.

Lately I have been spending a lot of time in the Golan Heights.  It is stork season, and the birds have been keeping me busy.  In my lab, we have study sites throughout the country: the Negev, the Mercaz, near Jerusalem, in Africa, Germany, Spain, etc., and in the Golan.  Each place has its pros and cons.  All though, in all, I feel like I got pretty lucky.

On the one hand, I have one of the longest drives in our lab, but on the other hand, it's a beautiful drive without much traffic.  I also meet extremely nice people like Ichyeh, for example.  He isn't the only helpful, nice, kindhearted person I've met, though.  The list goes on an on.  It is so Israeli that the families who live and work near the nests are always offering coffee, a bathroom, invaluable information about the storks, and even cheese cake(!).  Security officials in the community are very supportive of the project thus making the internal permissions process relatively easy.  And owners of the land and farms on which the storks are found allow us free access and tons of advice.  Also people walking by are always interested in what I am doing, ask and answer a few questions, show genuine interest, and at times even offer a place to live.

Luckily, I did not have to take up the offer of the kind man who offered me a room in his "big house where he lives alone," though.  I found another apartment with a really sweet roommate in a town about twenty minutes from the nests.  I will be there a few nights a week, and I must admit that I am quite excited for a change in scenery.  The greenery, hills, and open space are a much welcomed change from the monotonous Jerusalem stone, filth and crowdedness of the city, tourists, and sound and light pollution.  It seems like it will be a great storking season in the Golan.  Hopefully it doesn't become too boring of a blog topic.  I do apologize in advance!