buds with fur coats

Minnesota is lucky to have a lot of fresh water. Which means we have a lot of willow. Willows love wetlands. I just looked it up, and it appears we have 18 different kinds of native willows.  Pussy willow, the willow flower buds with their furry coats, are without fail one of the very first signs of spring here in the North. This particular one is new to me, it is purple prairie willow. The flowers are small catkins, produced in early spring; they are often purple or red in color, hence the name of the species (other willows mostly have whitish, yellow or green catkins). I only grabbed a few stems, and when I got home, I realized I had been to hasty–because the bud casings are an eye-catching metallic copper color, and it was actually the shiny copper casings that first caught my attention. Reminder to self: slow down, take your time, there is no hurry.

P.S. When you read this today, I will be giving a ½ day workshop to 40 participants. I have been prepping like crazy–40 is a lot. Hence the hurrying. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

purple prairie willow (Salix purpurea)