This post is an addition to this recent one — the trees back then weren’t showing these signs to photograph, but they sure are now, in droves!

Unlike the very easy to see signs of mahogany flushes and green sap, this sign may need incredible eyesight or a loupe or magnifying glass to see. But once you get your eye in, you will be surprised at how well you can spot ‘the look’ from a short distance, unassisted.

And what is this sign? It is the distinct fuzzy look of tiny leaf tips emerging from the buds!

This one is pretty clear:

But this one, not so much. And this was photographed with a macro lens, so was taken very close up under magnification. In real life these brown fuzzy tips are small and very easily overlooked if you didn’t know to look for them:

This brown fuzziness is ‘the look’ I mentioned above. With time you’ll spot this readily. Sometimes you’ll spot it so early on that you may reach for a loupe or magnifying glass just to confirm cerebrally what your eyes already know is there, it can be that tiny.

Seeing these little fuzzy things is right up there in excitement for me as seeing the mahogany flushes! On this example, can you just make out the two brown fuzzy spots at bottom right? That’s ‘the look’! Now see if you can see any anywhere on the top (they are there!).

There isn’t much more to say on this, so I’ll finish with an assortment of photos all showing the different angles and locations these emerging leaves can appear from — maybe you’ll recognise similar on your own! I uploaded these in hi-res so by all means click on them to see more detail.