Green up and chill down

After days (M-Th) in the low 70's (F) and mild spring winds, I went to the Woods through the SW Gate to see what spring had brought.
Elms in the Woods in the past few weeks have produced millions of green winged samara seeds, each ready and capable of producing a full new tree with a lucky landing. Boxelder are flushing green winged samara seeds along with early green leaves, just beginning to unfold. When box elder fully flush their leaves, it will close the under story. That is not near to happening yet.. just a few of the larger trees. Mexican plum Prunus mexicana are in bloom all over the Woods and this is that short ten days when it is easy to see every wild plum in the Woods. They are flowering white blazes in the sparse deciduous forest before leaves emerge.
Across the floor of the Woods, all the green is beginning, but just beginning. The Symphoricarpos buck brush is just opening leaves. The Gallium bedstraw and Lonicera honeysuckle are growing fast and will be much more dominant before the upper canopy flushes its high leaves and takes the light. ( Interesting contrasting strategies plants select, either grow early and fast before canopy leaves put you in the shade, and benefit from a thermally sheltered near-ground environment, or wait and begin growing much later from high, on exposed branches, where cold winds could kill early growth, but sunshine will be abundant for all the main growing season. )
Spring onion patches are here and there. The rabbits and deer love them. Standing back from all, and looking, one can see the green is growing. It is now ubiquitous.. not universal.. there is still more bare brown winter forest floor than green growing spring verdure.. but it is changing rapidly.
Then came Friday with its cold N wind and overnight hailstorm. Saturday night we will have 29 F frost; but spring has started and will not be stopped. All the flowering trees will now survive. It will be a good year for their flowers and seeds. Water, moist soil, mild days. The local biota will grow well this spring.