Little Pine Cones?

For a long while now, I have seen what I thought were tiny little pine cones on the ground, on certain trails that I walk.  I always seem to notice them when I am in a hurry to get somewhere, and haven't had time to stop and really investigate.  When I did have a few minutes to spare, I would try to photograph them, but my photos always turned out blurry.  Such a disappointment, since the tiny little cones are perfectly enchanting.

I ran into one of these tree again the other day, when I had a long wait in front of me.  With more time on my hands, I began to really look at the cones and where they came from.  It was only then that I realized the tree they came from was deciduous, and not an evergreen!  You can see a good picture of the leaves here:

Well, I finally put a name to the face!  This is an alder tree, and those are NOT pine cones!

There are three major types of alder trees in the continental United States.  Red alders are found almost entirely in the northwest.  Black alders are grown mainly by landscapers.  And then there are grey alders, which I think is what I have photographed here.

The cone-shaped objects are actually the fruits of the tree, and contain tiny seeds within them.  Now I know!