Tuesday afternoon. Rain is falling. Windows and doors are open and the house inhales the petrichor. It’s a lovely scent and I never tire of it.
Petrichor is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil. The word is constructed from Greek petra, “rock”, or petros, “stone”, and īchōr, the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology.
Ottmar, you are my spirit brother! I have loved that smell since childhood visits to New Mexico! (Somehow rain on the dry ground of Oklahoma does not smell so sweet.) Leave it to you to enlighten me on the name of that indescribable scent, and the word’s origins. “ichor” – how wonderful!
Another delightful New Mexico nature smell is wet aspen leaves. What do they call that, pray tell? When the Santa Fe river flows, and I have actually seen water flowing in it over all the fallen aspen leaves, that fragrance is luscious!
Thank you for this “gem,” OL. It’s good to know and I plan to share it with family and friends. I love the “earthy heaven-scent” of rain on dry earth. It’s a subtle reminder of all that’s beautiful. And, of the interconnectedness of spirit and nature. . . .