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| Waving the last yellow leaf of fall. |
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| Cosy in their woolly coats. |
Those "coats" actually do help keep the sleeping pussy willows warm.
The soft, silvery hairs that we see are the "fur coat" that helps to keep the developing reproductive parts warm. Remember, pussy willows emerge in early spring when it's still quite cold. But when the sun shines, the temperature of the center of the catkin can rise above air temperatures by trapping the heat from the sun with it's insulating hairs. (Nature North)
Taken at Tyee Spit, on a shrub leaning over the water of the Campbell River delta. Last March, I took a photo of the new pussy willows here, probably on the same willow.
I think pussy willows are the trigger plant that reminds me of childhood and my mother. Pussy willow, forsythia and quince stems in a vase are all it takes to bring Spring
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