Sights and smells

You know that winter's grip is loosening when you can start to smell outside again. First the dirt gives off the loamy smell as if you were opening a new bag of potting mix. Then you might be out on a bright day when the sun starts to bake the bark of a ponderosa pine, giving off a thick vanilla aroma. Suddenly the lawn requires a cut, and memories of past summers float on the air. And just when you think that spring has been taking its sweet time, the fruit trees and bushes assault the senses. Sometimes a pristine white, sometimes a deep fuschia, but always fragrant, they invite you to start opening the windows, to walk around the neighborhood, to drink up their excess and sigh that you are lucky to experience another perfect day.