Another sign of spring

On the way home from an emergency shop I thought I'd have a little look how the water lilies are developing at the local gravel pits. The water table is higher than I've seen it for years and paths I usually walk are under water. The lilies are very sparse but I'm sure they will perk up really soon. Was rather taken with these "catkins" (today's blip) which I think are the Goat Willow (I'm no expert but search Google leads me to believe it). Very pleasant bursts of sunshine whilst there...