springtime olfaction

Spring is in full bloom. The colors and smells of new life are all around us.

I smelled one of my favorite spring smells wafting through my window this morning. If life were a perfume, the smell of cut grass would be an essential ingredient. The smell of cut grass is unique among all smells. It is a primary, indivisible smell. Like a primary color or number, it can't be broken down into parts. It can't be described by other smells.

The smell of cut grass stirs up nostalgic memories of little league baseball, lazy Saturday afternoons, and family reunions. It is the smell that rewards the suburbanite dad for a job well done on the lawn. It is the smell that heightens the senses of the athlete at the start of the game. It is nature's version of the new car sent.

The smell of cut grass does something to our soul. It makes us want to get outside and take a deep breath. It has a way of sneaking through the crevices of our dark, damp buildings and drawing us out into the light of the sun.