JavaWoman considers…

In this fallen catkin the delicate details can be clearly seen

I took my catkins out for new photographs again this morning to get the best light. It proved a fiddly undertaking: there was a blustery wind, and because the catkins have grown so much, they catch a lot more wind, too. Almost the first thing that happened was that my little jar was blown over — luckily it didn't drop onto the balcony floor.

One catkin had broken off as a result and I took some close-ups of it; this one is the best: you can not only see the delicate white petals (or sepals?) with their frilly edges, but also that the stamens (I think that's what they are) are darkening and shrinking at the end while the yellow pollen is coming out. At the top the rolled-up leaves that originally covered the whole bud: these would fall off, except that they are so sticky that most stay “glued” to the catkin.

Blowing in the wind…

I tried to take a picture of the longest one — all of 11cm long now, but with the gusty wind that was almost impossible. Alas, by now they are all shriveling and darkening: maybe it's too warm for them inside or they don't soak up water. So this will be the last of the catkins adventure.

Click on an image to see the larger album version; the album also has a few more pictures not shown in these blog posts!

Tagged: spring, Netherlands, 2008