Of Coffee With Petrichor

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If you were having coffee I would ask you what your favorite smell is? Some people like the smell of freshly mown lawn whilst for other that just reminds them of allergies, I know people fascinated by the smell motor oil too…..

My favourite smell, is the smell of the wet earth, when it starts raining, especially after a very long time. Sometimes, if you are lucky, you can catch a whiff of it just before the actual rain reaches you, the breeze, carries with it, the promise of rain.

petrichor

If you were having coffee with me I would tell you that it has a name, it’s called PETRICHOR the scent of the rain. The word is a combination of the greek words Petra– which refers to rock/stone and ichor which means the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods.

Petrichor is the blood of stones, you can reproduce the scent by distilling rocks exposed to warm, dry conditions, and you get a yellow oil with this smell, this is whats flushed out when it rains, mingling with wind and rain combined with other things, to give you that after rain perfume. According to science we are predisposed to like this smell from the time in history when our ancestors were highly reliant upon rain for their survival.

If you were having coffee with me I would also tell that the smell of rain also signals the start of power outages, when the rain season starts; its like an excuse for the power utility company to schedule load shedding which I suspect is disguised as fault maintenance. Just a little bit of rain and suddenly you find yourself living in the dark ages all over again and writing Blackout Diaries

We acquired a tiny generator so could have a few hours of electricity in the evenings and it seemed like a good idea until we tried to get fuel for the generator. There is a current fuel shortage even though the government says there isn’t and they blame people who hoard fuel for being the cause behind the shortages and to that effect proposed to ban people who buy fuel from service stations in jerry cans and other containers.

Govt to ban use of jerry cans

If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that we had to actually carry the generator in a cousin’s car to get it to the fuel station because of that crazy imposition.

Fuel Queue
Fuel Queue

Sometimes the policies the government comes up with aren’t quite thought out although I like to think they have some good intentions but of course hats what its paved with, the road to that place before you start looking at us like that guess what they have changed their position and “lifted” the ban, but they still encourage responsible buying of not just fuel but basic commodities.

Gumbo lifts ban

If you were having coffee with I would tell you the rain did bring some good vibes too which is that the mulberry tree is bursting with ripeness and offer you a snack for coming to visit, mulberries remind me of being a child again and the purple stains on my fingers and the soles of my feet.

Mulberries

Have an awesome weekend

And yeah remember I am now a community builder so do drop a link  to your post that you think I should checkout and if you see any links in the comments do give them a look see and of course let em know where you found their site so we know its real we got awesome community

Africa connected

~B

PS After five days of no electricity the power supply seems to have been restored but it looks like its about to rain again………..

Photocredit the smell of rain The Chemical Compound

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61 Comments

  3. I like that rain smell too. It’s my favorite smell. It always smells like baked Ghanaian bentonite clay to me. And now I know the name.

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  5. I love the smell of rain, I can usually smell it before it arrives.

    That is a huge fuel queue, I hope the economic issues in Zim improve. We have issues with Eskom in SA too and we’ve bought an inverter for any load shedding. Of course it still needs mains power to charge the batteries so we will be buying a generator soon.

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    1. the smell of the rain is what magic is made from if you ask me hahahaha
      The fuel queue are totally crazy and imagineits quite possible that the fuel will run out before you reach the pump but you wait anyway cause nothing better to do.

      what about charging up the batteries with solar seems the sun is the way to go, by now we should be building houses that have solar panels for roofs to harvest the sun am constantly surprised its not a thing yet
      Thanks for dropping by
      ~B

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      2. Eskom and ZESA are practically cousins hahahahaha
        ~B
        PS if you see any interesting solar solutions do send a heads up you never know

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  6. I didn’t even know the smell of rain had a name… Now I’ve learned something new. And I used to think Nigerians had it the worst in Africa, until I read this; appears we mostly go through similar situations 😂😂😂

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    1. Remember its name!!!! The name of the rain^_^
      yeah in Africa we do go through the most sometimes I wake up and think where can I find the reset button
      ~B

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  7. I love the smell of rain, especially how the sage brush in the desert smells after the rain, or early in the morning when the earth is still damp. To me that is the scent of life, and freedom. (I can do without the power outage though). We had a crazy, loud thunderstorm last night. It kept me awake, but in a way I enjoyed it. I like the cooler season, It’s refreshing. I hope you’re having a great weekend. Thanks for an inspiring post.

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    1. I agree its the smell of freedom and life and dancing and in the rain and cooler temperatures after a hot dry spell
      Thank you for dropping by and have an awesome week ahead
      Cheers
      ~B

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  8. Oh wow, hoping you don’t lose power again. Five days! Very cool infographic – the smell of the rain isn’t my favorite but it’s interesting to read how to reproduce it! I’d say campfires and racing fuel would be my favorites. And the mulberry tree! I grew up with one in my front yard and have so many memories of purple feet. Thanks for taking me back!

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    1. Hi Kathleen
      Campfires rock!!!!! AGREEDI dont know about high octane racing fuel smells kinda dangerous and highly flammable
      thanks or the visit
      ~B

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  10. Hey B.. I just love that last statement… that “…..it looks like it’s about to rain again.”

    Reminds me of all my favorite series, where everything is perfect just before the end of a season, and another villain emerges. Actually no; the villain apparently did not die, or maybe they resurrected. I feel yah. hehe

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    1. WOW!!! how about that ^_^
      here’s to purply goodness of mulberries and the birds that eat low hanging friend and do their purple business on your laundry hanging out to dry
      ~B

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  12. They also bottled the smell in a Doctor Who episode, or at least Petrichor was the name of the perfume that Amy ran an advertisement for.

    My favorite smell, as odd as it seems, is the smell of a dentist’s office. It smells very clean to me and is soothing.

    See you around the coffee share!

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    1. The guy in perfume the story of murderer might have also tried to bottle the essence of several things wouldnt be surprised if it was one of them hahahaha

      I find dentist’s offices rather anxiety inducing not soothing at all and consequently anything that reminds me of them by extension the smell of particular detergents and antiseptics not so much love there

      Thanks for dropping by much appreaciated
      ~B

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    1. Good question I dont know why I would think it smells like burning electrical cables, unless of course something is wrong with your wiring but I know what high speed internet sounds like…. it sounds like whooooooooosh hahahahahaha
      ~B

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  15. Thanks for the lesson, I didn’t know what it was called but I really love it. The aroma actually makes me want to eat mud ( crazy I know). I crave the taste of the soil from termite hills apparently medically it means I have low iron or something.

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    1. You are welcome!!!!
      and try to stay away from mud cakes hahahaha….. I think I read that curious medical fact that some ravings are the body’s way of telling you that something is deficient
      ~B

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  16. I love the smell too but allergy won’t let me savour the natural aroma. We’ve been there about the electricity issues and the fuel issues. Our raining season is folding up as yours begins. Do enjoy it. We usually have fuel scarcity mostly at the end and beginning of the year. I pray we have a different story this year. Atleast for the campaigns going on before the next year’s election. Call it a bribe all the same it be a great relief.

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    1. I was watching a report on the electricity suply in Nigeria and how everyone practically runs their own generator for electricity

      hahahahaha its definitely a bribe thats African politics for you
      ~B

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  17. The smell of fresh rain is great, I’m just sorry that it brings up thoughts of power outages to you! Hope you fare better after this rain and that you have a great week ahead!

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    1. the week looks ok its been two days of constant power supply that seems promising anyway it hasnt rained much temperatures are back up to trying to sizzle us summer fun yey hahahaha
      have an awesome week
      ~B

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  20. You know, since I’ve always lived in areas with abundant rainfall, I don’t think I’ve ever smelled petrichor – at least not as strongly as you. Look like I’ll have to plan to be in Africa during October one of these years…

    And that fuel que, my gosh; that looks horrible! Where did all the fuel go?

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  21. I had no idea what that yummy “rain smell” was called! Thanks for that! I also like the smell of clean babies (don’t look at me weird lol). And the sea. I love that smell too 🙂

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    1. I used to like the smell of freshly cut grass until someone said that was the smell the grass gives off when it’s in distress because it’s basically just been massacred. Now I feel bad whenever I smell it…

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      1. the smell of massacre…. yep I can see how it would make one feel rather guilty but if you continue on a such a compassionate streak, not only will you not eat meat because calling animals and then you probably wont enjoy a nice vegetable salad because the its basically the smell of distressed vegetables hahahahaha
        ~B

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    2. trying very hard not stare at my laptop funny like …. erm Dimples …. ok moving on
      I havent been to the sea yet but I promised myself that this summer will be it and I heard that the sea basically smell like salt and it kinda horrible
      ~B

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