Spring, the natural plug-in

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We had an absolutely gorgeous weekend. One of the first of the season. Sunday was the kind of day when you threw the doors open and opened the windows wide.

It was the kind of day when the outside smelled so fresh.

It wasn’t that there was something truly bad-smelling in the house. It smelled like two people and four cats have lived there for several months without a good airing. (Ok, maybe that’s not that great a smell.)

People smells. Cat smells. Cooking smells. Blooming flowers on the window smells.

I am fascinated by smells. I was surprised at how often I mention them (or write about them) in my blog. I know because I used the search feature to make sure I didn’t repeat myself. Holy cow!

I wrote a post on old people smell (click here to read offensive post) but I offended a reader. The smell I was talking about was that closed up, not had the windows open in the last decade kind of smell. Throw in some clothes that needed dry-cleaning and a sofa that was full of flatus.

Often you find that in old people’s homes. (Just for the record, neither you nor I are old and you wouldn’t find that in our houses!)

Technically speaking, it doesn’t come from being old. Young people can have a musty house too. When I was a teenager I had a friend whose house always smelled like feet. Sweaty, stinky feet.

feetHer family had a habit of kicking off their shoes whenever they were in the house. All of them. That’s eight feet or 40 little piggies breathing free after a day of sweating inside a shoe. Yuk!

I wrote about the smells that stay on coats after you visit a restaurant with a deep fryer.

I wrote about my thumb smell (which delighted my cats), chocolate lotion smell, holiday cooking smells, gingerbread candle smells and pond (poop) smells.

What is there left to write about smells?

Not much but this past Sunday I was overwhelmed by how wonderful the outside world smelled and how I needed to get that inside.

It doesn’t come in a plug-in (wouldn’t that be a good smell?) nor do you spray it. You have to wait patiently until the first nice day and then open everything that opens.

It’s like that first beer on a hot afternoon or the first cup of coffee in the morning.

The first wonderful day of spring has its own smell and it’s just wonderful!

Breathe deeply!

46 thoughts on “Spring, the natural plug-in”

  3. We opened windows and the slider to the deck this weekend too. It’s been too many months cooped up under a blanket of snow. I love the smell of rain in the Spring. Looking forward to the first smells of fresh cut grass. And that old people smell? I know just what you mean. 🙂

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  4. I hope it’s not offensive if I say that it usually smells great outside here in Arizona. There is also a floral scent. Sometimes it’s a little overwhelming (a lot) when the sweet acacias are in blossom. But otherwise, beautiful. And then the rain smell of wet sand and flagstone. Yum.

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  5. In my neck of the woods, Spring often gets usurped by Summer, but every now and then we get one of those “perfectly smelly” days, and the windows and doors are flung open wide to let everything air out. Sadly, I think we’ve already seen our portion of Spring days for this year. The size of our mosquitoes dictates that we don’t dare leave doors and windows open now, although, honestly, I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll get a few more windy and cool days. Just breezy enough to keep the ‘skeeters from flying! 🙂

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    • We get skeeters too but they probably aren’t Texas-sized. Sometimes our winter and summer meet in passing without bringing spring through. I’m hoping for the best this year. That’s all we can do. Yesterday the cats were in the screened porch all day. Today it’s cloudy and a little rainy but not all that cold and they are back to their comfy indoor beds.

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  6. Love that smell! It’s something Bath and Body Works has yet to successfully capture in a candle, so we’re forced to enjoy it the old-fashioned way.

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  7. It always comes as a surprise, when a wonderful smell hits me and brings back a pleasant memory of smelling it before. That tends to happen when the seasons change or when I’m hiking through the woods.

    I live more than ten blocks from the beach, but when the tide is out and the breeze is right, I catch a whiff of the ocean. Heavenly.

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  8. There is a scientifically named smell of rain now! Petrichor –the scent occurs when the newly dampened earth releases built-up oil from plant secretions mixed with a bacteria. Which is why it smelled so fantastic last week when SoCal got an unexpected shower. Ah…

    I’m with you on opening all the windows! I keep them closed at night, lest the possum alarm (i.e. dog) go off repeatedly. But I throw them open every morning. It’s bad enough after just one day of dog, cat, humans, and cooking. A whole winter must be torture!

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  11. Ah, the halcyon days of Spring! And suddenly I have allergies! But, flinging the doors and windows open to those glorious fresh “scents” is what I do. Who can resist? Rain on the way here for the next few days. I love the smell of rain too, and maybe it will smother the pollen.

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  13. In theory I like the freshness of spring air, but in reality I’m so allergic to all the pollen out there that I sneeze and mutter about the fresh air, more than enjoy it. Sad, really.

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  14. I have a very sensitive nose so smells have been fascinating for years! Ray smells like a dog when dry, but when wet ………. I have yet to come up with a descriptive term. Spring is a mix of growing plants and dog poop that owners thought would be ok to leave in a snow bank. The snow banks are no more but the poop? Fortunately, due to its age, it looks a lot worse than it smells. Ah…….. the smell of exhaust as neighbours give their power mower a pre-season run. Ah ……….. the smell of fresh asphalt as the road crews go around filling in pot holes. You just cannot beat Spring when Mother Nature is in direct conflict with Human Nature over who can stimulate those nasal senses the best! How I look forward though to the smell of freshly cut grass, a Spring shower, a warm breeze off the lake (L. Ontario). Soon I will be sitting outside in the sun contemplating everything (and nothing). The stuff of dreams …….. being fed by the smells of Spring!

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    • This past weekend some neighbors up the street had a barbeque. All afternoon I smelled hot dogs. I really don’t like hot dogs all that much except for a time or two during the summer on the grill. I had to go out and get a pack. Next nice day…….
      When the weather is perfect I love sitting out and taking it all in.

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  16. I, too, love spring smells and have a very sensitive nose. It’s taken over 30 years but the midwest spring allergies they said would get me have succeeded. Darn! Oh, and I know the old people smell – phew!

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    • 30 years is a long time. I lived in New Jersey for four years. I reacted to something where I lived (maybe the house as the area was fairly wooded) within months and was on all sorts of allergy meds until I moved. I always say I am allergic to New Jersey (except for the shore area of course).

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