Across the road there is a jumbled pile of branches from what was, if memory serves, a very tall shrub before the big blizzard. The branches have silvery catkins on them that resemble pussy willows but grow in dense clusters.
The pussy willows I know grow singly along slim, whippy branches, like this.
The branches from the Mystery Shrub are thick and bumpy and woody. They remind me of magnolia twigs. For the botanists among you, here are some clues to size, shape and configuration that might help. If you have any ideas I’d like to hear them. Maybe it was a really old, and very large, pussy willow? Or a mutant pussy willow that had survived for a century.
As a reward for those of you who have no interest in botanical oddities, but have stuck it out this far anyway in hopes that it will get better, here is a photo for your cloud collection. We have had some excellent clouds lately.
No cloud collection??? Hmm. How about horses? I liked this one so well that I thought about changing designs so I could have a banner again.
Torch Lake Views 
Martha
April 13, 2012
It looks like my miserable aspen/poplars. I loathe them. The trees always are falling apart and rotting in the center and falling over several feet down near my house and making a mess of the woods. I love your clouds and any time you want to post photos of horses that’s fine with me…..
Gerry
April 13, 2012
So we have one vote for clouds and one vote for horses anytime. Good. As for the aspen ID (widely known as popple over here and despised for not putting out as much heat as it takes to cut it into firewood) – I suppose it’s possible. I always think of the catkins as being long and dangly, like birch. We must wait and see. It’s awfully hard identifying naked trees, isn’t it.
Judy Jones
April 13, 2012
Your posting today makes me think you are really a child, fascinated by everything you see and pulling us all in to the wonder of nature and everything that’s around us.
Gerry
April 13, 2012
This doesn’t bode well. I can see it’s time for another post about Civil War veterans and cemeteries.
Heather
April 14, 2012
I have nothing to offer by way of willow-like plant identification. Clouds and horses are always nice. And I love a good popple/aspen, on account of I don’t have to clean any up. Perhaps, like “our” horses, those trees are best at the neighbor’s where you can enjoy without responsibility.
Gerry
April 14, 2012
I am certain that horses are best enjoyed at someone else’s pasture.
tootlepedal
April 14, 2012
The clouds are very fine. Well worth collecting.
Gerry
April 14, 2012
Thank you. I have in mind a couple of bridges for your collection, but they will have to wait. They are not on my regular rounds.
Giiid
April 14, 2012
Wonder what it is, you will post a photo when it blooms, right? In Danish they are called “gæslinger” goslings, those small hairy things from the willow branch.
Gerry
April 14, 2012
The problem is that these are never going to bloom. The whole shrub or tree was destroyed in the storm. Very puzzling. I’ll keep looking for clues, and probably feel silly when I learn the answer.
shoreacres
April 14, 2012
I spent way too much time on this, but did learn there’s something called a “gnarly willow”. I couldn’t find a photo of its catkins, though. What you have is certainly gnarly, in all senses of the word – I’d love for it to be that, though I’ll accept whatever it is!
Gerry
April 15, 2012
I just went and looked at gnarly willow images and I loved them, so thank you for that. Don’t think they’re the mutant pussy willows, though.
Fee
April 15, 2012
After peering closely at all the photos, I can state with absolute certainty that I have no idea what the fluffy things are! Mutant caterpillars? Ones with superpowers? A tree with superpowers? Visitors from another realm? Or another planet?
I do like the clouds, and I love the horses. So, we can assume I like things I can positively identify.
fischer
April 15, 2012
Gerry, I found some Trailing Arbutus! LOTS! Its in the headwaters of the Jordan…. Thought you’d like to know. I think your mystery shrub is a young Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera).
Gerry
April 15, 2012
Fischer, thank you! I will get over there and sniff! Hope the Arbutus lasts until Tuesday.
A balsam poplar – Maybe. I must bring these twigs over to show you. Maybe a mutant balsam poplar!
Gerry
April 15, 2012
Fee, I am delighted with all your suggestions. I think I like things I can’t positively identify. It’s very absorbing, trying to puzzle things out. Keeps me from doing a lot of other stuff, though.
flandrumhill
April 17, 2012
A puzzle indeed. I did a fair bit of snooping around and wasn’t able to come to any conclusion as to the type of willow this is. There are a large number of genuses in the salix (willow) family in North America. And then there are the hybrids. I’ll keep looking. In the meantime, we can call this one Salix Gerryticus.
Gerry
April 17, 2012
Just when I was beginning to lean toward the Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera). I love this stuff. I have no idea why. Probably I should settle for “tree” and be done with it, but it’s a lot more fun to get to know them as individuals. 🙂
Gerry
April 23, 2012
I spent part of the morning sorting out email/spamcatcher problems and found this from Margie Guyot, dated April 15:
I tell you what, WordPress makes me cranky sometimes.