Catkin Time

With Saturday temperatures reaching a dizzy 16C my corkscrew hazel bush had started to expand the catkins which were formed in early Winter. These come out before there is any sign of leaves:



Next to the male catkins are the female flowers. These are bright red but so tiny you really have to look closely to see them:



I decided to put a piece under the microscope to have a closer look at a flower.
The mm divisions on the tape measure give an idea of just how small they are:



I took a few focus stacked photos with the microscope / video camera set up and processed them in Zerene Stacker. It reminds me a bit like a miniature sea anemone:



I did the same with a catkin and it was quite a surprise to see just how much of the surface is covered in tiny hair like filaments:



The world looks so different and so much more interesting when I can get in for a really close look.