I read a book by James Tabor, an archeologist and Biblical scholar that says the word was mistranslated as ‘carpenter’ when the proper translation would have been stoneworker or mason.
Probably more work for stoneworkers than carpenters in that arid land.
There are plenty of trees here, and very hardy strains. Pine forests crown many mountains, and I see a vast variety of beautiful trees whose names are not known to me. Olive trees are not uncommon, nor are apricot, fig, date, pomegranate, cherry and even apple trees. The variety of homegrown fruits is astounding. Autumn here is like spring, due to the torrential rains that break the summer drought, and even the thorn bushes have a fresh green coat. As for grapevines, don’t even go there.