There's a February tradition on my ridge: comb the woods and fields, to say nothing of the gardens, to try and find the first obvious flower of the incipient growing season. To be sure, it's typically the heat-making blossoms of the Skunk Cabbage, but those blooms are largely hidden from view and only reveal their activity by melting the surrounding snow. Far more obvious are the curious flowers of the Witch Hazel, the native variety of which is the omega bloom, the last tree and shrub flower of autumn. In the Ozarks and the Orient, however, there are Hamamelis species that blossom as early as late winter, and plant wizards have hybridized these to produce garden glories that banish the February blues. Our shrub decided that it was warm enough to put on a debut performance in the windy sunshine. Now, the tradition is to delight in the blossoms and watch for the first pollinators to arrive.