Budding beauties

Still with the buds for the photo challenge. If I'm early enough into work (I'm always early, it's more a case of if I think that there'll still be a distributor giving out the free paper) I'll detour to the Luas platform outside Heuston. By now the guy who's normally there is already getting a second paper out when he sees me coming - there are several Sudoku and crossword fans in work, so several papers never go to waste. Anyway, I had been noticing the cotoneaster coming into a froth of white bloom, and noticing too that under all that white froth there were still some red berries. Surprising, given the hard winter, that the birds hadn't finished them off, but I suppose there isn't a lot apart from gulls and pigeons around that area. Anyway, I also spotted some buds which do me for the challenge.

Then when I went in to work through the top gate (I'd been trying to buy strong flour in one of the little Polish shops, to avoid a trip to the supermarket tomorrow. But the guy in the shop didn't seem too sure which was the best flour for bread, even though that's where I buy my fresh yeast)  this morning I found a little potentilla - the nearly open bud looks like a carefully folded napkin,  or some fancy origami fold.

I also found another photo for the Then and Now challenge.
Then was August 09 - the bottom of a door frame of an empty house along James' Street. Now Wally's jeans are still quite blue, but his red striped top has faded totally.