Smell the forest

       I know. Strange name for a blog. At least I think so.  PJ put it there when he set this up for me, and I almost had him change it. But...
For those of us who escape the city once in awhile and get into nature for a weekend or so of camping, what is the first comment we usually make (or at least think) when we step out of the tent onto the earthy carpet glistening with the morning dew?  We take a deep breath and think "Ahhh, I love the smell of the forest!"  There's just something about it.
       Our family escaped the city in 2007 when we took the adventure of building a house in Black Forest, just outside Colorado Springs.  We wake up to acres of towering Ponderosa Pine trees gently blowing in the breeze, the misty fog looming just above the branches, and the morning sun igniting the peaks of the Front Range.  Every time I step out the front door, I'm stepping out of the tent and taking that deep breath.  It's quiet, simple, and beautiful.  It's the number one thing PJ and I would mention as we anticipated and dreamed about the house we would  some day build together, and it's still one of the most frequent  comments any of our family of five will make on any given day when we step outside. "Guys! Come smell the forest!"