We built our house a little over 10 years ago. When we did so, we needed some sand for fill, so the excavators we hired took some from "out back" of the building site. Thus, we got the bonus of a small pond. (Which was, I think, the seed of the idea for my husband, years later, to have built a big pond near our house.) Our property is all wooded, and so we had a few spots cleared and put in some clover fields to feed the white tail. (I say "we" but, yeah, it was pretty much all Kev.) One of these fields is right near the small pond. Earlier this summer, we noticed this tree/shrub just growing to beat the band. I didn't recognize it. It developed green nuts/seeds; so many that the branches were leaning down with the weight. It's very pretty. And it smells good, too -- it smells "green," the only way I know to describe it.
Yesterday, my husband set up a hunting blind on the edge of that field, right next (and within) this as-yet-unidentified shrub/tree. And yesterday evening, we sat inside the blind (it's really like a small wood hut, just room enough for 2) and watched the deer come out and feed. It was a beautiful evening. It was awesome. In the sense that I really felt filled with awe at the beauty that's just a short walk from our house.
So, sitting there, with the branches all around us, it just started to bug me, amidst the awe, that I hadn't identified that plant yet. Seems like each time I went by it, I told myself to remember to look it up, but I'd forget. So last night, I plucked myself a branch. Took about 3 minutes on the 'net to find it. It's a witch hazel! So just to be sure, I checked with my dad. Dad confirmed it's a witch hazel, which he would classify as a shrub because it never gets very tall. The witch hazel will bloom yellow in, get this, the wintertime. I can't wait. Yet one more reason to love winter!!
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