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May 27, 2020 2:19 PM

The Aromas of Trees: Five Practices. A set of invitations for sensing trees at Emergence Magazine by David G. Haskell, author of The Songs of Trees: Stories from Nature’s Great Connectors.
We begin at home: "Coffee. Pencil shavings. Almond milk. Honey laden with aromatic memories of tree nectar and pollen. Inhale, and remember that we live in the forest, even when this truth is hidden from the eye."

Haskell also wrote "Eleven ways of smelling a tree" for Emergence.

posted by spamandkimchi (2 comments total)

Thank you for posting this! The writing in both “The Aroma of Trees” and “Eleven Ways of Smelling a Tree” is lyrical, and the paintings accompanying the writing are also lovely. I found the bit on woodsmoke poignant, since I live somewhere that’s been heavily affected by forest fires the last few years.

I have been walking in nature more since the pandemic, and am fortunate to live somewhere with lots of space and lots of trees. The forest smells wonderful, even when it doesn’t smell sweet—the edge of decay has been there as the snow has melted and revealed the rotting leaves below. But now that it’s spring, the balsam and pitch are so aromatic. I love it.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:28 PM on May 27, 2020 [4 favorites]

Oooh, these were both lovely, thank you for a little mental vacation! :)
posted by esoteric things at 8:43 PM on May 27, 2020