WALK #40

The scent of old books and leather has been described as a combination of "vanilla flowers, almonds, juniper, birch tar, patchouli, black tea, tobacco..." That’s relevant to how I’ve seen “vellichor” described, e.g. Wiki defines it as “the pensive nostalgia and temporality of used bookstores." Whisky maker James Saxon actually tried to create a whisky whose aroma would evoke the scent of second-hand bookstores by blending mature whiskies with mixtures that had aged for many years in ex-Sherry butts. The resulting fragrance is described as indicating” hints of leather, polished furniture, and the crackling dustiness of decades-old pages—a palate stacked with sumptuous malty notes, tropical fruit, and Sherry character with a delicate but persistent peatiness.”

The above is all to say, when I saw this pile of compost during my walk, my steps quickened because, for whatever reason, I thought I might glean a hint of the vellichor from the musty and mixed earthy pile. Once I got closer, however, all my nose enjoyed was the sumptuous aroma of manure. This is why romanticism can irritate me. As the saying goes, Sh*t happens.

An Old Lesson

In researching shit

I discover

guano

topping a list

of most

nutritious 

manures. Yet again

I discover

how

I don't need

to know 

everything

that exists in

the vast

universe.