Stop and Smell the Oregano.

​                Yesterday was what seems to be a rare occasion more often than not lately.  The sun was shining.  A brief respite from the rain that was to begin again overnight.  With the less than stellar weather, it’s not easy to get things done outside, but sometimes we have to buck up and wallow through.
                I spent a good part of the day in the mud, pulling out weeds bound and determined to thrive despite the abuse.  Truth be told, I am a firm believer in once a weed is pulled, another shouldn’t grow in its place.  Problem is, they don’t agree.
                Anyway, when I walked back up to the house for dinner, I noticed something odd.  My parsley from last year is growing back.  Parsley isn’t supposed to grow back in Ohio, but there it was.  I still can’t believe it.  Goes to show just how much of a mild, albeit wet, winter we’ve had.  I made sure to pull the offending weeds and wild onion that grows in from around it, thrilled to have found the little surprise bounty.  Then I was thinking about the rest of the herbs that die out for winter and are actually supposed to come back, how I hadn’t checked on them yet.
                Have you ever had the opportunity to smell fresh oregano?  For me, it is one of the most amazing smells.  I’ll even include it and other herbs in flower bouquets for the added aroma.  Anyway, I pulled a bit of the endlessly growing weeds from out and around it and that was all it took.  Just a gentle glide over the oregano as I cleared around it and its smell rose up in the air like the most amazing perfume. 
                As Eldest walked up to the house I asked him if he smelled it.  He said, “Smell what?” and I replied, “The oregano.”  He said no.  GAH!  I swear those boys can smell a buck’s musk on the air from a distance, chocolate chips cookies baking in the oven when I just think about making them, but the delicious smell of oregano right under the nose…no.
                So, here’s why I’m sharing this…  It’s not because I want you to go outside and start sniffing things.  That would be weird.  It’s not so you go out and start pulling up your weeds, although you’re more than welcome to do that, too.  It’s more on account of the little things a person unexpectedly comes upon that ends up to be the highlight of their day, the icing on their cake.  It hadn’t crossed my mind to get into the herb garden with all the wicked wet weather we’re having.  I can guarantee I wouldn’t have yet if it weren’t for noticing that little sprig of parsley that came out of left field so unexpectedly. 
                I’m asking you, as we’re continuing to batten down our hatches and tighten our belts while we wait out the virus, what gems might you discover that you may not have otherwise if you took a look around?  What might you do today that you may not have had a chance to do if you were away from your home?  From reminiscing over grandma’s old recipe book to searching through that container of parts in the garage, I bet there’s something that’ll catch your eye.
                My work here continues on without a whole lot of change, but even so, happening upon one little surprise made for a most deliciously fragrant day.  Take a moment to stop and smell your oregano while you have the opportunity.  You never know what else you might find.  Smiling & Waving, Sharon                

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