What The Scent Sent..

~ the britchy one

It’s absolutely pissing down here. I’m starting to think I should build an ark from all the branches that fell Monday. We had horrific high winds and tornado warnings. A couple of 200 year old oaks fell and took out the power as their swan song. They weren’t on my property but I’m sad they’re treeceased.

My garden is a swamp. When it warms up again it’s going to be the mosquito breeding ground of North East North Carolina.

Try saying that three (tree?!) times fast!

My two dogs are total Princesses. Even the male one. They took one look at the weather and splayed their legs refusing to go out. They are mutinying. They’ll be chucking breadfruit trees off the porch soon in the style of Mutiny on the Bounty. If they could open the dog food cupboard I’d be a goner.

I managed to get the fat farting beagle to at least pee before he headed back to the porch faster than I can move. Giving me the death glares that indicate a fatwa on my slippers or worse.

He really doesn’t need to be avenged. The scent of wet dog is quite bad enough. Malodorous spiteful beast!

It’s funny how smells are like an odiferous time machine. The smell of wet dog took me straight back to my grandmas kitchen in Ireland. She had a big old turf range and in this one memory, Grandad had come in with an orphaned lamb. A common occurrence at this time of year. He was soaked through from dealing with the dead ewe and smelled of wet tweed. The lamb was bleating and Grandma was readying a bottle of milk for it. Queenie, the sheep dog was soaked and of all the smells in the kitchen that morning, wet dog is the one that took me back. I’m sat there right now, feeding that lamb the bottle while Grandad was saying he’d make a farmer of me yet. I miss them all so but my evil wet mutt gave them back to me for just a minute

Scents do that. Lavender. My English grandma had two huge lavender bushes either side of her front gate. She lived right on the Kent coast so the smell of lavender was always interspersed with salty air.

Whilst in Dingle last year I had two scoops of ice cream. One was a very floral lavender and the other was a sea salt vanilla. Before I’d even taken my first lick, I was opening Grandmas gate in my minds eye and running up the path. Memories can be delicious.

Vick’s vapor rub reminds me of boarding school. We used to rub it under our eyes so we could pretend to be crying and homesick so the nuns would give us hot chocolate.

Lily of the Valley reminds me of Christmas. My Mum loved it and I’d save up my pocket money to buy her a bottle of Yardley perfume.

There’s such a strong connection between scents and memories. Some are good, some are terrible. One of these days someone is going to invent a perfume and call it Deja Vu and I for one will understand exactly why

Picture: From my back door this morning

This post was written in response to the Discover Prompt: Scent

Published by the britchy one

A PROUD American Citizen who was born and bred in England and now resides in the US. I’m married to an American who really didn’t have a clue what he was letting himself in for - poor sod! I’m a cranky bitch who loves cats and books and hates chocolate, politics and Dave’s. Oh and mosquitos. I hate those blood sucking parasites but since I’ve already mentioned politics I’m repeating myself! I’m a short, skinny redhead, 3 kids, 2 dogs, not enough cats and a mouth with a death wish. Blood group - certifiable.

37 thoughts on “What The Scent Sent..”

  1. So sorry it’s wet where you are – but it’s just lovely here on the English south coast. Not that I am rubbing it in (like your Vick) but lavender in the garden opens the curtains on my post today. Tee Hee!

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      2. I love it too. I was surprised to learn it’s as delicious as a flavor as it is as a scent. I’d like to say it inspired me to further baking adventures but I think I’d best keep my love of the smell of nail varnish remover to my digits and not my cakes 😂

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      5. No it’s regular Earl Gray black tea with just a hint of lavender in it. I buy it at a tea shop here, but can’t remember the brand. I hate herbal teas with all those different ingredients, I know they’re trendy but give me plain black tea anyday!

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  6. You still having storms? I know we had that big one two nights ago. A tornado touched down in my home county (just next door, west…Alamance) in Eli Whitney and we had a funnel cloud hovering over our area about a mile away with no touch down (but, plenty of extreme weather alerts on our phones). Half of Raleigh and, everything east, is flat and sandy. Hurricane season starts June 1 and runs to November (sorry for the reminder).

    Gardenias. When I smell those, I’m taken back to my maternal grandmother’s farm. She had to two bushes at the back door.

    I haven’t smelled Yardley in years.

    Treeceased! LOL!

    Which county did you wind up in? Rocky Mount is split across two.

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    1. We’re on the absolute line of Halifax, storms are gone thankfully but we have a frost warning tonight so I’m bringing plants in and covering others. I don’t want to lose my petunias!

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  7. Aww what a lovely post! I love the smell of daffodils. We used to have a beautiful garden where huge clumps of daffs would grow. Each week in the spring my mother and I would go and collect great bunches for the house and to take to our great granny who lived a little way away. I can still smell the wonderful scent and feel the sticky sap as it used to run up the sleeves of my jumper. Katie 💕

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    1. I miss bluebells. You couldn’t pic them because they died almost immediately but they were glorious. Daffodils always remind me of my mum too. It was the classic Mother’s Day gift along with a box of milk tray, dairy box or black magic in my mums case! She loved vases full up to busting with daffodils but her favourite were lily of the valley

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  10. Your yard is beautiful. I agree with you about scents. Unfortunately, after my husband died last year, I burned a lot of vanilla candles. It was my favorite scent. Now I can’t tolerate the smell. Hopefully that will pass eventually

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