Pella Fieldtrip

Woke up to THUNDER SNOW this morning, a phenomenon I thought only existed in West Texas. Having been in Jordan previously only in the summer, the presence of winter weather is... well, frankly, freaking me out. Boy, are the wildflowers happy though.
Went up north to Pella yesterday and got to take a Tell tour with the director of the site. While the weather was pretty exciting (the intermittent pouring rain turned to sleet on our way home), the site was even more so. Got to see the remains of a monumental Canaanite temple (who knew?) and some very sexy mudbrick (mostly in section, but I'll take it where I can get it). The excavation staff, who were wrapping up their season, kindly invited the group back to the dig house to dry off with tea and biscuits - a prospect which delighted Noah (well...the biscuit bit did).
The drive up and back to Pella goes through villages and checkpoints that reminded us a lot of Mexico. Still not quite sure what to think about live animals (cows, goats) idling next to their butchered, skinned, and hanging cousins....can't be good for the cow/goat psyche....but I suppose if that psyche is destined for the same fate, the cow/goat doesn't have long to dwell on it. Still....
Our neighbors, students at West Point, had a shindig at the Embassy last night and got all togged up. We were less than helpful with ironing and umbrella issues, but thoroughly enjoyed the show. Nice, eh?