Heaven Scent

At first it was just a hint on the evening breeze: delicate, intriguing, vanishing with a change in wind direction, disappearing in the morning sun. After several days it became steadier, stronger, wafting in from multiple directions, lasting through daylight. Yummmmmmm....

My allergies are going crazy lately, so I am lucky I can smell anything. ( Wipe wipe dab honnnnk!) It might be that Fred is starting to blow his coat. Another strong contender is spring tree pollen, also the likely source of whatever scent is delighting me. The big pine out back is starting to bloom so this fall might be the first season we get more than a handful of cones from it, unlike the generous one in the front. However, it's not fragrant. Not the source of olfactory delight.

News stations list pollen counts now, but attributing it to ash and similar trees. Ash? In Phoenix? Where?

Steve pointed out a bush a block away, covered in tiny yellow blooms. He passes it on his scooter. He swears it smells wonderful. He had me drive over and park next to it, but traffic kept me in the car and I smelled nothing. There are bushes planted in the center boulevard along Hwy 60 which are full of purple clusters but traffic is even more dangerous there and I have no idea of scent, much less identity of the plants.

Maybe the locals knew. Of course, in what crowd in Sun City in winter do you find locals? Snowbirds abound, but few are permanent residents. I checked at the lapidary club. Yes, they had been noticing fragrance. More had noticed their allergies kicking up, even blocking any fragrance getting through.

I had one suspect for the cause, but looking around at all the citrus trees in neighboring yards, was unable to detect any orange blossoms. One woman at the club thought they were blooming already, warning that they soon would be so overpowering that we would hate opening doors and heading out into the yard. Heck, right now I'm opening up the house just in order to get the fragrance!

That works just fine until our neighbor Mr. Cigar-Expletive lights up upwind of us. I guess whoever he lives with kicks him outside to smoke! With the first whiff, Steve and I hurry around the house and close up EVERYTHING! I find it hard to believe we'd do the same to block out the blooms, even overpowering as they are claimed to become.

They are finally identified positively as orange blossoms. Now scenting everything all day and night, though still stronger at sunset, I keep the car windows down while I head wherever. Yesterday I drove to Joan and Bob's, stopping to inspect their naval orange tree along their driveway. It had started blooming, though the first citrus tree in their yard to do so, and the scent was definitely what I'd been enjoying. With so many trees yet to start blooming, I can well believe the scent will overpower almost everything.

I can't wait!