I smelled happiness today.

The cause of my olfactory experience?

The first rhubarb of the year.

I planted a small cutting form my main patch, into the front garden, a couple of years ago. If you’ve every grown rhubarb, you’ll know you don’t really take any of it in the first year to allow it to build up and get healthy. I didn’t take much in the second year either though as it just didn’t look strong enough.

But this year? This is the year.

I didn’t take a lot for my first harverst – only 4 stalks but that word: harvest…..it’s one of the most satisfying words for a gardener.

I practically skipped back into the kitchen and cut the leaves off, trimmed the base and washed the stalks before chopping them. I put the pieces in a bag to go in the freezer but just before I closed the bag, I thought “I need to smell this”.

So I did.

I Inhaled and it smelled of rhubarby happiness.

I’ve waited 3 years for those stalks. So I stood at my kitchen sink and sniffed a bag of rhubarb and it was glorious.

I had a rush of excitement at the thought of bringing home all the different harvests the growing season will hopefully produce.

I am an eternal optimist.

I plan on spending as much time as I can at the sink, in my little kitchen, just smelling happiness.