Vanilla Smell (but don’t taste…) - Ponderosa Pine - Kootenai Creek, Stevensville, Montana

“…a smell … likened to vanilla or butterscotch exudes from the cracks between slabs of bark on the tree, creating a unique type of Rocky Mountain aromatherapy.” - Katherine Court in Field Notes: Ponderosa Pine Bark. (Learn a LOT more from the Montana Natural History Centre!)

Ponderosa Pine, Teller Wildlife Refuge, Corvallis, Montana

Did you know that ponderosa pines can smell like really good vanilla? Get your nose right up to the cracks in the bark - ignore odd looks from passing hikers - & take a big sniff.  I always think the bigger trees will have a better aroma, but the youngsters often surprise me. Persevere 'til you find a good tree, & you may acquire a new nature habit.