Our Environment: “Smells Transform from Skunky Marijuana to Spring” By Scott Turner
Scott Turner, Environmental Columnist
Our Environment: “Smells Transform from Skunky Marijuana to Spring” By Scott Turner
Certain skunk-smelling strains of marijuana are used to treat a range of medical conditions, and because we’re downwind of the facility in winter, the landscape surrounding my workplace smells like skunk during the cold months.
Last week, a mix of salty air from Narragansett Bay and exhaust fumes from Interstate 95 replaced the scent of skunk. The winds had changed from the north to the south—spring was on its way!
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIndeed, all sorts of outdoor deviations from winter occurred last week. For one, most snow melted, sending runoff into waterways and sewers. Second, I saw my first flying insects of 2019—flies and bees visiting the wispy yellow blooms of an Asiatic variety of witch hazel shrub.
Moreover, male American robins, at least in my Providence neighborhood, took up territories, singing and calling at sunset. About the same time, tiny mounds of the black granular material appeared on the surface of certain soil patches. These were castings left by first-of-the-year earthworms. Robins eat a great number of earthworms in spring and summer.
Released from entombment by melting snow, flattened snowdrop blossoms popped back up. I also saw my first flowering crocuses of 2019—little saffron- white- or purple-colored cups close to the ground, as well as the season’s first daffodils—relatively short-stemmed flowers colored brightly yellow.
Several times during a downpour last week, I heard thunder. This was the first time I’d heard such sky rumblings in at least five months.
Meanwhile in North Burial Ground in Providence, Eastern painted turtles reappeared around the pond after spending the cold months hibernating deep in the mud. Turtles are cold blooded, and the newly emerged reptiles were positioned together on logs, gathering warmth from the brilliant sunshine.
The pond also hosted small numbers of two bird species that are early signs of spring—Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds.
If you looked closely at red maples, you saw that some of their flowers buds had opened, unveiling tiny bunches of dark-red blooms. This was a definitive sign that winter was waning.
South of Providence, waterfowl that arrive at the end of winter, such as Wood Ducks and Pied-billed Grebes, began appearing. So did a number of Great Egrets, Killdeer, Tree Swallows and Eastern Bluebirds. All of these bird species, from big to small, return when the ground softens, ice clears and skies warm.
To celebrate these early stages of spring, Karen and I took a post-sunset walk-in Southeastern Massachusetts beside a pond that is home to many spring peepers. Alas, it was quiet that night around the pool of water. Any day though, a chorus of peeper calls will spread along the pond’s shoreline.
The night air was crisp and clean, as stars popped into view one after another. Suddenly, we stopped in our tracks. A pungent reek hit our nostrils, and we knew not to take another step for the smell came from straight ahead.
This was the powerful stink of skunk spray. We turned back, returning to the fresh air of the late-winter night. On our retreat, I thought about how that odor reminded me of my office neighborhood.
I guess I better get used to that smell. With the growing legalization of marijuana, the scent of skunk may be here to stay.
