Dear Maya and Vera, Since I wrote you last week, this is what happened: last Friday morning there was snow in Tzfat! It happens very rarely here, and all kids were outside, screaming, collecting the snow, making snowballs, and sticking out their tongues to catch the snow flakes.Tonight starts the Jewish Holiday called “Tu Be Shvat” and this is the New Year of the trees. That’s when the new growth starts, even though you can not see it. It is a very joyous time in Israel, celebrating nature. This morning I went with a group of women for a hike in the mountains, and we saw new flowers and blossoming trees, and everybody was sharing stories related to trees and the nature.We saw other hikers on the trail, and I took a picture of a group of girls hiking with their teacher, which you can see under my letter.  Tonight we went to a very happy Tu Be Shvat party, where many people got together to celebrate fruit trees by blessing and eating the fruits of Israel, and telling mystical stories related to the fruit trees.I love you both very much, and miss you. Babushka