It's spring and my little Black Maul willow trees are decorated in lots of beautiful golden catkins!
The appearance of these little splashes of gold mark the period traditional Withy pot fishermen began to venture out to sea with the Withy pots they worked hard making throughout the cold months. The willow isn't harvested again until the leaves have fallen, which is a good thing really as they are also very good friends to the bees who enjoy the fact that willow is one of the first pollinators.
I've been photographing one catkin each day throughout a week in April to document it's transformation. I'm still yet to capture a photo of a little 🐝 and I'm sure I will spot one as soon as I put my camera away hehe. So for now I have shared an image above, which I found on www.crops4energy.co.uk
I have also popped a sneak pic of some catkin inspired jewellery that will be available to purchase later in the year.
Thanks for reading :)
References
https://www.crops4energy.co.uk/src-willows-abundant-source-pollen-bees/#:~:text=Male%20varieties%20can%20be%20particularly,there%20aren't%20many%20alternatives.