Odd Ritual for Winter

So here it is, the middle of.. well I guess almost the END of, February, and it's cold and nasty out... soon to be nastier. It's early morning and everything out the window is grey, except for a faded hue of pink, low through the naked trees. The trees are swaying at thier tips, back and forth and it's 28 degrees out. There's a reported 20 mph blow going on and later it's supposed to increase to 40 to 50 with rain and a mix of snow. You can tell by just looking at the grey, clumped, frozen and frosted ground that staying inside is the best idea for today.

But not for this tree... This tree in Brewster blooms in early to mid February every year, no matter how cold it is. These little green-yellow flowers are more like curly leaves. Nothing like getting a jump on the competition, but still.... who's going to polinate? No bugs around. And we've got at LEAST two more good months of potential frosts and even freezes. It's also about the time of year that we see the first of the crocusses, but I haven't seen any. So why do they bloom so early, and what do they have to gain?