Coming Out

No, this is not what most people now days think of when someone is talking about "coming out". I am talking (or typing) about my favorite season......Spring. It's when the snow melts, the baby animals are being born, the flowers start blooming, everything starts to green and the trees start to bud. A couple years ago, I planted one of my favorite trees. The Pussy Willow - weeping variety. I will call it Tom (you'll find out why as you read on). It is awesome in the summer when it's full of leaves and in the fall as the leaves change colors. But I think it's at it's best in the spring as the buds or "catkins" as they are called, start to come out of their shell. What exactly are pussy willows? Click here to learn more. In doing some research on the origins of the name, I came to discover that they are dioecious. Which means there are both male and female of the species. The male of the species, produces the showier "catkins". Mine is male, hence the name Tom {as in tom cat :)}. Tom has been doing a strip tease lately and exposing his "catkins". Here's a couple awesome photos of Tom "coming out"