Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Scents, Smells and Reminiscences......

When I was a boy, I would awaken in May and June to the incredibly sweet scent of cape jasmine blooms.  My mom had planted five of the shrubs just outside my window, and that wonderful scent has stayed with me all my life.  Every now and then, I will again inhale that bouquet, and a flood of memories engulfs me.
Cape Jasmine, Or Gardenia Blooms, Produce A Scent That is Straight From Heaven
And then there is honeysuckle.  There is nothing so summery and invoking of childhood than the sweetness of that smell. 
Is There a More Summery Scent Than Honeysuckle?
How about the scent of mom's fresh wash, just in off of the clothesline?  Or the stomach-rumbling, drooling sensation of grandma's fried chicken on a Sunday afternoon?
Back Before We Began Spending Money on Electric Clothes Dryers, We Dried Our Clothes on Clotheslines, and the Fresh, Natural Smell of Nature Was a ByProduct

Or the smell of an approaching thunderstorm.....the unmistakeable smell of the ocean.....the perfume of the one you love.....that doggie smell of your pet pooch.....the combination of hot dogs, mustard, tobacco and humanity of a baseball stadium.....onions, garlic and licorice............
The Ballpark Possessed the Unique Mixed Odors of Humanity, Onions, Hot Dogs, Tobacco and More

What are some unforgettable smells from your life?
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

20 comments:

  1. Cindy EllisonApril 5, 2011 at 8:54 AM

    Unforgettable smells from my life ... my grandmother's greens cooking in the pressure cooker, the wild roses from my grandmother's house, honeysuckle, freshly mowed grass, coffee, my mother's chocolate candy, a baby's head, molasses being made, my grandfather's Absorbine Junior ... I'd better stop, I am getting carried away!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jane @ Hard Work HomesteadApril 5, 2011 at 9:10 AM

    Every time I smell hot asphalt I think of when my Father would take me into the city in the summer as he would take care of some business. The downtown area had no trees or grass, just roadways, sidewalks and buildings and it has a very distinct smell.

    ReplyDelete
  3. nouvelles couleurs - vienna atelierApril 5, 2011 at 10:05 AM

    :-) I know how do you are meaning with this post... :-)))

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mary BergfeldApril 5, 2011 at 10:40 AM

    Lilacs and a babies make the A list. Bacon and bread as it bakes make the B list. I hope you had a great weekend. Blessings...Mary

    ReplyDelete
  5. TexWisGirlApril 5, 2011 at 10:46 AM

    sauerkraut fermenting in the crock in the front porch. my mom's pressure-cooked chicken. or her home-made caramel cinnamon rolls...

    ReplyDelete
  6. lioneagleApril 5, 2011 at 11:16 AM

    Hi Clint -

    I enjoyed reading this...

    One of my favorite smells was breakfast scents throughout the home. My mom would be cooking and I would wake up to the smells of her kitchen ministry.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Karen Kyle EricsonApril 5, 2011 at 11:56 AM

    The smell of the ocean! I was raised in Southern California.

    ReplyDelete
  8. RHYTHM AND RHYMEApril 5, 2011 at 12:09 PM

    Thanks for the comment Clint I well remember Stephen Foster as a child playing the piano, how childhood memories came flooding back.
    Thanks.
    Yvonne.

    ReplyDelete
  9. IngerApril 5, 2011 at 12:35 PM

    What a lovely post. I'm looking forward to more. Thanks for visiting me and following.

    ReplyDelete
  10. RHYTHM AND RHYMEApril 5, 2011 at 1:07 PM

    This was lovley to read Clint, how smells we can recall through our lives re-awaken memories.

    Yvonne.

    ReplyDelete
  11. VilisiApril 5, 2011 at 1:34 PM

    Gardenia ...my favourite. :)
    Another fantastic post!

    ReplyDelete
  12. KenApril 5, 2011 at 1:53 PM

    Hi Clint,
    I like the smells of the forest in the summer and that of a burning campfire.
    Blessings

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sabine GimmApril 5, 2011 at 2:41 PM

    I would have fear that lost ticks on your clothes when the clothes line as close to the forest.

    The flowers are wonderful. I'll smell them from here.

    Greetings Sabine

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousApril 5, 2011 at 2:52 PM

    I would add the sweet smell of freshly turned earth. The fresh smell after a warm spring rain. And of course the smell of a puppy's warm breath. Baby oil on freshly bathed babies.

    ReplyDelete
  15. kelliApril 5, 2011 at 6:37 PM

    sweet post. i have a very strong sense of smell. when i was a child i knew when my grandmother was at my house by her perfume, oscar de la renta.=)

    i love how my kitchen smells after a meal, or when i've got things in the dehydrator. i also love the way biggles smells... a mix of flowers and fresh laundry...pretty crazy for an old sick cat to smell so nice!=)

    ReplyDelete
  16. LisaApril 5, 2011 at 9:24 PM

    This is beautiful Clint, the humanity of the baseball stadium, natural smell of nature was a byproduct. We don't have, didn't go to baseball stadiums, and the flowers are not the same but this brings back memories, and makes me long for the past.

    ReplyDelete
  17. NovaApril 6, 2011 at 12:53 AM

    Oh yes, I love the smell of jasmin too. Over here I also love the smell of the "trumpet tree" (don't know if it is the correct word in english). This tree smells only in the evening time, and sometime I can smell him in the house.

    Have a great day
    blessing
    Petra

    ReplyDelete
  18. MeowlissaApril 6, 2011 at 8:24 AM

    The honeysuckle always gets me :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Carol BlackburnApril 6, 2011 at 8:35 AM

    My beef stew simmering in the pot. Hi Clint!
    My beef stew has a blog post if you care to check it out. Cute story about my daughter there, too. Thanks for reading my poetry. Should I post all my blogs larger size?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Mining for DiamondsApril 9, 2011 at 7:46 AM

    Diesel fuel. I love the smell of diesel fuel, it always makes me want to travel and GO somewhere, reminds me that life is a journey, and brings back great memories of life on the road. :)

    ReplyDelete

---

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)