Candles

Guess what is striking my fancy the most so far in May?  You're going to be amazed and surprised.

Leaves!

Well, to be specific, needles. This month, the pine trees along my running paths are growing, which creates these little neon yellow-green extensions attached to the regular branches. They look so funny and unnatural, and of course, I'm captivated by them.  I Googled conducted some research about how to describe them to you, and I learned that some people call them candles because, well, they look just like candles. I love them even more now!

Here is the big-picture view. You can definitely see the candle resemblance from far away.

And then here is the close-up view:

Don't worry. In the name of fairness and for good measure, I examined the pine cones, too.

I don't think I've ever noticed these in my entire life. It's a pretty cool phenomenon.  The little candles pop out - "Hey, we're new!" - and before long they've faded in with the older branches, and then it's business as usual.