There’s a Word for It

The Syncline was wet, sanded smooth with surface wash, all the rocks bright.

Everywhere there were little tinajas, rain pools, like eyes looking upward. A plunge pool guarded by a Cooper’s hawk and a tiny, lively frog. The sunny vanilla scent of many ponderosas.

There’s a Zuni word, ołdi, for the smell of the desert right after rain.

sync-tinaja

sync-expanse

3 thoughts on “There’s a Word for It”

  1. Thanks for this, Betsy. I always enjoy your posts. There is another word for it. Petrichor (/ˈpɛtrᵻkɔər/) is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil. The word is constructed from Greek petra, meaning “stone”, and ichor, the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology.

    On Saturday, November 5, 2016, Listening at the Gate wrote:

    > ewyliejames posted: “The Syncline was wet, sanded smooth with surface > wash, all the rocks bright. Everywhere there were little tinajas, rain > pools, like eyes looking upward. A plunge pool guarded by a Cooper’s > hawk and a tiny, lively frog. The sunny vanilla scent of many p” >

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