The smell of a cottonwood driftwood fire. It reminds me of camping out as a child, on the shores of a reservoir in Kansas. Along with that, the taste of my mother’s chocolate chip cookies along with the smell of coffee from my dad’s thermos, as we drove around in the '63 Chrysler to go pheasant hunting. I was, maybe, 5 years old.
The memories associated with smell seem to last longer, and be stronger, than any other. I recall reading that somewhere, and I agree. To this day, I can walk past a woman wearing the same perfume as my first love (high school, twenty years ago), and the effect is, memory-wise, analogous to getting whacked with a 2x4.
You’ve covered all my favorites and then some, except two: Fired shotgun shells, and 6-12 insect repellent. Not necessarily my favorites, but amongst them. Fish slime anyone?
The forest in the fall perticularly during that time with the leaves falling in Archery season!..The makers of Essance of fall even bottled it!!!..as a cover scent!!! I love that stuff!!
And Alphalpha Freshly cut…also the smell of a hay mow anytime!!! Silage is yet another…Loved working on my Uncles farm growing up…He even offered to PAY me…As if I needed paid for that!!!
…I’m sure we all have that special place, next to a small creek, in the pines, air at evening as sun is going down, cold enough to see your breath, pine knott fire, wet Chessy from the day’s adventures in the water, roasting as close as she dares to the fire and finally…a steak sizzling on a grate over the fire…and not a soul in sight or in hearing distance…NOW…thats the smell!!
…I also like the smell every time I open the rod tube of a good bamboo…
…and pipe tobacco…not smoked, but the lingering aroma of the tobacco in my vest…
…and the sagebrush hanging in the camper…when its still blue/green & fresh picked…
and all the others you have all made me remember.....
…and that autumn smell walking through any covert where the leaves lay thick & the earth is damp…
“…so many fish, so many flies…do I have enough time?”
[This message has been edited by Skeet (edited 23 February 2006).]
Great post, Mike. The smell of the pine forest in the early morning dew during a fall hunt. The peace, tranquility and clean smell of a frosty winter night while walking along the lake.
I am not much of a salt fishermen
but my Dad sure was, because of this post it reminds me of two things from my past, Dads sardines packed in salt and his saltwater tackle box.
Those smell bring back some very cool memories.
I remember the smell of horses and what they would leave in the roads on their milk delivery routes. Sometimes the piles would be close enough to have a good old fashion horse S*** fight. (same as a snowball fight but with the horse product) Strange thing about horse droppings…They were not nasty smelling in the old days and they were not sloppy at all. These modern horses do a terrible mess that stinks! I’ll take the old fashion horses any day. Sorta like a bamboo rod thing.
I would agree with snipe, although the original version is caused by oats. The smell of horse sweat on a cold winters morning. Gunpowder and wet fire. The smell of tobacco wads out of port barrels.
I can’t believe this group missed the
best one of all! My choice would have to be
the slightly earthy type fish smell one
encounters early of a still morning as they
approach a large active bed of bluegills,
flyrod in hand, eager with anticipation,
turning your head from side to side and
taking short breaths to determine from
whench the smell eminates.G Warm regards,
Jim
This fire here was probably my best:
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v362/mkillam/119_1935.jpg[/url:585e1]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v362/mkillam/119_1935.jpg%5B/url:585e1%5D){kind=link}