Psyched ...

Oooh, not only have I just had my second COVID shot, but I've also found a flowering beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta), right next to our boardwalk this spring. So exciting! I'd seen a few of the nuts some years ago, but this was the first time I'd noticed the miniscule flowers - they're about half the size of an (unpopped) popcorn kernel. Seeing the catkins and flowers was new for me, and super special. They're so easily overlooked, which is surprising really because once you see the flowers, they pop out at you distinctly amidst the drab browns of twigs, catkins and leaf litter.

The catkins and flowers ripen at different times since they are self-incompatible, and must cross-pollinate with another shrub. The male catkins produce a haze of yellowish pollen that drifts in the air onto ripe flowers nearby. The next pic shows an unopened bud next to the exquisite catkin.