I miss the smell of Florida whenever I’m gone. That is where I was born and raised. Not the plastic flamingo Florida of uber tourists, but the Florida of cabbage palms and sandhill cranes wading in the waist high marsh grass.
It has a wonderful smell. A green smell. A rich wet smell—especially when a storm is blowing in from the unseen oceans that define my state. A salty smell that is as hard to describe to someone as the lacy shadows of live oaks and Spanish moss.
What does your home state smell like? Or am I the only one who notices these things?
Ah, I remember that smell...but I remember the smell of Minnesota even more so. Minnesota, my dear old home place, the smell of fresh water lakes, of prairie grass, and of wild flowers. There's such a fresh smell to it...until you get to the Twin Cities. Then, the old, familiar smells of gasoline and restaurants and people and cars. Maybe it doesn't smell nice to other people, but to me, it's home...and if I sniff hard enough, the smell of Caribou Coffee comes wafting on the breeze...and it makes me sigh with happiness. ☺A thousand memories come flooding back, memories from childhood days of innocence and happiness that will always be cherished.
Green smells and more abound in Virginia. It’s hard to beat the smell of fresh, cut grass on a sunny, summer afternoon or lilacs in bloom. The smell of autumn as the beautiful leaves change colors and fall to the ground. The cold, wet odor that lingers after a hard rain. Other delights to the senses include honeysuckle, blackberries, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden. Apple Butter cooking in the kettle – one of my favorite memory smells from the days my Granny made this with the women of her church. Blossoming apple trees, damson plums, and peaches. The smell of the lake on a Sunday afternoon and fresh fish on the docks waiting to be cleaned and fried up for supper. County fair treats such as fresh pork rinds crackling in a vat of hot oil, Lions Club hot dogs, candy apples, cotton candy, and for goodness sake, don’t forget funnel cake! This really does not begin to scratch the surface, but the sense of smell is tied to so many of my favorite memories.