Thirty- and Forty-degree April weather makes spring lethargic here, but there is progress. The pussy willow catkins along the roads are no longer kitten paws; they’ve opened up into bottle brushes.:
The skunk cabbages in the bogs are no longer just jester-hatted purple spathes; their furled leaves are rocketing out of the plants’ launching platforms and reaching for the sun:
Soon, those stemmed anthers in the male pussy willows (look closely) will spew clouds of yellow pollen into the air like miniature firehoses; some of the pollen will find the females’ ovules waiting within their shorter-stemmed carpels. Soon, skunk cabbage leaves will go on a rampage, spreading into large fans and taking control of their extended territories in the bog. (Brooklin, Maine; images taken yesterday)