Inn of the Wandering Dragon

There is one particular smell I always associate with the comming of spring.

Growing up as a kid I lived on the edge of the area development. On two sides of our little crescent lay empty fields and on the south side lay a farm. They did not have a lot of livestock, mainly goats and chickens as I recall with the occasional pony that would eventually be butchered and keep the family in meat through most of the winter.

As winter snow would melt and give way to the windy clear days there was the unmistakable smell of wet thawing earth. There was also the unmistakable smell of goat if you caught the breeze right but yes I can tell the difference! The solid, slippery and rock hard pathways through the fields (which were always more fun than playgrounds) slowly softens and starts to suck at your boots like a greedy thing. The smell is heavy with layers of old rotting leaves and grasses mingled into the mud. It is not altogether pleasant, but it really is the heralding scent of spring for me because it comes before the rains. Even alongside the crazy activity of Barlow Trail with all of the car exhaust and dust I still caught a good whiff of spring today. And I can look forward to a lot more of it!