Second Most Fragrant Spring Plant

The second most fragrant spring plant out on my island is happily growing in the backyard. I note that this morning, with the effects of yesterday's rain and this morning's fog, the garden is looking a lot like Ireland on a still morning. The leaves are all bright and unblemished by summer's heat and the grass (what there is struggling through the creeping charlie) is lush in the soft morning light.

And this old apple tree is refreshingly fragrant with a light floral fragrance that I tend to forget from year to year. I walked out and stood under the tree and breathed in all that air - listened to the hordes of bees that are giving me an apple crop - and just existed.

There's something about apple fragrance that does that for me. I don't know why but when I smell fresh apple blossoms, I'm put most things out of my mind for a few minutes and just soak up the smells. Oh, to be sure the world crashes back in, but for those few moments, life is just too sweet. I do enjoy those few minutes of peace and solitude in a way I can't begin to explain.

I'll be planting more apple trees on my property. Somebody has to feed the deer.