March 22 Hazel Flowers Appear

So how bad is winter in Madison? Well two years ago I spent the year in Finland, Minnesota, teaching at a residential environmental education school and we had over thirty inches of snow that April. I bring it up because when the tiny red flowers of beaked hazel (Corylus cornuta) trees popped out, it was our first sign that spring may be real after all. That was on May 3. It kept snowing until May 15 and we didn't see leaves until June 2. So although it's supposed to snow a little tonight (which will melt by morning?), I feel pretty good about American hazel trees (Corylus americana) with swollen catkins and emerged flowers on March 21 (I first saw them yesterday). With a good rain scheduled for Tuesday, I think we might be seeing more flowers on trees and from the ground coming out soon. I don't mind a good winter, but a warm spring is luxurious.