Look for signs of spring -- finally -- all around you

Over the nearly 25 years my wife and I have lived in Cape Girardeau, we have explored nearly all of the county roads in this county as well as northern Scott County and across the bridge in the Shawnee National Forest. And a few byways in Bollinger County too.

I still consider the Ozarks over yonder where I grew up to be the most beautiful area of the world. Yes, the world. We have traveled a bit across the oceans, and we've seen amazing sights. But I still love the wooded hills in Southeast Missouri the most.

On sunny afternoons, my wife and I like to go on drives along nearby county roads. We are never disappointed. And it seems like we see something new even if we have been down a particular road before. There is so much beauty to behold, regardless of the season.

We have, as you might suspect, fallen into a pattern of county roading. I've told you before about the daffodil expeditions, the azalea drives, the sweet William tours and the tulip trips. This week we were ready for any and all of them. Guess what? It's time.

It seems like this winter has been particularly dreary. And weary. There's been a lot going on health-wise in our household, and I'm sure that has had a big impact on our moods. It has been too cold and too wet to enjoy what usually are mild Southeast Missouri winters.

But what good does it do to whine? Instead, we have set out on a few trips to snub our noses at the less-than-fine weather we've been having.

We noticed a couple of weeks ago, after one of the icy storms, that the clump of hyacinths outside our front door was putting up shoots in spite of the cold temperatures. Then we noticed in some Cape Girardeau neighborhoods that daffodils were greening up everywhere.

And on Monday of this week, following the rainstorms that swept through the area over the weekend, there was enough sun and warmth to turn the daffodil shoots into actual blossoms. Yes, dear readers, daffodil season has arrived just in time to set the mood for the springtime that will surely follow.

Monday was what we are calling the "green tour" in honor of the huge swaths of emerald spreading across the area. One day it was brown and drab, and now we have green, green, green everywhere. That certainly lifts the spirits of all of us who have exclaimed far too often during this mellowing winter: Enough!

Along the way of our first ever "green tour" we spotted a patch of crocus in our old neighborhood. My wife had me drive past a couple of times so she could fully enjoy the sight. There were lots of daffodil buds, and some lucky plants facing south were in full bloom. That's such a good thing.

Soon we will be making our familiar jaunts to places we know are sure to please like the miles of daffodils along the county road past Sargent's Chapel on the edge of Bollinger County near Daisy.

And maybe we'll head down to Whitewater and take some of the back roads to see if the carpet of buttercups will cover the fields again this year. Last year's dazzling show is featured on the screen of our desktop computer, a year-around reminder that such amazing beauty is plentiful -- and free.

Who could ask for more?

Actually, most of us would like more of everything good, right? But we will happily settle for the generous portions of nature's best whenever it comes along.

Let me be the first to greet you with those wonderful words:

Happy spring.

Joe Sullivan is the retired editor of the Southeast Missourian.