Patches of green poke through thawing ground. Streams, once ice-covered, now bubble and begin their journey. Buds appear on the mighty oaks—a sign of coming leaves that will shade hot summer days. Smells once hidden by snow fill my senses with earth's sweetness. I walk slowly in the forest. My boots crunch remaining snow. My whole being absorbs scents so pungent they make me lightheaded. The smell of the moss always lingers as wildflowers try to emerge first, and saplings stretch upward, announcing themselves. Mud appears everywhere, its distinct smell pleasant until it pulls your boots in, unwilling to let go as you try to escape. I smell life all around me, a combination of last year's decay of leaves entombed under a blanket of melting snow, now just reminders of the brilliant colors of Autumn.
The smell of rotted trees, their life cut short by the frigid winds tossing branches around like pick-up sticks left to rot. It's not a bad smell, it's just another scent that fills me with the wonders of the forest. The deeper I walk, the more I notice a new kind of smell. More earthly and much stronger than the smells I've walked past. The giant trees, close together, form a sort of barricade, shutting out the light and creating a darkness with smells of their own. I describe what forces its way into my nose as more than just the smell of moss or decay; it's an endless dampness and shadows, a kind of warning: there's nothing for you beyond the front lines of the mighty trees.
Soon, the quiet walks I take will reveal hundreds of summer scents to me. The smell of fresh mowed grass and baled hay. The smell of a barn and the fuel for tractors. Meadows of wildflowers and countless types of plants, each with its own earthly scent. The once-muddy paths will be hardened into dirt, allowing safe passage through the valleys and hollers. The barricade of old trees isn't so dark this time of year as rays of sunlight peek through their mighty branches, allowing safe passage should you want to explore that part of the forest.
So many smells that stay with me, reminders of the earth's ability to change with the seasons and show me the ways to appreciate each and every one.
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