The Potent Wizard

Lilac blooms - Crabapple House 2012

On Monday I chatted with Cathy Richmond, author of Through Rushing Waters. She provided a link to the first three chapters of her book, and I was taken by her use of smell in one of the opening paragraphs. 

We're introduced to our heroine, Sophia the teacher, when ... "She opened the window with a gentle push. A breath of air, damp with a hint of this morning’s rain and spiced with blooming lilacs, relieved the chalk-dust stuffiness of the classroom."

As it happens, the smell of lilacs, wisteria and orange blossoms have almost knocked my senses over this week. Springtime in Melbourne has swept in with a generous fragrance burst and unmistakable promise. And I'm breathing her in when the rain lifts long enough to let me.

Perhaps Helen Keller knew better than anyone, the power of smell. She relied on it when sight and sound no longer played in her world. 

Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles 
and all the years you have lived. Helen Keller

Lilacs from my mother's garden

How about you? What's crept into your world like a potent wizard today? What's outside the window or door?