American Hazelnut catkins

A golden orb appeared in the clear blue skies this morning immediately lifting spirits. Winds had dropped away too.

So after our various morning activities, me on blip and Susan with the people she follows on Twitter we walked across the countryside south of where we lived.

It was a pleasure to be out, muddy in places, few people, bright sunshine. Out into the countryside away from oft trod lanes and roads around our house. Such a change and uplifting, what walking should be like. We have to confess plodding locally of late was doing the opposite.

There were daffodils, buzzards, fieldfare, old gate posts with beautiful micro assemblages of mosses and lichens and these catkins to been seen. Today’s blip is of the catkins of the American hazel, at least I think they are: https://nhgardensolutions.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/7-hazel-catkins.jpg. We spotted serval rows of different types hazel trees in an orchard. First time we’ve noticed them.

We couldn’t t see any flowers. It seems they are very small at around 0.004 of an inch. You learn something every day.