I underestimated the power of the scent of rain on sagebrush... until I moved to Reno.
We moved here in 2019 -- to a rural place in the Virginia Range called Virginia City Highlands, about 30 minutes East of Reno. We have a small sagebrush field just off our bedroom window, and when it rains, we open the window and let the sounds and scents of rain in the desert into the house. (a lot of wilderness makes it into the house, most of it uninvited and in the form of mice... but the scent of rain on sagebrush is always welcome)
It's Spring, so it's too cold to have the windows open (contrary to popular belief, Reno is absolutely frigid this time of year), but it's nice to go out first thing in the morning and smell the sagebrush after an evening rain. It's a scent I've never experienced outside of Nevada. Maybe it's my imagination, or just the fact that I've spent a lot of time here in Reno, but the sagebrush smells different here.
Mark Twain wrote about the Nevada sagebrush in his book Roughing It. He remarked that, from a low angle, you can imagine the sagebrush field as a kind of miniature forest, watching the gnats and bugs scaling the woody branches (if you look closely at the featured photo on this blog post or in this downloadable wallpaper, you can see a little fly clinging to a branch like a monkey)
Twain also noted that it makes excellent fire fuel, but a terrible vegetable, since no animal seems to eat it... which isn't totally true, in my observation of the local deer population we affectionately call "the landscaping crew" (since we ourselves don't do much yard work).
That said, I would not personally eat sagebrush.
When I started to work on this blog post, I realized that it was a great opportunity to share one of my other passions (aside from scent, of course): Photography!
So here are some photos I shot of the local sagebrush for you to enjoy!
Phone Wallpaper:
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0716/7497/files/sagebrush.jpg
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0716/7497/files/sagebrush-13.jpg
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0716/7497/files/sagebrush-4.jpg
Desktop Wallpaper:
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0716/7497/files/sagebrush-8.jpg
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0716/7497/files/sagebrush-7.jpg
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0716/7497/files/sagebrush-16.jpg
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0716/7497/files/sagebrush-17.jpg
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0716/7497/files/sagebrush-18.jpg
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0716/7497/files/sagebrush-19.jpg
And you know what pairs perfectly with having a sagebrush wallpaper?
Yes, it's Rain on Sagebrush Cologne!
Now available for pre-order as a full-size bottle: https://liveoutlaw.com/products/rain-on-sagebrush-cologne
And as a sample size: https://liveoutlaw.com/products/rain-on-sagebrush-sample-cologne
