This afternoon, Linda and I took Mac and Duff for a walk in Highland Park.  Although we were a little surprised at how much snow and ice there was, the walk was really great.  We started with Gene’s sure sign that spring is coming – some Pussy Willows.  They got me in the mood to take some pictures, which I am going to share with you.  However, Norm needs to skip this post, because he knows you can’t get good pictures up close with a phone camera – all you see is the background because the depth of focus is too long.  But the rest of you need to bear with me!

My picture of the pussy willows was really bad, but here is a decent red bud, which I did not read to see what it was.  Behind the buds are the lilacs.  I did not see much of any buds on them.

Blue Atlas Cedar
Cedrus atlantica glauca
Atlas Mtns., N. Africa

After walking around the reservoir, by the lilacs and the daffodils which will be so pretty in a month, we walked down Pinetum Dr and through the varied pines. These pictures are especially for Katherine. The Blue Cedar was so striking we had to look more closely. Behind it was a majestic Austrian Pine with a nice example of an Inosculation.  It looked like this pine was a parent since there were several other Austrian Pines right around it. 
In the same area, we saw a Globe Red Pine (much redder than our common Red Pine) and a Swiss Stone Pine. 
One more picture. This is the house where I grew up across from the Castle.