in stasis

The trees started to bud a month early, but they have since stalled out as our temps dropped back into the low 40s. Luckily they are surviving the sub-freezing nights, and have not died yet. I don’t like to think about what would happen if all the buds were to be killed by a sever cold snap now. What would there be enough nectar and pollen for the bees? Would the leaf buds and the flower buds both be affected?  Would we have half the usual canopy of leaves converting our CO2 in oxygen than we normally do? So far they seem to be surviving, and the 10-day forecast is promising. Fingers crossed. These transition months are are always variable. But this one seems more wrought than most.

silver maple buds in early spring (Acer saccharinum)