Smells are so powerful aren't they...

They can evoke a whole range of responses from revulsion to desire. We've been doing quite a lot of cooking today so the house has been full of the most delicious smells - savoury and sweet - as we prepare a meal for some friends this evening.

Though before we started cooking there was the business of Saturday breakfast, which in our home is now traditionally a full English breakfast. So even before the meal started to tempt us the air was heavy with the scrumptious smell of bacon and sausages.

However, the smell that arrested me most today was outside. We've had very little rain for ages, I realised that last night when I saw some of my plants were drooping for want of water. Its been dull and chilly today, which is so unfair after days of sunshine while we were stuck at work. But the cloud cover has been enough on a couple of occasions to deposit a little rain - not much but enough to make the fabulous smell that only happens when rain falls onto parched earth.

You'll know what I mean if you love it as much as I do. Its virtually indescribable but it seems a fresh smell to me.

We haven't been without rain for that long really. A couple of weeks or so. I haven't noticed it because I'm struggling to find water for the necessities - or luxuries - of life. The tap still flows freely...

Goodness knows what that smells is like in a place of drought...