Mouthwatering Aroma of canapes
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: #Aroma

Mouthwatering Aroma of canapes

While the U.S. celebrates Memorial Day this weekend (holiday observed Monday), my co-host Aixa at Mucho Spanish chose the theme “aroma” for the Sunday Stills photo challenge.

Memorial Day weekend is the traditional “unofficial” kick-off to the summer season here in the Northern Hemisphere. I, myself, am at the Sacramento Delta for a long weekend as this publishes. Part of the tradition includes backyard BBQ filling the air with mouthwatering aromas of chicken, salmon, tri-tip (my hubby’s specialty) and other grilled treats!

The above image shows an array of canapes perfect to whet your appetite!

Deepest gratitude to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation.

Last week as I rode my bike around the neighborhood, I noticed many folks preparing their RVs for a long weekend excursion.

Here in Northern California we are within two hours of either the Sierra Nevadas (Lake Tahoe, Gold Country, and Yosemite just 4 hours south east) and the San Francisco Bay area and the ocean. In between are countless campgrounds, lakes, rivers and other wonderful leisure places.

Each with their own, distinct aromas.

In one of the classes I teach, we study a concept called “smellscape,” sort of an exploration of the senses. Students are asked to think about their favorite leisure places and identify the scents, smells, odors and aromas associated with them.

For me, my favorite scent is the blast of pine that fills the cool mountain air as you enter the forest. As kids on our long drive into Yosemite from the Mohave Desert along the Eastern Sierra Nevada, we rolled down the car windows and drank in the scent, as soon as we reached 7000 feet elevation and saw the trees.

Morning glow on I-5

Similarly, there is such a distinctive smell associated with the ocean as soon as you pull into the parking lot at the southern California beaches.

The salt air, sun-warmed asphalt and sidewalks, BBQs, sand and ocean air create a cacophony of smells that announces “you are now at the beach.”

the beach is calling

So, take a moment, close your eyes and think of scents that bring you joy and remind you of your favorite leisure activities.

What are your favorite aromas? Please share photos that represent them!

May is National Water Safety MonthBeing that this post publishes during Memorial Day Weekend, I am compelled to share one more Water Safety post. 20+ years working in the public swimming pool and aquatics industry will do that to a person!

ABCDs of Being Water Safe

 

Too busy to post because of the holiday? You are never too late to post and link-up. Join us anytime!

Terri_sig_palm2

 

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54 comments

  5. Hi, Terri – You are so right (again!). Aromas do deeply affect our moods. Richard and I are currently sitting outside of our favourite coffee shops. Beautiful spring smells are in the air. Love it!

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  7. I love the “smell scape”. When I worked as a teacher, I used to do it with my kinder garden kids. My daughter and I do it in different places almost on a daily basis. We did it several times yesterday. Yesterday was the first day of the year that Hwy 89, through my favorite National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park, was open. Naturally we had to go there. We drove through the park, and did a rather strenuous hike up on a mountain ridge, near the northern Entrance, and sulphur works. That’s a very distinct aroma there!

    Thank you for your inspirational post! Enjoy the rest of this extended weekend.

    Maria

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  9. I love the smell of pines as well. Or fields filled with wildflowers, or lavender. In Tahiti, it was the abundant tiara flower. And, when you wear one in your hair, you carry the smell around all day! Happy Memorial Day weekend, Terri!

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  10. Aromas can bring back memories, just like a photo or a song, but I think it’s one that many people pay the least attention to. “Smellscape” is a great activity. The ocean smell is also one of my favorites.

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  11. My favorite scent is: Baby’s head. The younger they are, the better!! I get high off sniffing them. And I found out it’s a true scientific fact, that the scent is addictive to women.

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  12. My favorite scent is that of the rich red desert earth of the Southwest. It brings me home to myself and eases the nostalgia I feel for the home I can’t yet remember, my home in the stars. Thank you for evoking this wonderful memory, Terri. Hugs hugs hugs ❤️

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    • As we all have a bit of stardust in us! When I moved to Northern Cal, I loved the aromas of the earth at night. We played softball in Woodland at ballfields surrounded by farmland, and that rich, organic, earthy smell was wonderful, ironically cleansing and now brings me nostalgia for those simpler days.

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  15. Just think about how much more a dog can pick up certain aromas than us humans can, Terri. I often wonder what else it is they are picking up. Maybe even danger?
    Pine is one of my favourite aromas. It’s so fresh and makes everything seem so clean.
    I hope you had a great holiday weekend and enjoyed the BBQ.

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  17. Having grown up near the Appalachian mountains, I love camping in the woods and waking up to the smell of cool, crisp, fresh mountain air. All though, the smell of salty beach air gets me, too. Great post

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  21. Please, you can’t leave me salivating over those canapes without a recipe or at least a description – and yes, I can smell them from here! I love your idea of a smellscape. I always know when I enter the room if wet laundry is hanging, even if I can’t see it, if my neighbor’s jasmine are blooming, if they’re pouring tar anywhere on our block, or if someone has a fire roaring in their house or a BBQ blazing in their backyard. You’ve reminded me of so many scents, some I love and some that make me wary.

    Probably the smells I love best are the ones I eat – chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, almond, caramel, tomatoes, basil, peach, and citrus of all kinds – each is distinctive and so delicious.

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  22. Oh I agree, aromas can bring back so many memories. Boiled cabbage, although not so nice, brings back so many happy memories of my grandmother’s Sunday roast lunches when I was a child and also the smell of new puppies – divine!

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  30. My sense of smell is probably not a developed as my other senses. I am a very visual person and very sensitive to how things look. I don’t pay a lot of attention to smells, don’t generally use candles or scents in my home. I do love the smell of the ocean, and that will draw my attention every time. I should try paying a bit more attention to smells and see what I discover.

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    • I’m visual, too, Michele, but for some reason my sense of smell is better developed. It must be all the dogs I’ve had in my life, with their sense of smell being 400x that of humans. I watch them sniff the air at the most random times and wonder what their brains are processing 🙂

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