It's going around again

[ng_moonmoth]

Been a while since I joined in on any of the non-friending memes. Lots of people are doing this one right now, and I had fun with it the last time, so here goes again:

Ask me my top five anything.

As usual, I won't promise to answer anything I consider too personal, or personally identifying. But as long as I can be creative enough, I might be able to come up with something. Also, I am picking out my personal favorites, with no implication that they are the best of their category. Just that I like them the best, or value the most.

Comments

[ng_moonmoth]

• The just-cleaned, ozone-scented air after a summer thunderstorm has swept through and rinsed all the junk out


• The mingled aromas of life that are unique to an old growth forest ecology that has reached equilibrium.


• The special aroma that a BBQ pit gives off when it's almost time to take the meat out. The best BBQ chefs are sensitive to that smell, and respond to it. There's always something that's almost ready in a really good BBQ restaurant, so it smells like that all the time.


• The scent of lactofermentation. This is the outcome of a process, used in many places, of allowing lactobacilli to convert sugars in food into lactic acid and preserving it. Most notable source foods are cabbage (sauerkraut, kimchi), cucumbers (pickles), and milk or cream (yogurt). Commercial processing kills the bacteria, so one won't get the scent from there; only from batches that still contain the live culture. Interesting bit of synesthesia: I sometimes smell this scent when I listen to something composed by Bartok.


• Spouse's own natural scent, unencumbered by odors of the day or perfumes.

[lyr]

I especially like that post-storm scent, too. There's something so sharp and new about it.