The Scent of Happiness

It's a cloudy, overcast Sunday but the temperature is mild and wonderful. Spring is here and the neighborhood has been going crazy planting flowers and working in the yards. Consequently, there are butterflies everywhere and the colors are bright. Since my new place already had a washer and dryer, I traded my set to my sister and brother-in-law for landscaping. The front of my house is now framed with a variety of plants. The 3 foot azalea bushes are young but packed with so many huge blooms it doesn't look real. The snapdragons are now dying out, but they still add splotches of yellow. I don't hold much hope the buds on the gardenias will bloom, but there is always next year. The transplanted star jasmine isn't taking off as quickly as I hoped, so I've got my fingers crossed. But off to the side in the front bed is the star of all my plants - the sweet olive bush.

I'm currently outside sitting on the front porch trying to get work done on the computer. I pulled one of the pug's beds out onto the porch so he's softly snoring next to me. I was deep into completing a hearing schedule when a soft wind blew that wonderful scent my way. I had to stop working and try not to cry. At my last home the tree bloomed well but trapped in the pot it never had a smell. Now happily transplanted my sweet olive has infused its blooms with the sweet and magical smell of my childhood.

My grandparents had a huge sweet olive in the backyard next to the patio and "The Hut." The Hut was a one room building with a kitchen and half bath. In it was a double bed pushed to the side and then several old retro chrome dining tables. When the family gathered, the tables were pulled into a line to form a huge single table. The sweet olive was always in full bloom by the time the spring crawfish boils started. The scent flavored countless games of tag, climbing in trees, crawfish races and a few quite memorable water balloon fights. The sweet olive scent surrounded us as we searched for Easter Eggs dressed in our holiday finery. And the scent lingered the day I sat with my best friend on the patio and wept telling him of my grandmother's death the night before.

It is quite possibly one of the top 3 of the thousands of reasons I love New Orleans so much. Hundreds of sweet olives are littered throughout the city especially in the Garden District and Uptown. How could I not fall madly in love with a city so enveloped with the smell I love most? I've yet to properly walk through the city after Katrina to determine if she still has her magical scent. Sadly, my brother's sweet olive which branched up high and wide didn't survive that bitch's wrath.

So here I sit and bask in the beautiful blooms and tear up as I breathe in the scent. I stopped for a while to run for my camera while a male and female red headed woodpecker pecked around the neighbor's tree. The male's head was so ruby red it looked painted on. I'm hoping my pictures come out but it's my first role on this camera. My neighbor drove up as I put my camera away. I asked if he saw the woodpeckers, but he was less than thrilled complaining they were killing the branch. I popped my iPod, Punkin's earpiece back in. He seems terrified that I'll get too friendly with him. Sometimes when I've company, he manages to smile and act friendly. Unfortunately, if it's just me he's as cuddly as a cactus. I'd like to tell him not to worry, I've got the message. I hate to see him waste the energy.

It matters not, I'm now in my own place listening to a wonderful music mix a friend made for me and my sweet olive scent has reminded me of the first time I read "Little Women." Joe was breaking Laurie's heart as I sat on the swing next to The Hut. My siblings and cousins ran around the yard playing and having a good time as I sat swinging with my nose firmly placed in my book. How could I explain I would never rest until I knew for sure Laurie would win Joe's heart. I can now handle disappointment.