Trees blooming on the first day of February!

Blooming tress while snow is on the ground? Spring can not be that early! Groundhog better not see its shadow tomorrow. We just had snow, and while taking a nature walk, we saw buds thickening, little yellow flowerets emerging, trees blooming! How is it possible? We are in the Northern Hemisphere, and we do not see the first blooms until late March, early April. We usually head down to Washington DC for a Cherry Blossom Festival because by us, there is usually nothing blooming at that time. We really did not expect to see blooming trees that early! No wonder Chinese New Year holiday, though in a winter, is called a "Spring Festival" because the "Start of Spring" (4–18 February) is the first of the terms in the traditional solar calendar (read a post here).

At the same time … 

Have you seen blooming trees🌸 and snow❄️️ on the ground at the same time? This is the first time we are seeing such a dichotomy in nature!