Winter Sunset in Tsfat

Sunset over Meron and the mountains on the way home from work.

Spring is springing in Safed

Signs of spring plants are springing up.I snapped these pics on the way to work.

This is Shepherd's Purse. The heart shaped leaves are the source of its name. Shepherds often went about their day with pouches shaped like these leaves.

Shepherd's purse is good for what ails your blood system, and for lots of female troubles. The activity dies quickly, so if you pick it, tincture it up the same day. Put it in a brown glass bottle with 45-50% alcohol (I get that nasty 95% cooking alcohol and dilute it in half with distilled water), and let it sit for about two weeks. Then filter off the tincture to a clean brown glass bottle. Helps with stopping bleeding.

This is plantain, plantago lanceolata. Edible, mucilageonous. Great for skin abrasions, also for homemade cough syrup, oil infusions against pain, and more. Infuse it in olive oil with garlic for homemade ear drops.