Am I confused, or what??

My Salix 'Kilmarnock' which I put in 22/23, appears to think that spring has sprung.
It is in the process of dropping its foliage, but starting to open its buds simultaneously.

 

The buds you see opening are the flowers that give the name pussy willow. This normally happens in spring but changing weather patterns can confuse plants as well as people.

 

Possibly rain after a dry summer has sparked it into growth.

 

On our walk today we admired a council planting very colourful with... poppies! We also spotted a foxglove flowering in a garden, and brambles have fresh flowers alongside berries.

Plants are opportunistic, trying it out whenever possible.

Your pussy willows are indeed out of season, @Fof , but probably will make new pussies in spring just in case these fail.

Weather varies from year to year but climate change has increased the tangible head scratching moments when observing plant life I think.

 

They must be in season somewhere. They're selling bunches of them in Sainsbury's.

 

I assume once the bud has broken and the flower has emerged that that bud cant flower again, I think it could possibly cause some dieback of stems.

I think you can cut these stems in the winter and bring them into a warm room where the buds will burst.