Sniffing Spring

It’s sniffing season. There is a lot of sniffing. Stop. Sniff. Stop. Sniff. Sniff. Sam senses change.

A bluebird tweets from the end of a tree branch; the work of a woodpecker echoes across the house tops; I hear a child outside in a yard, laughing. All signs of spring. But for Sam, as the two of us take a walk on a warmish day in early March, it’s all about those seasonal smells at ground level.

Petrichor is what scientists call the smell of rain, that earthy aroma we sense after a spring shower. And instinctively. even if we do not know what the scientists call it, there is definitely a smell of spring. It, too, is earthy. If woodsmoke is the smell autumn, then maybe brown, moist dirt is the smell of spring?

I’m not sure what Sam senses. But I’m certain it’s more than what I smell, as we all know how incredible a dog’s nose can be. Their nose is like our eyes, and even more perceptive, sensing what is, what has been, and maybe even what is to be.

So go ahead, Sam, sniff. Yes, the walk will be longer. Yes, you cannot share with me what you are discovering. But we both know spring is close. Very close.