Furry Catkins

The pussy willow tree (of the genus Salix) sprouts furry catkins bursting sparklers of orange and white and yellow needles and fluff balls, like a long-haired cat's paws, hairy and soft.

Wikipedia says some Europeans and Americans use these branches on Palm Sunday in place of palm branches, but I know them only from ladies' fancy flower arrangements.

Now I know them from The Lemon Fair too, where, today, the bright blue sky and house finches' songs made the perfect backdrop for their hairy show.