Scent of Spring
Perhaps it’s just my imagination but the air around my home has taken on a most intoxicating odor. There along the west side, peonies are poking their reddish-green buds up to catch the sunlight. Same is true for the rhubarb and asparagus in a neighbor’s yard. Green tips just above the indented soil where last year’s crop was gathered are even now giving off a crisp green scent, like freshly gathered lettuces.
Scents of spring are ever so complex. Those rhubarb and asparagus tips release a tiny amount of vegetable-like aroma; a peppery yet sweet scent that mingles with the bursting lilacs and pansies, they with their own lavender smell.
A foundation scent of growing grass mingles with rain-washed woody aroma of trees whose canopies are already filling out. Pollen of pines and tulips mingle on soft breezes; their scents are distinct-stringent like fresh soil mixed in an old apothecary jar.
Using my hand to scoop some garden soil releases essences of centuries’ worth of plants, decayed into a sweet, warm blanket. Letting the soil sift through my fingers and drop back to earth intensifies the deep heart-of-the-earth smell. Wild onions nearby, broken off at the green tips provide the savory hint of a fine stew.
Sometimes we just plain forget to take in life through our sense of smell. The eye takes in colors of flowers, movement of birds and insects; the ears gather in sounds from the birds and neighborhood pets that are so happy to be out in their own spaces. But the nose is usually only payed attention to if there is something of a negative odor. Even the word odor is viewed as the go-to word for foul smells. However, the word odor can be either good or bad. The original meaning was good-something that has a pleasant scent, even back as far as British odour of the 14th century.
Towards evening neighbors are out, taking advantage of the same warmth of the day as we are. A whiff of their grilling steak heads over the back fence. It mingles with our own grilling chicken to produce a sort of steakhouse air that beckons us to stay outside. That aromatic breeze will carry us into tomorrow and new scents, odors, fragrances and the essence of Spring.
Grilled Meal on a Skewer
- 1 ½ lbs. sirloin steak
- ½ lb. whole white “button” mushrooms
- 1 green pepper
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- ½ fresh pineapple
- 1 large sweet onion
- 2 cups canned tomato juice
- ½ cup vinegar
- ¼ cup prepared mustard
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- One package favorite hot dogs
- 1 fresh pineapple
- Vegetable oil
Skewer Desserts
- Cubed pound cake
- Cubed solid fruit such as apples or grapes
- Cubed French bread (day old)
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Coconut
Contact Connie at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Box 61, Medway Ohio 45341
