I went out for a brief walk this afternoon. It was raining, but not so hard you needed an umbrella (I hate umbrellas anyway). And so very strong, the smell of rain. I remember once reading out a poem of mine and having someone come up after the reading and note that I'd used the phrase 'the smell of rain'. I couldn't tell if he liked it or was simply taking the mickey (the latter, I suspect, as he was a very 'cool' poet and I am, manifestly, not). I wondered about the smell. To me it's always been obvious. But today I decided to go and find, and here , via the ABC and CSIRO, is some hard data. The common rain smell comes from a gas called petrichor. Apparently, volatiles evaporate from plants and are absorbed by rocks, concrete etc. When the rain hits the rock, the volatiles are released into the atmosphere. That's why I can particularly smell it wandering along concrete paths and past sandstone walls. If it's good enough for CSIRO, it's good eno...
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Thanks for stopping by. I agree, JJ poems have been few and far between for a while. I'm still in the midst of family business (settling things for my Mum, actually) and work stuff, which all uses up a lot of head space. I may let out some more real soon.
I had a quick look at the Hackney connection and now you mention poets I'll explore 'more better'.
Although I live in Marrickville, I seem to be everywhere but here at most times for the moment. Kinda weird.
Best, Jill
Also enjoyed Annette's pics. Also thanks for including me on your blogroll, I'm still getting used to the technology, hoping to be able to link and add many blogs I visit to my own soon. dancing with technology and will no doubt be doing so for a good while yet.
cheers,
louise