After weeks of rain, the blossoms of the Anemone flowers are beginning to bloom throughout the northwestern Negev making February one of the best times of the year to tour Israel's more off the beaten path Negev region. We did just that last weekend waking up early on the weekend and packing up the car for a day outing to the south.

I'm constantly amazed at how small this hotly contested piece of real estate is. As an Israeli living in the central part of the country - the Negev seems like the other side of the earth but yet after a mere 60 minutes in the car - voila! Suddenly we found ourselves looking out the car windows at the vast green countryside of the B'sor region passing hundreds of dunams of red carpets of anemones which have only blossomed in the last week.

Anemones carpeting the Baeri Forest in the northwestern Negev

A special festival is dedicated to this wonderous event of nature, known locally as "Darom Adom" or "The Red South".

Walking in nature is quite a popular Israeli passtime so its highly recommended to go early in the day. We drove down on a Saturday at 8:30 am and had no issue but a friend of ours left at 9:30 and had to turn around because the traffic was so backed up. Like ours, there were many families hiking and picnicing in the colorful fields, however biking in the nature reserves looked like the most thrilling and popular mode of transportation. Hundreds of bikes were resting at Moshav Baeri, adjacent to one of the country's largest anemone fields and home to the beautiful reserve of the Baeri Forest.

We spent a couple hours in the forest ourselves, visiting some of the major attractions there including the ANZCA memorial, dedicated to the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought alongside the British against the Turks in Gaza in 1912. This memorial offers a wonderful view over to the Gaza Strip, located about 1 km to the west.

Anzca Memorial overlooking Gaza in the Baeri Forest

After our visit to Baeri we visited another field in the moshav of Shokeda which was less crowded and even more stunning. We also took a detour to the Black Arrow Monument, which commemorates the Paratroopers who lost their lives in various retaliative operations in 1955.

A number of other activities were offered such as hot air balloon rides, guided walks, and agricultural tours, and apparently each weekend this month a number of activities are being offered. The restaurants are quite full so bringing a picnic with you is highly recommended.

February ushers in Israel's spring season each year but this year the colors are exceptional. The country is finally benefitting from a healthy rainy season, and aside from the higher water levels in the Sea of Galilee finally - we also have an exceptionally colorful spring. Bsor, which is renowned for it lush, green agricultural fields and extensive farms - is for this brief period of the year, recognized for its beautiful flowers.