Scratch and sniff. That’s what we asked CITYVIEW readers to do a few years back with our Iowa State Fair issue in CITYVIEW. It was full of photos from the fair with small circles that we asked our readers to “scratch and sniff.” Although it is possible to add scents to ink in the printing process, we didn't do that. We didn’t do anything, other than get a good laugh out of watching readers run their fingernails across the pages and smell the photos. Some actually thought they could smell the scents. Maybe it was all in their heads. Or maybe it was in the summer air. This season in Iowa, after all, does have its share of aromas.
Iowa’s farms have a whole array of smells we need not mention here, but so do our cities and towns. What summer scents remind you of the season? Of course, there is the fresh cut grass, of which we have plenty in early summer. How about the smell of hot pavement or blacktop?
Summer evenings often mean campfires, and you either love the smell of burning logs or hate it. Campfires also mean s’mores, and who doesn’t know the scent of a charred marshmallow? On the subject of food, the smell of meat cooking on a barbecue grill is a familiar one. I clearly remember the waft of chicken on a rotisserie on our family’s grill — and the sound of it, too.
For those of you who have your body kissed by the sun, the smell of sunscreen (or what we called “sun tan lotion” in the 1970s) is a sure sign of the season. Anything with a coconut scent conjures summer images — and so does the smell of chlorine in the pool, as does bug spray.
Speaking of bugs, does anyone recall the smell of the mosquito fog that was sprayed in neighborhoods? My friends and I would stand in our front yards in amazement, breathing in that cancer-causing mist. Can’t forget that smell.
My mother insisted on hanging clothes on the clothesline to dry in the summer. She said she liked how the fresh air made the clothes smell. I thought she was just being thrifty and didn’t want to run the clothes dryer — and I didn’t like the feel of crunchy blue jeans.
How about that distinct earthy smell of summer rain that scientists call “petrichor”? It is caused by a mixture of plant oils and the chemical compound geosmin, which are released from the soil when it rains. The scent is then spread by the wind. You know it.
The official beginning of summer this year is June 21, but we all know that summer weather is upon us now. Just take a good whiff.
Have a wonderful Wednesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman President and Publisher Big Green Umbrella Media shane@dmcityview.com 515-953-4822, ext. 305 |