Oh Boy

Inspirational song: It's Raining Men (The Weather Girls)

For over a decade I have wondered what exactly is responsible for what I have termed "the Boulder County smell." I've talked about it before, comparing it to the sweet wood smell that old school Tinkertoys had. It comes sometime during the spring, but I can't recall whether it's in May or June. I wasn't paying attention this year, so I desperately hope I haven't missed it. Today as we were driving back from Boulder, going down a more rural route instead of the highway, I asked Mr S-P whether the silvery-leafed trees along the way were Russian olive. He said they were, and it got me thinking. I Googled whether Russian olives are known to be fragrant. I saw an overwhelming yes in the results. Now I have a solid suspect for which plants create the smell. I still don't know when they bloom to release it. I bet it happened already, while I was too caught up in my own world to pay attention.

We had taken the ratty farm truck down to Resource, looking for more flagstones and pavers for our backyard hardscaping. We found neither, but we did stumble upon the remains of the CU cleanout haul. Every spring the university clears out the stuff left by CU students that still has life in it, like hundreds of plastic storage drawers. The Mr said if ever you needed a fan or a mirror, now was the time to get it. In fact, we grabbed two fans, and if I'd remembered to grab a mirror, I would have taken one. The only full-length mirror in the house is in the spare bedroom that I gave up to our first housemate. I need one I can access.

I bought a metal rolly-cart to use for my plant supplies, and it set off hours of work cleaning and rearranging. I had no idea how very far the domino effect would take me. I moved plants, cleaned dust off of glass shelves, gave up on many dead and dying plants, and looped in a few clutter piles along the way. The front porch and even the back yard were affected by my industry. I took a lot of breaks along the way, and right about the time the Mr was getting home from a volunteer event, I was covered in needy, needy men. Alfred had his paws on my chest, demanding love, Beinn was at my left side, doing the same, and Harvey jumped up on the back of my chair, determined not to be left out. I will need to finish tossing out unusable planting supplies (yes, these do exist) tomorrow, but for now I will give in and cuddle these boys.