#almond tree

[sir20]

Blossoming almond flowers, Tenerife by sir20

[hebrewbyinbal]

Today starts Tu BiShvat ט״ו בִּשְׁבָט — the holiday of trees 🌳

And this is the שְׁקֵדִיָּה /sh-ke-dee-yah/ — the almond tree — blooming in all its glory.

Here’s the beautiful wordplay in Hebrew:

שָׁקֵד /sha-ked/ — almond

שַׁקְדָן /shak-dan/ — a diligent, hard-working person

The almond tree is called “the diligent one” because it blooms first each spring. It doesn’t wait — it shows up early.

This idea appears in the Bible itself. The root ש-ק-ד means to be alert, attentive, and quick to act — exactly the almond tree’s nature.

Thanks to a beloved Tu BiShvat song, we now call the tree שְׁקֵדִיָּה, while the nut remains שָׁקֵד — a small linguistic shift rooted in culture and song.

Tu BiShvat celebrates renewal, growth, and showing up — again and again.

חג שמח 🌸💙

[thunderstruck9]

Achille Laugé (French, 1861-1944), Cailhau, Almond Tree in Bloom. Pastel, 54.5 x 37.5 cm.

[heaveninawildflower]

Almond Tree in Blossom (circa 1887) by John Russell.

Oil on gold ground on canvas on plywood.

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

[moonlightmagazineblg]

[vikikollerova]

A precious moment, III/20

[aneacc]

My homeland is not the world

My homeland is not europe

My homeland is an almond tree

The sweet, fresh, unforgettable shade.

Poem by the Canarian poet Nicolás Estévanez

My homeland is full of Almond trees and the almond is so important in our cuisine, even though it was imported many years ago, our traditions evolved with them. At least the black bumble bees (with cute white fluffy bums) that pollinate the flowers are natives, Bombus canariensis.

BTW the pattern is available as wallpaper at my Patreon (AneaCC)

En Español:

Poema del Canario Nicolás Estévanez.

Mi tierra está repleta de almendros, siendo este importante en nuestras recetas, y aunque es una especie de fuera, está arraigado en nuestras costumbres. Por lo menos el abejorro,de culito blanco, que lo poliniza en endémica,  la Bombus canariensis. 

[withnaturesownhandpainted]

| Sóller; Mallorca