#358 - Alder catkins at sunset

Just as we left the park tonight, the sun was sinking behind the houses, and the sky was filled with rose and orange lights. The alder catkins, hanging dry and dead from last autumn, were silhouetted for a few moments against the sunset.

#303 - Alder Cones at Sundown

The best place to view the sunset in the park is standing by the row of alders at the top of the hill; all you can see is sky and trees and grass. Most of the trees are still winter-bare but the alders have last years cones and the earliest catkins of the new season. The cones are spent and open, hanging in neat clusters. I like the way they look against the faint colours of dusk, quiet and somehow composed.

#171 - Groovy Baby!

Love these funky Alder catkins which start off purple and are now turning red with purple spots. Very psychedelic.

#143 - Alder

Okay, I admit I may be getting obsessive about the purple Alder catkins, but they are purple. Purple. And the violet catkins uncurl so sweetly into the cold sleet, they gladden this heart.

#134 - Purple Alder Catkins

Isn't a world where purple catkins grow on green twigs slightly more wonderful than one where they don't?