Stamens of the Goat Willow

Commonly called Pussy Willow, which will set off a trail of unrequited searches for ladies of dubious repute, if similar photos on Flickr are a guide. AJC will correct me if I'm wrong in my identification.

The grey buds that appear early in Spring are male catkins. I've read that the grey 'fur' cocoons the stamens inside. It's not the hairs that are the stamens. 

It's been a very grey Easter Sunday enlivened by a journey to Kedleston Hall, northwest of Derby. One wing is still home to the Curzon family. It wasn't really the day to take photos of it. The sky was sullen, although the willow branches by the river/lake added colour to the landscape.

Len and I hadn't been there before but shall take advantage of our National Trust membership to go again to roam, hopefully, by the water, on a more auspicious day.

We popped into All Saints' Church behind the house, no longer in use as a church but cared for by the Church Conservation Society. It houses a splendid white marble monument in a chapel on the north side built by Lord George Curzon as a memorial to his wife Mary. See extra.

Lord Curzon was Viceroy of India in the closing years of the nineteenth century and is noted for restoring Indian monuments, including the Taj Mahal.

Basil had no respect for the Easter Bunny. Another extra.