Green tree jackets

In the lower stretches of Woodhus Slough, where the trees spend the winter with their feet in icy water, they wear thick, shaggy jackets.

Good insulation!

Dressed for the winter.

Our weather is changeable, even in mid-winter. At times, after a week or so of warm, sunny days, the temperature will drop suddenly, overnight, and howling winds will drive the chill even lower. At these times, sap that has been rising in the warmed trees suddenly freezes, splitting the bark, killing saplings.

In our gardens and yards, we rush out (if we have been procrastinating, as usual) and wrap our young trees in burlap or plastic or whatever we have on hand to cut the wind. One year, I used leftover carpet cuttings. Whatever works.

In the wild, the trees are on their own. A thick lichen outfit is a lifesaver.

Portable shelter

On a stormy night a week ago, a little moth warmed his feet on my window.

Geometer moth, possibly the Bruce Spanworm, (BugGuide) a winter flier.

It occurred to me, looking at the photo, that those feathery wings must work like a double-layer tent, holding the meager heat from my window around the moth's body. Only the head, with those big, purply eyes, and the two front legs, are exposed to the weather; even the antennae are neatly tucked underneath the wings.

Smart moth.

Sleeping kittens

In the spring, they will be pussy willows.

Waving the last yellow leaf of fall.

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.