Pussywillows

You know spring is coming

when you can see pussywillows

against the blue sky.

Sunday Walk

Today was the first I have gone for a walk without a jacket,

so spring is really here.

I took the dogs around the far side 

of the marsh,

past where the coltsfoot are blossoming.

The patch is getting larger!

Some of the pussywillows are finished blooming,

but not all of them.

Annie kept saying "Come on in, the water's fine".

There were a lot of the trees coming into leaf

or bud.

The next image is red elder, in bud.

Jake was starting to say we had walked far enough.

But we were not all the way around the marsh yet...

We went past a couple of old fence posts,

and admired the tiny leaves in the grass.

About this point, Jake's hip was unable to hold him, and I had to carry him a ways. Good thing he only weighs 29 pounds...

Also a good thing we were almost home.

Pussywillows

There are more than 400 species of willows,

and they hybridize easily.

That means there must be

more than 400 variations

on pussywillows,

as well.

The last couple of days,

I have been checking all the willow bushes

in the area,

and capturing their pussywillows.

Some of them have advanced beyond

the pussywillow stage

into bloom,

while others are still little grey catkins.

I would hate to have to try

and sort these out by species.

So much simpler to enjoy them...

To see more skies from around the world, click the icon on the right.

Pussywillows

I took the dogs for a long walk, and found that a couple of the trees beside the river

had tiny pussywillows, just peeking out!

I am linking this with NF Blo-Ma.

They Used To Be Pussywillows

In the past couple of years,

 I have become fascinated

 with the second stage of the pussywillow.

As they cease to be silky catkins,

 they become compound flowers,

 and each hair becomes

a tiny blossom.