Messing with catkins

There is not much new in the garden just now but as the thaw finishes we hope to start the roller-coaster.  The first lot of hazel catkins I brought in the house before Christmas did not flower - not enough accummulated cold perhaps - but the ones I brought in from Henfaes a couple of days ago are quite different.  On the tree they had developed well in spite of all the freezing weather.  There must have been enough sunshine to heat the catkin itself. 

Anyhoo, they were only in a vase in the back window for a couple of days for them to lengthen fully and open.  We had some fun tapping the twigs to watch the pollen swirl about and had partial success in photographing that event.  You can see the small female flowers with their tuft of stigmas too.