We have a pecan tree on the corner of our property (a corner lot not quite double the size of a normal lot in our sub-division.) Years ago it was a scrappy little tree, planted before we  arrived, and left with no pedigree. It was a forgotten object left to its own devices in the corner. When it went through its teen years, I even contemplated cutting it down. What was it? It looked really rough and like it would not amount to much.

Then a couple of years ago one of the dogs began bringing nuts to us. I had never seen such a funny looking nut and it took us a while to figure out where they were coming from. Fortunately one of us is from the South and pointed out that our scraggly little tree was a pecan tree (pronounced “pee kahn” here in the North and “pee can” in the South).

This year, the tree came into it’s own. It seems to have grown overnight and filled out into a robust adult, producing more nuts than the squirrels could keep up with. Suddenly this was the busiest corner on the lot (between the squirrels shaking down pecans and the dogs shaking down the squirrels.)

After the dry summer, the trees, including our gorgeous red maple, lost their leaves with little fanfare. However, for the first time in its life the lowly pecan tree took center stage in a splendid display. Or is it simply that this is the first time I noticed?