"Yews are normally either male or female and in autumn and winter sexing yews is generally easy."

"Males have small spherical structures that release clouds of pollen when they mature. Females hold bright red berries from autumn into winter. It was, therefore, quite a surprise to me to find a group of three ripe red berries on the Fortingall Yew when the rest of the tree was clearly male."

The Fortingall Yew is at least 2,000 years old and possibly as old as 5,000.

"Odd as it may seem, yews, and many other conifers that have separate sexes, have been observed to switch sex. It's not fully understood - normally the switch occurs on part of the crown rather than the entire tree changing sex. In the Fortingall Yew it seems that one small branch in the outer part of the crown has switched and now behaves as female."

What if one small part of you switched and began to behave as a member of the opposite sex from what you've believed yourself to be all these years? Which part would it be, and how would you know?

I ask the questions those other blogs dare not ask.

At the Trees and Weeds Café...

... it's all in the point of view.

The ginkgo in late afternoon.

Seen behind the law school yesterday. I wasn't the only one stopping to take a photograph.

At the Thursday Night Café...

... go ahead and talk about whatever you want.

On Picnic Point...

... near sunset, with lovely foliage.



You can write about anything you want in the comments.

Impression, sunrise.

A morning walk through the neighborhood, just now.