Crimson King Maple Spring Explosion - 2018

The middle of last Summer, we added a Crimson King Red Maple tree to the far flung reach of our backyard.  I actually placed it in a spot around the perimeter that was behind the trampoline.  It isn't too far from this area that I outlined in our landscape plan.   I revisited the tree in late October to document how it was heading into the Winter cold season and all Spring, I've been peeping at it trying to understand how it was doing.  There were buds that were set last fall and for the past month, they started to grow and expand.  And then, suddenly, this happened!  The buds exploded and these crazy stringy what-appear-to-be-flower-pods emerged all over branches.  And the buds created that four-way shape in a beautiful red.  So, I'm thinking we can mark this one down as 'making it' this Winter.  My precious Dawn Redwood on the other hand?  I'm afraid to say it out loud, but it looks like it did not make it through the Winter.  I'm going to give it another week or so to see if the buds that were set last Fall open up and show some growth.  Same with the Corkscrew Willow.  Looking like the top 1/3rd of the trunk has dried out and is dead.  The bottom 2/3rds is green and seemingly healthy.    Seems like I'm winning some (this Maple, one of the flowering pears, the Magnolia in our front yard) and losing some (the Redwood, Willow and one of the flowering pears in our front yard).