i am so much a country woman; i love the mail.
i love it especially when it contains not one, not two, but THREE good things!
and yes, several recycle bin fillers, but there were three good things!!!
i opened a card from hannah advising: TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER.
a valentine.
but i smelled something great...maybe pine?
is it the lichen covered twigs i found in my pocket yesterday? no, they are scentless.
what is that?
there's this letter/contract...where i plan to teach this summer (yay). more about that later.
i can still smell that wonderful smell.
a chinese new year wish from aimee, which i opened... and woohoo! the scent of...
eucalyptus!
from oakland. complete with letterpress MOON.
my head is reeling with the scent of these delicious leaves.
aromatic is not the word.
wondrous is.
hooRAY!!! you got it! i am very happy for that. and they look like they survived. today on my walk home from yoga i had this terrible vision of them being all completely pulverized and telling you that you could still do ecoprints, just w/o any resemblance of the leaf. i am not a country woman but i have always, always loved mail, so it's an easy way to help in the care of each other!
ReplyDeletei don't think you have to be "country" (egad!) to love the mail, i was thinking about the isolation, and the need for connection. you are a wonderful correspondent, way better than me!
ReplyDeleteand i love the little bites out of the edges of some of the leaves!
ReplyDeleteoh i recognized them right away, i can smell them from here...
ReplyDeletegrinning!
ReplyDeletei had hoped to get "perfect" leaves when i first arrived but then thought that you of all people would appreciate the eaten ones! now i can smell them and am looking forward to going back to campus tomorrow and breathing.
ReplyDeletei was joking about the country part. and wanted to say, if my mail love helps edge me any closer to country, i'm all for it! :)
Oh! I was born in Oakland and the memory is soooooo wonderful during snowy winter. Hummmmm the perfume is so heady.
ReplyDeletei can't even begin to imagine what california is really like! truly! i've only been as far west as utah, and only in the hills near salt lake. and in idaho, too. but not the mysterious west coast!
ReplyDeleteaimee, i am a poser, for i grew up in town. if it counts, i can trail ride (but please in a hunt seat saddle with a thoroughbred!)
Eucalypts are such a part of our Australian landscape and I too used to post them overseas to friends and family to remind them of home. When you crush them - its intoxicating and pungent and fabulous! In fact I just put a few drops of eucalyptus oil in with my washing!
ReplyDeleteahh, the smell of Australia, and a little bit goes such a long way. try crushing a tiny bite right at the entrance to one nostril, it will knock your socks off. k.
ReplyDeleteahh closets and drawers filled with eucalyptus leaves.description of heavenly glory.
ReplyDeletemy socks were knocked off even before i could locate the source!!! what an incredible leaf!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to plant a eucalyptus this spring--I've had a gardener friend tell me it will grow quickly here on the wet coast. Can't wait to start harvesting. oh, love that smell.
ReplyDeleteme,again--to paraphrase someone? "come west, young lady, come west" waiting for details.
ReplyDeleteplant that eucalyptus! and i will, i will (hopefully).
ReplyDeleteV- whilst the aroma is uplifting the leaf shape is so elegant? I love the slender form with the 'eaten' edges. When you smell the aroma - imagine blue skies and sunshine - an antidote to your snow filled days. B
ReplyDeletebarry leaves!
ReplyDeleteEnjoying your images, your story through them.
ReplyDelete