Smells

I work in Falmouth, Maine, a coastal town just outside of Portland. Sometimes when I leave work at night, or step out for lunch mid-day - I can smell the ocean. The smell of it - salty and fresh, always stops me in my tracks. And it always makes me smile. I have loved the ocean since I was a young girl and to me it is the smell of summer, family, joy and freedom.

I live in-land, in the country, surrounded by farm land that rapidly is being developed. Tonight I went around the corner to the country store a few miles from my house to fill my tank. I stepped out of the car and smelled the sweet smell of freshly cut hay. It was so strong in the air that if it hadn't been dark for a good 2 hours, I would have thought someone had just cut it. It smelled also of summer that is waning into fall and of some kind of honesty.

It got me thinking about smell and how often what we smell signals things around us and inspires memories and feelings. I thought of winter that is all too quickly approaching and how the air smells when snow is about to fall. And of spring, when it finally comes in Maine, the way you can smell the earth - vibrant and alive after a long winter's rest.

What does your world smell like? What scents greet you with the change of seasons?