Spring, Hickory Buds!

These pictures were taken March 18th (Thursday). It officially "turned" spring a few days ago (Saturday, 20th). The flowers bloom in mid-spring. In these pics I had the big lens (55-200), so I could get close-ups. These are the buds where the leaves and catkin will come out of.

the picture in my profile

this is probably about life-size (maybe a little bigger than life-size)

a dead leaf over the bud (about life-size)