Can Mother Nature suffer fits of dementia?

I took a look at the yard through the back window this morning. The apple tree instead of being naked of foliage as it is every Halloween, is not only fully leaved, but covered with the white blossoms appropriate in May. I would prefer to believe that it’s merely the tree itself that’s gone insane, but there’s another big plant 15 feet from the apple tree ( the wife calls it a “potato tree”) festooned in the beautiful purple blooms we see every spring. Anyone here capable of explaining this?