The Smells of Spring

One of the great paradoxical things I love about spring is the welcome return of some very foul smells that announce loudly the arrival of warmer weather.

For example, from November to Late March my hometown of Anchorage, Alaska lies frozen under as much as 3 feet of tightly packed snow. Through the winter, layers of dog shit deposited by Man's Best Friend on morning walks accumulate within the snow and lay undisturbed, their odor locked away in winters ice-cold lock box.

But come April as the snow retreats and exposes the brown little seed pods to the warming sunlight, they bloom to life along with the tree buds and dandelions, and it is not uncommon to hear an Anchorage-ite, standing on his front porch and breathing deeply of the morning air, exclaim:

"Dog shit! Ah, spring is here!"

Such was the feeling this morning as a Waste Management truck pulled in front of me on my morning ride and the smell of the rancid slurry sloshing about in the back, newly-freed from it's winter state as a greasy ice-slick, wafted back to me.

"Hot garbage! Ah, spring is here!"