Shagbark Hickory

About 15 years ago I was given some shagbark hickory nuts by Don, a friend who had dozens on his property out in the country.  They are almost impossible to deliberately grow.  Out of the handful that we planted, only one sprouted. It's been protected from wildlife in its own little cage all these years.  As a very slow grower, it now stands a little over 5'2" (my height).  At maturity it could reach 50 - 100 feet.  Today Mr Mole happened to mention that he loved seeing it when it's budding out.  I had never seen these buds and I'm usually the one to notice things like this.  So while it's not an artistic picture, it does capture the 5" pinkish/reddish bud petals covered in soft hair/fuzz from which the new stems and leaves emerge.  (See lower left for example).  This led to some research.

Carya ovata.  Shagbark Hickories are monoecious, meaning they have both male and female flowers on the same branch.  The female flowers are pollinated by the wind and produce the hickory nuts.  These are not the flowers, they just look like flowers.  Unusual, no? 

Today I rode my bike for 30 minutes in the parking lot of my former office at the end of our street. I couldn't remember my old suite number!  As an aside, we each had our own electronic codes to get into building.  I learned from the cleaning staff that they just used 1-2-3-4 (no kidding) but there's no need to memorize it.  I noticed tenants (still)  leave the doors unlatched.

I hope your week starts off with sunshine and smiles.  Stay strong.  Stay safe.  X