One Morning’s Impressions

During the past several weeks, I’ve commented upon the vibrancy and reassertion of nature in my urban neighborhood amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Most of my thoughts are drawn from my observations in my own backyard. Being largely home-bound like most of the country, my world has dramatically shrunk. That is not necessarily an unwelcome change.

(Photograph by author)

Standing on my deck on an early morning several days ago, I found the surrounding smells evoking distant places and memories. The scent of damp wood reminded me of the boardwalk and the beach at dawn. When I breathed in the layered smells of wet earth and plants, I saw the wooded trail alongside the Allegheny River in my hometown.

I don’t think that I would have noticed those scents before our world and lives slowed down. I hope that I will still notice them when we awake from our hibernation.