Fri, 27 Feb 2004 03:03:08 GMT, <Mry%b.66204$Xp.314135@attbi_s54>,
Claire Petersky said:You're right, that spring time smell hasn't happened yet,
at least, not around here, but it's coming. If nothing
else, it'll come on a sunny late afternoon when I'm
climbing the Lake Hills Connector on the way home from
work sometime in mid-March, probably. Maybe it's a smell
of warm budding cottonwood trees, or maybe it's something
else, that I just haven't put my finger (nose?) on yet.
I'm going to follow up on my previous post.
After a weekend of glorious spring weather (I have a suntan
on my shoulders! Riding in a sleeveless tank!), our morning
started out sunny and slipped into showers and sunbreaks. I
left the office with the ground wet. After I slipped out of
the skyscraper canyons of downtown, that smell of spring hit
me on Hiawatha Ave. It wasn't there in the morning, so it
clearly took the afternoon rains to bring it out.
I thought that I'd take the extra few miles to come up the
Lake Hills Connector on the way home to see if I would smell
it again. Another shower started while crossing Lake
Washington, and I began to think maybe I'd just take the
direct route home instead. But when I got to Bellevue Way,
the rain was slacking, and I headed north after all. I was
rewarded almost immediately with a rainbow visible off to my
right. I said a blessing, and felt that perhaps my detour
route home would be okay after all.
As I rode through the Connector wetlands, I was disappointed
to see that the coolth of the swamp had kept the trees from
really leafing out. My quest for the smell of spring seemed
to be coming for naught. About two thirds of the way up the
climb up the Connector I stopped to shed my jersey. Since I
was stopped anyway, I figured I would focus on the
surrounding smells. The rain had brought out a certain
earthiness, and the skunk cabbage was just starting to
bloom, so there was those smells, but not the springtime
smell I was looking for.
Frankly, I was a little disappointed, but it was still okay.
I threw my leg back over the bike and continued up the hill.
Then, suddenly, just as the hill starts to level out, and
where there's a little more sunshine, it hit
me. Springtime. Right there. It took me totally by surprise.
Then I realized that Nature had a plan for me. The top
of the hill would be the start of spring, but as I ride
this way from time to time for the next couple weeks,
I'll be smelling spring as the warmth penetrates further
and further down the road into the valley and the
coldest parts of the wetlands. It wasn't just for today,
it would be a gift for me for a while.
As I continued along, I had a peripheral awareness of the
dinnertime aroma as I passed by Best Wok and Tuna House
Sushi but I was thinking that my smelling spring for the day
was over. I was wrong. I was coming up Main Street, not
thinking of much other than climbing the hill, and it hit me
again, this time with an overlay of ten thousand ornamental
plum blossoms. Wow.
As I climbed the last hill on the way home, I thought maybe
I'd get more springtime smells, but all my nose could detect
was wet pavement. So I gave up as I reached the peak and
started the long descent to the house.
And then, halfway down the hill, there was another rainbow.
Not like the previous one, a nice garden variety rainbow.
This one...well, the lavender clouds were lit up with fiery
orange fringes against a deep turquoise sky. Into these
clouds went this honkin' fat brilliant rainbow.
It was a slap in the face, a katsu across the shoulders.
When the moment was over, and I started thinking again, I
thought, who needs hallucinogens, when you've got Reality.
Ain't it the truth?
Warm Regards,
Claire Petersky Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato
and .net for .com Home of the meditative cyclist:
home.earthlink.netWelcome.htmOpen ↗ See the
books I've set free at:
bookcrossing.comCpeterskyOpen ↗
