Has summer started? That depends on whom you ask. The official astronomical start of the summer season is June 20, but the meteorological start was June 1. For most of us, when the kids are out of school, that’s when summer begins. No more teachers. No more books. At least that’s what Alice Cooper said.
But there are some other signs of summer, too, and they come from what we sense in our olfactory system. Yes, the scents of summer.
My friend Brent recently told me how he enjoys the smell of lake water, as it takes him back to the days of his youth at Okoboji.
Others think the smell of chlorine in a swimming pool is a definite sign that summer has begun. I don’t know if the summer sun on concrete has a scent, but what I recall of it, combined with the pool chlorine, takes me right back to my youthful days at the pool.
On a related note, when the scent of coconut hits, someone nearby is typically applying sunscreen — or mixing a Malibu Rum drink.
I wrote last week about s’mores, and those of you who connected with that may also connect the smell of a campfire with summer. And that smell sticks with you — or at least with your clothes.
For me, the smell of freshly cut and slightly damp grass is the scent of summer, at least in June. Mowing dry grass in August is a different smell altogether.
My mother had peonies planted around our yard, and that scent continues to be memorable for me, especially when I got too close to them with the lawn mower.
Whenever I catch a whiff of meat cooking on the grill, I look around to see where it is coming from. The old saying, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire” may hold true, but I prefer, “Where there’s smoke, there are cheeseburgers.”
And, finally, who can forget the earthy smell of rain when it first hits dry ground? Scientists call that geosmin. I call it another wonderful scent of summer.
How about you? What scents remind you of summer? Send me a note and let me know.
Have a great week, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305 | 
