Bill Weiler
“Shut your eyes and see.” –James Joyce
I had never seen so many people and cars at the Rowen Point Overlook as this afternoon. Spring wildflowers at their peak coupled with world-class views of the Columbia River on the year’s first 80 degree weekend day (and a promo article in The Oregonian no doubt added to the crowds).
Throughout the Columbia River Gorge, the last few weeks have been a feast for the eyes; and today is no exception. Yet, are we missing the full experience if we only view the flowers and capture views from a camera lens? The perfume of wildflowers is the perfect partner for their visual magnificence! Walk along a riparian area when the mock oranges are in bloom. And in more domestic realms, a bouquet of lilacs may be the best way to lift anyone’s spirits!
Unlike our other senses, smell needs no interpreter. A scent can be overwhelmingly nostalgic because it triggers powerful images and emotions before we have time to edit them. Research reveals that smells stimulate learning and retention. When children were given olfactory information along with a word list, the list was recalled much more easily and better retained in memory than when given without the olfactory cues.
Spending many days at the Sandy River Delta last week, I remembered one of the pre-Covid activities we offered to students was called “Find Your Tree,” where one person leads a blindfolded partner to a tree and the second child spends as much time as possible getting to know their tree through touch (and perhaps smell) alone. The blindfolded person is led back to the hub area, the blindfold is removed, and the person then proceeds to try to locate the tree….which occurs almost 100% of the time.
Skin is beyond amazing. It gives us individual shape, protects us from invaders, cools us down, produces vitamin D, can mend itself when necessary, and is constantly renewing itself. Weighing from six to ten pounds, it is the largest organ of the body.
It is true that when one sense is lost, the others are heightened. It is also true that when our senses are combined, they are more than the sum of their parts. When we are in the natural world our senses want to be put to use. Try to find ways to open them all as you walk down the wildflower path with a picnic basket in your arms.
