The Passion of Scents

Of all the senses, the sense of smell is the most important trigger of memory. ... One reason is the olfactory system is located in the same part of our brain that effects emotions, memory, and creativity.   I don't know about you, but there are some scents that bring up some happy memories for me, among them the smell of fresh cut grass, or the scent of pine lumber, or even the scent of the old original Old Spice.

When I was in my pre-teens, it was my job to cut the lawn every week, the smell makes me feel young all over again.  The smell of lumber, specifically pine, reminds me of two people:  my Dad, who was always cutting lumber to build something, and my son, Brian, who worked in the lumber department of the local Depot.  And Old Spice ... again, my Dad.  

So when it comes to scents, it may seem old fashioned but tucking a scented sachet into the linen closet  .....  when I grew up, we always kept our linens in a closet, but is that common these days?  I don't have a "linen closet" now, and with the new laundry additives our laundry always smells fresh.  My own linens are kept on the top shelf of my closet .... but that's another matter.

But an orderly linen closet can be a thing of beauty.  Opening a closet door and smelling something like lavender can be quite pleasant, and imagine that all of your sheets are folded on one shelf, your towels and table linens on another shelf.  Being organized can free up some of the time it takes you to locate something, as well. 

Keats wrote:  "A thing of beauty is a joy forever."   And a scent can bring a smile to your face every time you open the door.  

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A Daily Walk

"In every walk with nature 

one receives far more than he seeks."

That's a John Muir quote, and I agree.

Every evening, I have loaded Sadie into her stroller and taken an evening walk.  There's nothing like the smell of the desert, no matter the weather.  Even plants without flowers have a "spring" smell, if you take the time .....

As I walked, I decided to try to identify different scents:  the smell of someone's Asian-based cooking wafting out their window.  A few houses later, I could smell someone's spaghetti.  The forsythia that are blooming have a scent.  The yellow flowering of a palo verde.  The drifting scent of alyssum that blooms among a bunch of weeds. 

When we get to the grassy park, the smell of fresh mowed grass along with the earthy smell of the ground as it dries after these last rains.  Even the scent of cars on the road passing carries over the grass to our side of the block. 

Our noses are amazing - sometimes a smell brings back memories, especially good memories.  For me, the smell of dill and peas growing on the vine, warming in the morning sun remind me of my grandmother's farm in Minnesota.  I didn't live there, just vacationed a half dozen times, but the smells remain in my memory. 

Just as the scent of spearmint Dentyne reminds me of the paternal grandmother; she always brought a pack to share with us kids!

When you think of all the scents that cross our path each day, it's amazing how many differing scents we can cipher out.  Don't take it for granted!  Take a walk and see what tickles your nose!