Move over Juicy Couture, country scents rule!

Since being poorly these past few weeks, my sense of smell has gone into overdrive. Every little scent that wafts my way feels like an all-out assault on my nostrils. So despite outside temperatures near freezing, I’ve taken to opening the sash bedroom windows right up and luring the gorgeous country air inside. It’s mighty chilly and I’m wearing three jumpers to keep warm, but the smells are fabulous.

Granma, that blimen ram and Timmy

Sight may be the strongest sense for short term memory; however, sense of smell is the strongest and most vivid for instantly recalling long term memories. For me, the smell of fresh cut grass, trees, hay, hedges, firewood, and muddy paths after a downpour evoke glorious memories of childhood on my Grandparents dairy farm in Waikawau Bay on the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand. Although it was a 1200 acre farm, Grandad only kept 60 cows, each known by name. There were also pigs (with names!), kept very happy on a diet of skim milk straight from the cream in the milking shed. Running along one side of the farm was a tidal inlet where my siblings and I would swim for hours, catch fish and dig  fresh mussels out with our toes . When the tide was out, we could walk across to the other side of the inlet to a 2 mile, white sandy ocean surf beach. Not a soul in sight. This is why New Zealand is so special...Read more...