These Are A Few Of My Favorite Smells

I've had the discussion before with my husband, where you think about all the human senses (smell, sight, hearing, etc) and do the "what if" game.. What if you had to lose one of your senses, which one would you pick? I always pick sense of smell. I figure basically just means I'd have to pay attention to food expiration dates a lot closer, and suddenly food texture, not taste, would matter (and hopefully I'd lose weight!)

Thinking about that made me ponder what smells I truly love, and would truly miss. Here's a list of my top Favorite Smells, in no particular order. Yes, a bunch are farm-related, too bad... I'm a farm girl at heart. Smells aren't always about something that smells "pretty".. some smells are bridges to a memory or experience that can provoke good or bad feelings. I'm only going to talk about good ones. :)

1. Horse. There is nothing like going horseback riding, brushing down your horse and just smelling HORSIE all day. love it. It says wind in your hair, muscles moving beneath you and Power you are being allowed to guide. Soft whiskered noses that nuzzle you looking for treats, and wild beauty.

2. Leather. No, not leather like you're thinking, you pervs. Whenever I smell leather, I think Saddles. Which leads to #1.

3. Hay. When I was younger, we lived on a farm and grew and baled our own hay. We had a hay loft that we would stuff with bales of hay, which we kids then spent hours playing amongst. My oldest brother would construct hay tunnels that twisted and turned and were awesome. This smell brings all that back. We won't talk about us jumping from the hayloft top beam to the barn floor into the pile of straw there. Right next to the farm equipment.

4. Cut Grass. I love love love the smell of freshly cut grass. It smells so green, and alive, and juicy, and fresh. NATURE IN MY NOSE!!

5. Flowers. To be specific: hyacinths, freesia, star-gazer lilies, lavender, jasmine, and honeysuckle. Like smelling ambrosia.

6. Dead skunk. Yeah, I know, I'm weird. This makes me think of long lonely country roads, where you don't pass a car for miles, but there's always a dead skunk somewhere to tickle your nose hairs.

7. Fresh baked bread and cookies. Fresh baked stuff just smells darn good. It's instant mouth-watering, snag some before it's cool and burn your mouth but so worth it good.

8. Baby shampoo. When you cradle your baby in your arms, place your face against their little head, and just inhale. This smell mingled with BABY smell is just heavenly. Just smelling the shampoo now triggers memories of my children when they were itty bitty. They grow so quickly.

9. Pine trees. I love the smell of pine (I even use Pinesol for mopping). It makes me think of Christmases growing up with live Christmas trees where the smell permeates the entire house by Christmas morning, and quiet pine forests where the only sound is the creaking of the trees in the wind.

10. Cow manure. Nothing says FARM to me more than this smell. It says hot summer days laying in a field listening to wild birds, and falling on my ass trying to ice skate on the neighbor's pond, and hands filled with tiny baby chicks feathers soft as a whisper. This smell makes me homesick for a simpler time when I was younger, had less responsibilities, and could just jump on my horse bareback and ride around like a little hoyden.

What are your favorite smells and why?