Country smells are the best smells in my opinion. There is nothing more glorious than the heady smell of fresh cut alfalfa wafting through the heavy air of a summer night. All I have to do is take a deep breath, close my eyes, and suddenly I am transported through time back to my childhood. I spent my summers barefoot, running through the alfalfa and corn fields. The smell of cow manure takes me back too; my great uncle was a dairy farmer and now beef cattle are raised on his farm down the road.Right now the smell of freshly baked apple crisp is holding the air I breathe hostage. I picked up some dropped apples in the orchard tonight. Jim peeled them for me (well, half of them anyway) and I baked a homemade apple crisp. It's too hot to eat yet, but oh boy does it smell good!
If I had to give up one of my six senses, I could never, ever, give up my sense of smell. My memories are intertwined with odors...the smell of Ivory soap at my grandma's and the honeysuckle bush in her yard. The smell of a field of corn in pollen can make me feel the corn leaves on my arms as I run through the skyscraper stalks in my childhood adventure of the day.
I can't always trust my eyes and ears, but I can always trust my nose. Scents don't lie.
What a beautiful post Amy...I wish i was sitting at your kitchen table when you cut into that dish of hot apple crisp! (i thought i was the only crazy person who was not put off by the smell of manure. I prefer horse manure tho. ;)
ReplyDeleteAmy, I can almost taste that yummy looking apple crisp! That picture is worth a thousand words! I hope you had some good vanilla ice cream to spoon on top of it. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. (Drools)
ReplyDeleteI am so with you on the smells of childhood. I love all the ones you listed, well maybe not so much on the cow manure. lol This is a weird one, but every time I smell Noxzema face cream, memories of my dear mother slathering it on her face in front of the bathroom mirror come flooding through me. The smell of freshly washed and dried sheets from the clothesline is one of the best smells in the world. Thanks for the memories.
I agree with you on smells and memories. There is a great National Geographic magazine devoted to that connection.
ReplyDeleteI too like the aroma of cows and horses. Pigs, on the other hand...
Good looking crisp! It tastes better when they are form apples you "find!"
Country smells are the best! It's amazing how many memories one can attach to a smell... I agree with you: take the eyes and ears, but not the nose!
ReplyDeleteOk, well, preferably, don't take any of them... but yeah, the nose is more trustworthy, methinks. :)
Ron
Don, it came out so yummy that I made another for dessert last night! I'm using some kind of apple that cook really well. It's a bit tart but it breaks down well and is easy to peel. I'm going to make more of them for sure!
ReplyDeleteAmy, you are so right! In fact, the sense of smell is our strongest memory from what I recall. That apple crisp looks yummy! Perhaps I should go get some apples myself...it's almost that time of year! BTW, where's the vanilla ice cream? I'll bring my own spoon and be right there!
ReplyDeleteLove your posts. You say how we all feel. I'll be right over for some of that Apple crisp! Happy weekend Amy!
ReplyDelete~Kim
I'm a big smell person too! That baked apple crisp looks fabulous!
ReplyDeleteMmmmm that looks SOOOO GOOD.....
ReplyDeletedid ya save some for me?
Amy, what 'some kind of apple' is it? The crisp looks so inviting right now, even though I can't smell it. Don makes it for me often in the winter (like when I watch the Academy Awards).
ReplyDeleteLoved this post. You write very well.
Ruth, the apples were most likely Macintosh, although I can't be certain without asking my cousin.
ReplyDelete