The animals create:

Some sports are odder than others! Have you ever heard of Underwater Hockey? I hadn't either!

My son asked me to take him to a swimming pool in Truckee, Ca. It's about a 40 minute drive from Reno and we needed some drive time to chat, so I agreed. The day was filled with diving board tricks, a few belly flops and a lot of laughter!

As we were packing up to leave, a poster caught my eye. You know those moments when something stops you in your tracks and you feel like it's important, even if it's for someone else? This was that moment. "Come join our Underwater Hockey team. No experience needed!" I knew my 12 year old (at the time), Koda, would be interested.

Calls were made. Introductions happened and a few days later we were at a new type of practice. Underwater Hockey. Only, it was for adults. We soon found a youth league and for the first time, Koda knew he belonged! He'd found his water team he'd imagined he could be a part of!

A few days ago, I took Koda, (now 13 years old) to his practice. He's a vital part of the team and he's helped take his team to championships. Most practices, I'll get in and play with the team. This particular day I needed some time to myself. I needed to think and process and simply be alone. I declined the water and went for a hike.

I came across one large rock, among all the trees and needles all over the forest floor. I climbed onto the rock and simply stood. Looking over the forest, watching the stillness. As time passed, A tiny chipmunk was brave enough to adventure out onto the floor. I'd been standing still for long enough, he thought I was part of nature. I felt like I was as well.

Often, when in nature, we become accustomed to being there. The sounds become normal. The sights become normal. The smells become normal. We do not smell anything. Smell comes when we get close to the plants and sniff. When we search for a smell to stand out and make us smile like when leaves get rustled or bark gets disturbed. As I stood there, watching this squirrel, it dug a small hole in the ground. It dug quickly and started lifting something it must have buried a bit earlier. Some sort of nuts, to save for the future. This squirrel was cashing in its nut stash for a quick bite to eat. It made me think "humans are the same, we save for later. We save for our metaphorical Winter Time."

As I stood there, thinking about our human tendencies to save, a few birds got spooked. These birds took flight all around me. From the forest floor to the treetops. As the birds took flight, the squirrel and his buddies, ran. And that's when I smelled it, the best tree scent we all wish we had on a daily basis. The sap, the bark, the sky, the dirt, the squirrels friendliness and his lessons on human behavior. It all tied together into this incredible fragrance we want to live in! This forest of freshness, fun and friendliness!

This scent, the animals released, from the trees made me think of our new fragrance Cedar Ridge we're about to launch. The feelings of freedom in nature that come alive. The moment to relax and trust that everything is always working out for us and the feelings of friendship a fragrance creates. Enjoy!

Love,
Georgia