Today’s part of the volcano road trip was filled with the scent of sage brush and pine so I thought fragrance might be an interesting theme for the week. While you cannot capture scent with an image (if anyone fancies patenting a scratch and sniff camera now’s your chance) perhaps you can evoke a scent. Several years ago I visited Hampton Court Palace in springtime and found in the gardens a spot entirely enclosed by soaring box hedge and filled to bursting with blue hyacinth. The intoxicating perfume is something I will never forget, but what is more curious to me is that every time I’ve detected the scent of hyacinth since then, a snapshot of that walled garden flits through my mind’s eye. So here are a few shots of some of my more fragrant encounters. High up on Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mountains, this black-tailed deer got within about an inch of my face and almost overpowered me with her musky scent. She was after my sandwich.
There’s the smell of spice stalls at street markets…
…and the scent of fruit ripening in orchards in the sunshine of the Yakima Valley…
…the inviting aroma of freshly-baked Irish soda bread…
…and the intoxicating perfume of that humblest of hedgerow ramblers, honeysuckle.
The sense of smell is perhaps the most evocative of all the senses, so get ready to heighten olfactory perception and show me your most aromatic photos. If you would like to join in (everyone’s welcome!) here’s what to do:
- Create your own post and title it Travel theme: Fragrant
- Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
- Get your post in by next Thursday, as the new travel theme comes out on Friday
- Don’t forget to subscribe to keep up to date on the latest weekly travel themes. Sign up via the email subscription link in the sidebar or RSS
xxx Ailsa
“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” – Mark Twain
“An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it makes a better soup.” – Bertrand Russell
Where's my backpack? 