February 19, 2015
Henry Thoreau, March 17, 1857
This increased silveriness [of the willow]
was obvious, I think, about the first of March . . .
It appears to be a very gradual expansion,
which begins in the warm days of winter.
It would be well to observe them once a fortnight through the winter.
It is the first decided growth I have noticed.
March 21, 1855
January 10. If you are sick and despairing, go forth in winter and see the red alder catkins dangling at the extremities of the twigs. January 10, 1858
January 10. The alder is one of the prettiest of trees and shrubs in the winter, it is evidently so full of life, with its conspicuous pretty red catkins dangling from it on all sides. January 10, 1859
February 11. When I read of the catkins of the alder and the willow, etc., scattering their yellow pollen, they impress me as a vegetation which belongs to the earliest and most innocent dawn of nature; as if they must have preceded other trees in the order of creation, as they precede them annually in their blossoming and leafing. For how many aeons did the willow shed its yellow pollen annually before man was created ! February 11, 1854
February 11. In the winter we so value the semblance of fruit that even the dry black female catkins of the alder are an interesting sight, not to mention, on shoots rising a foot or two above these, the red or mulberry male catkins, in little parcels dangling at a less than right angle with the stems, and the short female ones at their bases. February 11, 1854
February 12. On the east side of the pond, under the steep bank, I see a single lesser redpoll picking the seeds out of the alder catkins, and uttering a faint mewing note from time to time on account of me, only ten feet off. I. February 12, 1860
February 19. Some willow catkins have crept a quarter of an inch from under their scales and look very red, probably on account of the warm weather. February 19, 1857
February 22. My alder catkins in the pitcher have shed their pollen for a day or two, and the willow catkins have pushed out half an inch or more and show red and yellowish. February 22, 1854
Red and yellowish
willow catkins now push out
half an inch or more.
Alder catkins in
my pitcher have shed pollen
for a day or two.
February 23. I have seen signs of the spring. February 23, 1857
March 4 I see a bush of the early willow — by wall far in front of the C. Miles house — whose catkins are conspicuous thirty rods off, very decidedly green, three eighths of an inch by measure. The bush at this distance had quite a silvery look, and the catkins show some redness within. March 4, 1860
March 6. Last Sunday I plucked some alder twigs, some aspen, and some swamp willow, and put them in water in a warm room, Immediately the alder catkins were relaxed and began to lengthen and open, and by the second day to drop their pollen; like handsome pendants they hung round the pitcher, and at the same time the smaller female flower expanded and brightened. March 6, 1853
March 10. Methinks the first obvious evidence of spring is the pushing out of the swamp willow catkins, then the relaxing of the earlier alder catkins, then the pushing up of skunk-cabbage spathes (and pads at the bottom of water). March 10, 1853
March 10. The alder's catkins — the earliest of them — are very plainly expanding, or, rather, the scales are loose and separated, and the whole catkin relaxed. March 10, 1853
March 10. Each alder catkin has a clear drop at the end, though the air is filled with mist merely, which from time to time is blown in my face and I put up my umbrella . . . The willow catkins on the Miles [road] I should say had decidedly started since I was here last, and are all peeping from under their scales conspicuously. March 10, 1854
March 13. The bright catkins of the willow are the springing most generally observed. March 13, 1859
March 14. Alder scales are visibly loosened, their lower edges (i. e. as they hang) showing a line of yellowish or greenish. March 14, 1854
March 18. The willow catkins this side M. Miles's five eighths of an inch long and show some red. March 18, 1854
March 20. Those alder catkins on the west side of Walden tremble and undulate in the wind, they are so relaxed and ready to bloom, the most forward blossom-buds. March 20, 1853
March 21. Early willow and aspen catkins are very conspicuous now. The silvery down of the former has in some places crept forth from beneath its scales a third of an inch at least. This increased silveriness was obvious, I think, about the first of March, perhaps earlier. It appears to be a very gradual expansion, which begins in the warm days of winter. It would be well to observe them once a fortnight through the winter. It is the first decided growth I have noticed, and is probably a month old. March 21, 1855
March 21. Everywhere for several days the alder catkins have dangled long and loose, the most alive apparently of any tree. They seem to welcome the water which half covers them. The willow catkins are also very conspicuous, in silvery masses rising above the flood. March 21, 1859
March 22.The now silvery willow catkins shine along the shore over the cold water, and C. thinks some willow osiers decidedly more yellow. March 22, 1854
March 22. The down of willow catkins in very warm places has in almost every case peeped out an eighth of an inch, generally over the whole willow. March 22, 1856
March 23. The alders are almost generally in full bloom, and a very handsome and interesting show they make with their graceful tawny pendants, inclining to yellow. They shake like ear-drops in the wind, perhaps the first completed ornaments with which the new year decks herself. Their yellow pollen is shaken down and colors my coat like sulphur as I go through them. March 23, 1853
March 22.. The very earliest alder is in bloom and sheds its pollen. I detect a few catkins at a distance by their distinct yellowish color. This the first native flower. March 22, 1853
March 22.The now silvery willow catkins shine along the shore over the cold water, and C. thinks some willow osiers decidedly more yellow. March 22, 1854
March 22. The phenomena of an average March . . . willow catkins become silvery, aspens downy; osiers, etc., look bright, white maple and elm buds expand and open, oak woods thin-leaved; alder and hazel catkins become relaxed and elongated. March 22, 1860
March 23. For a week past the elm buds have been swollen. The willow catkins have put out. March 23, 1851
March 23. The alders are almost generally in full bloom, and a very handsome and interesting show they make with their graceful tawny pendants, inclining to yellow. They shake like ear-drops in the wind, perhaps the first completed ornaments with which the new year decks herself. Their yellow pollen is shaken down and colors my coat like sulphur as I go through them. March 23, 1853
*****
See also A Book of the Seasons, by Henry Thoreau, Signs of the Spring:
- A Change in the Air
- A Sunny Nook in Spring
- Alder and Willow Catkins Expanding
- Braided Ripples of Melting Snow Shine in the Ruts
- Bright Blue Water
- Buzzing Flies
- Ducks Afar, Sailing on the Meadow
- Frogs, and Turtles Stirring
- Geese Overhead
- Greening Grasses and Sedges
- I begin to think that my wood will last
- Insects and Worms Come Forth and are Active
- Listening for the Bluebird
- March is famous for its Winds
- Mosses Bright Green
- My Greatcoat on my Arm
- Perla-like Insects Appear
- Red Maple Sap Flows
- Ripples made by Fishes
- Skunks Active
- The Anxious Peep of the Early Robin
- The crowing of cocks, the cawing of crows
- The Days have grown Sensibly Longer
- The Eaves Begin to Run
- The Gobbling of Turkeys
- The Grackle Arrives
- The Hawks of March
- The New Warmth of the Sun
- The Note of the Dark-eyed Junco Going Northward
- The Red-Wing Arrives
- The Skunk Cabbage Blooms
- The Softened Air of these Warm February Days
- The Song Sparrow Sings
- The Spring Note of the Chickadee
- The Spring Note of the Nuthatch
- The Striped Squirrel Comes Out
- The Water Bug (Gyrinus)
- The Woodchuck Ventures Out
- Walking without Gloves
- Woodpeckers Tapping
A Book of the Seasons, by Henry Thoreau, Signs of the Spring: Alder and Willow Catkins Expanding
A Book of the Seasons, by Henry Thoreau
"A book, each page written in its own season,
out-of-doors, in its own locality."
~edited, assembled and rewritten by zphx © 2009-2023
https://tinyurl.com/HDTcatkins
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