the cycle of life in one twig
there is lot going on on this little alder twig. there is this year’s dangling male catkins full of pollen, last fall’s female cones, this year’s leaf buds, and last summer’s leaf soon to be pushed off by the new growth. wow. all that on the six inch tip of one scrappy twig, beside one pond, along one of my many trails. the cycle of life in microcosm.
speckled alder (Alnus incana ssp.rugosa)