Almost spring

It doesn't look like spring here now, after a week of hard freezes.  The Asian species that flower early (Magnolia, Prunus, Forsythia, etc.) are toast, browned with temperatures near the 20°s for three days.

The sassafras are right on target with last year's flowering! Delayed slightly.

But spring is coming for sure.  And it's welcome. The native red buckeye (from the Coastal Plain) and bottlebrush buckeye (from the Piedmont) have emerging leaves, and with the warmth to come this week, I'm sure our sassafras trees will be in flower, and the rest of the canopy forest won't be far behind in unfurling their leaves.

Spring is welcome, even after a mild winter!