Spring is in the air

In walking down my dirt road one of the pleasures other than the visual beauty are the smells. Sounds a bit crazy doesn't it? But not every part of my road smells the same. There are areas where the smell is definitely cows. And some spots where it is the decaying smell of the woods, rich, dark and damp. Then there is the spot at the west end of the road, a field and to me it smell like pipe tobacco. I smoked a pipe at one time in my youth. I preferred a blend called 'Black Cherry'. Rich and fruity the smoke tickled your nose and filled the air. 
Ah yes I was a wicked child. Cigarettes, pipes and cigars, at one time I smoked and enjoyed them all.  I have learned that some indulgences are not good for you but to tell you the truth if I were to start smoking again it would be the pipe and that blend of tobacco.
But my bad habits are not the point of this writing. It is the smells that surrounds us and the memories they can evoke. The field with it pipe tobacco scent takes me back to college and the days after. Hot summer days when the air is filled with the scent of pine pitch reminds me of being a kid exploring the woods near my home. Scents carried on breezes stir memories tucked away in the far reaches of our minds. 
It is like waiting for spring. When does it arrive? Surely not by the date on the calendar nor by any determination made by a groundhog. Spring arrives when I can smell it. It is a tantalizing smell. Just beyond the reach of memory. It can happen when the snow is on the ground or when it has almost melted. Spring is not just the green shoots coming up through the soil, it is also the smell of the soil. Of the hundreds of years of compost in that soil. The rocks worn down to sand. The leaves and lives of those before us. It is perhaps a primordial, genetic or generational. But spring has a scent, a fragrance, a smell. Even my husband who cannot smell the delicate scent of the blueberry blossom recognizes the scent of spring. He waits as do I for that day that it comes through the air and leaves us breathless with anticipation.
So be a connoisseur of fine air. Sniff it, savor it, enjoy it. It is not just what we need to live, it is also something to be enjoyed. So go out and enjoy the visual beauty of spring and the scent of spring.