April 18, 2024

Floral Scents

Thursday morning seemed like a good day for sleeping in. When I woke up, it was light outside. The extra sleep felt good. I took care of my morning chores and then sat down for an hour to write. When I finished, I still had a little time before I needed to get ready for work, so I walked out my front door and headed to my vehicle.

I regularly bought corn from the feed supply store and usually left it stored in my truck. I opened the rear door and pulled out a forty-pound bag of deer corn, threw it over my shoulder, and headed for the feeding area in the grove. When I arrived in the area where my blind sat, I set up my phone on a small tripod and filmed the corn spilling out in slow motion. Later in the day, I posted it online so other people could check out this wildlife ritual. I poured out half of the bag in five piles and then carried the remaining corn back to my SUV. It was time to jump in the shower and get ready for work.

Work was busy, dealing mostly with small fires, something I referred to as controlled burning. The good thing about being busy, however, was that time seemed to fly by. I looked up from my desk and it was already time for lunch. I heated some barbecued spare ribs and ate them with the dogs. My break today was short. A few impromptu meetings pulled me back into my office prematurely, and before I knew it, work was over. This time tomorrow, my wife would pull down the dirt road. One more day.

I played with the dogs for a while, making them run around since they napped all day. After, I grabbed my boots and hat, and then headed out the front door and into the grove for last light. Dusk was settling in and the forest seemed silent. It was much quieter than the noise inside my head when I entered the woods. There were two woodpeckers beating away furiously on trees around me. Their rapid and loud pecks meant they were likely pileated woodpeckers. The sound echoed through the forest as they beat in patterns of four, six, and eight speedy pecks.

I made my way to Beaver Tooth Rock and climbed up the side and took a rest. For a Thursday, the area appeared quiet. This week, the evenings were filled with the hum of farm equipment preparing the crop fields, but tonight I didn’t hear them. The mosquitoes were out, and it was getting dark, so I left the rock and headed alongside the creek. In the distance, I heard the faint sound of a four wheeler.

The weather had been warm and dry. Water levels in the creek were much lower than last month. The receding water trapped large puddles, making one area look like a bog. It smelled like one too. Two frogs started trilling. The volume of their songs was impressive. In spring, nighttime near the water was definitely not a silent affair. I kept moving down the trail that lead back to my house. When I arrived halfway home, a sweet floral scent overcame me. I looked around to see the flowers, but they were nowhere to be found.

When I arrived home, I moved to the backyard that bordered the forest. The smell of flowers was strong tonight. I wasn’t sure what kinds of flowers were in bloom, but it smelled like a combination of scents that coalesced into a complex, sweet, floral perfume. It was hard not to stop and breathe it all in. I sat on the hammock, closed my eyes, and took in breaths as deep as I could. Every breath was magnificent. In fact, I took so many deep breaths that when I stood up, I suddenly felt light-headed.

I cut some wood into kindling, started a fire, and pulled up a rocking chair to sit down and take in the night. The fire started small, but grew in intensity. I threw on more wood and five minutes later; the fire roared. I went inside the house and put the rice cooker to work. Then I sat outside enjoying the sight and sounds of the cracking fire. After heating the Traeger, I tenderized a ribeye, seasoned it, and threw it on the grill. I placed the costarum where the heat was most intense. The strip of fat on the steak was best when charred.

While my steak cooked, my wife called me on FaceTime to say goodnight. She was going to bed early so she could be ready for her morning exam. I wished her a good night’s sleep, pulled my sizzling steak off the grill, and devoured half of it with rice. After the meat cooled, I minced the other half and added it to the dogs’ dinner bowls. The dogs knew that when the grill was on, they would get some yummy treats for their dinner. We were all excited.

While the dogs ate, I went back outside and sat down to take one last look. The fire cast dancing shadows on the deck while a flock of geese flew by the moon’s light, their honks echoing across the sky. I took in a few more deep breaths, excited that my wife would be home tomorrow evening to enjoy the sweet smells. After I cleaned up the kitchen table, I took a quick shower, and then went to bed. It was the last night of the week that I would sleep alone. My wife had off next week for Spring Break, and I took off work next Wednesday through Friday. Tomorrow would be a great day, and the next day, even better.