Leaf buds

... on the Japanese maple sapling growing in our window box.  Not sure what the tiny black things are - could they be insect eggs?  Or seeds?  I had no idea they were there until I looked through my long lens with macro attachment.  Probably should've used a smaller aperture, and a tripod, but I'm still feeling rough and was off sick again today, so this was a bit half-arsed (as is much of my photography, to be fair).