Cheering for spring

Many of us are longing for springtime by mid-January. We want warmer weather and colorful spring flowers to be here already. The jonquil flower is in agreement.

I took this photo Jan. 19 on a very cold morning after the nighttime temperature had dropped to 4 degrees above zero. It had snowed a few days earlier. The green spears jutting out of the snow are jonquils. They begin to appear in January on south-facing hillsides in Southeast Missouri. The extreme cold does not damage them.

Origins of the jonquil flower have been traced back to Spain and Portugal. The flower has been naturalized in many parts of the world, including much of the southeastern United States.

AARON HORRELL is owner of Painted Wren Art Gallery in Cape Girardeau. He is a Bollinger County native.