Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-sixth day of the month is "Moment."
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Our afternoon walk yesterday afternoon.
See: Puffy white clouds on a blue sky, crispy grass that has given up rain, and ducks swimmingly placidly in the river
Hear: Hannah panting, the waves lapping against the embankment, the snick snick snick of cars driving across the bridge
Touch: The webbing of the leash, the circular pattern of the soles of my flip flops, and sweat dripping off my brow into my eyes
Taste: I tried a new drink at lunch today and all I can taste is the yucky aftertaste. No, thank you, new drink.
Smell: Eau de river, sort of dead fish and still water, a slight smell of gasoline from the cars going by on the bridge, but mostly it's the smell of summer - sunscreen, bug spray, and dried sweat
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What's your smell of summer?
What a cool practice and also post idea! I'm going to go through today looking for something to stand out.
ReplyDeleteYes! I'd love to see what you could do with this. I try to do this at least once on a walk with the dog every day and it's fun to see how things change from season to season.
DeleteI can remember when Summer used to smell like Coppertone suntan lotion. I was one of those girls who used to "lay out" and work on her tan.
ReplyDeleteNow, Summer smells like basil and tomatoes to me. When I can harvest basil and make pesto, and use it for pesto, tomato, and fresh mozzarella flatbreads on the grill, I know it's Summertime.
Oh, yes! The smell of fresh veggies picked right from the garden is a classic summer scent! So great!
DeleteSunscreen although the mineral brands we use do not have much of a smell. But I will sometimes get a whiff of chemical sunscreen when I am out and about and it brings back memories for summers from my childhood! Also cut grass, but that's not happening much since we are in another drought! Lastly, bbq grills! I love the smell of grilling!
ReplyDeleteOh, I had sort of forgotten about cut grass because we're in that same drought! My husband has only mowed twice THIS ENTIRE YEAR. It would be nice to smell it again if we ever get rain.
DeleteHe has mowed ONCE!! Last year I think he might have mown 5 times. We did get a nice amount of rain yesterday but not enough to really move the needle on the drought conditions.
DeleteA character in a book I read reminds himself, when he is verging on being upset by something, to focus on five things he could see, four things he could hear, three things he could smell, and one emotion he felt. When I first read that, I remember being intrigued, but also it bothered me that there isn't a "two" on the list! Who does five, four, three, one?
ReplyDeleteYes, I think this is a common strategy in behavioral therapy as a self-soothing skill. I always try to do three of each thing, but I find taste to be really hard. I don't know what it says about me that I've been doing this all my life without having been taught this in therapy or that taste is hard for me, but there you have it!
DeleteThis was very evocative, Engie! My favorite scents of summer are freshly mown grass and that slightly metallic earthy smell of lawns being watered.
ReplyDeleteHuh. We're just not getting any of those smells this year because of the draught, so I'll be paying attention to it more if it ever rains again!
DeleteOh what a great way to savour the moment!
ReplyDeleteHere summer smells of so many things... pool chlorine, wet muggy air (is that a smell or just seems like a smell because I'm breathing it in?), sweat, and lighter fluid (even though we now have a gas grill).
Lighter fluid! Ha! Because no one can light the damn charcoal grill! I've been there far too many times.
DeleteHawaiian Tropics sunscreen lotion and wildfire smoke **whomp whomp**
ReplyDeleteIt has been BRUTAL the last two days. I honestly might have to start masking when I go outside and I just got over this nonsense!
DeleteWhat was the drink?
ReplyDeleteIt was a new flavor of Sprite with strawberry lemonade. I think I'd rather have a plain Sprite, but I'm glad I tried it!
DeleteI agree -- bug spray, sunscreen and sweat, but when I was a kid it was definitely Skin So Soft, Hawaiian Tropic and another one called Bain du Soleil that I think was SPF 2 or 4, you know, back when we used to put OIL on ourselves! I also think campfire smoke, but now it seems more like wildfire smoke.
ReplyDeleteYES! I almost included campfire smoke, but it's been YEARS since I've been to a campfire, so it has fallen off my radar. Maybe this year I'll get a chance to have a campfire and make some smores! That's the true summer living way.
DeleteI always read about how important it is to do these kinds of exercises to become aware of our surroundings... and I never do them. I am impressed that you do this, daily, on your walks. There is something immersive about walking a dog. I miss it, for sure. (Um, not the sudden lunges at interesting smells, but the walking part.)
ReplyDeleteI mean, I try to do this daily. It doesn't really take that much time since I'm walking her anyway. It's fascinating because I have to really pay attention for her stressors (men, people with stick-like things, BICYCLES, etc.), so I do have to really engage with the world anyway. I just like to see the pattern. Right now it's all sunscreen and sweat, but soon enough it will be ice cold winter air and shivering!
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