Our Blooming Magnolia Tree

Magnolia trees are really old.  Fossilized magnolias date back to well over 20 million years.  These trees, or at least their blossoms, predate the existence of bees.  One theory has it that the blossoms evolved just for the bees.  Proving that to name something is to claim it, magnolias were named by the French botanist Pierre Magnol who was presumably not alive 20 million years ago.
We are the care takers of a magnificent magnolia tree.  It lives in our backyard.  I don't know its age.  I do know that this tree is a bit of a mystery.  For starters, I thought Magnolia trees lived in the Southern part of this country.  New Jersey winters seem a bit cold for them but there's that tree thriving in our backyard.  The second mystery is that at least this tree gets its blossoms before its leaves.  That seems to reverse what I perceived to be the natural order of things.  But then who am I to declare a natural order to anything.  Nature is a daily miracle.  Enjoy!