WHAT'S THAT SMELL???

 

     As I was driving home at 12 midnight, from the drive in, I was bombarded by the aroma of chicken house. Uggggg. Windows get rolled up, hand, sleeve, small child goes over nose. There are no words to describe the smells down here, but I'm gonna try. 

     When we first moved down here it was very hot. Every so often when I was driving my car I would get a horrible whiff of what I thought was spilt, sour milk, mixed with something just as nasty. I told my husband about it, he said yeah the kids probably spilt something in your car.

     I will now remind you, or tell you for the first time that my car was in the shop the first 2 weeks we lived here. The dogs were in if for 2 days before that, along with my girl and I. I don't remember having milk in it during our adventure. But I have kids, and animals, so hey, ya never can be for sure.

     One day I was picking up my kids, caught a whiff, and asked my youngins if the spilt milk in my car. My kids informed me that smell was chicken farm. They learned that on the bus. After a while ya don't smell it any more. Yeah, I still smell it.

(photos by my dear friend Constance)

     Last fall they sprayed all the soy fields with what I think was chicken poo, or fertilizer.  For five miles you smelt this horrible smell. That was really bad. The best part is when your son says "the smell went away" so I freed my nose from inside my shirt, and took a big whiff, just to realize, yet again that my sons a jokester.

     For some reason everybody in the town I live in burns EVERY THING. It's not illegal, or at least if it is no one enforces it. I open fires all the time. I'm concerned that one day a fire will be an emergency and no one will call 911. (Yeah know, the boy who cried wolf.)

 

     Tires, the smell of rubber and plastic fills the air on a regular basis.  When I smell tires I am reminded of the Catskill Tire Fire in '89, I think it was '89.  Catskill had a burnt tire smell, and haze for weeks.   They burn old trailers too.  It must be the insulation that has that funky odor. Oh, let's not forget the saddle shop up the road, they burn their scrap leather every so often too. Today we actually smelt camp fire.  yeah, someone was actually burning wood, go figure. 

     I am surprised by the lack of respect southerners have for the environment. I can't help but wonder what the average carbon foot print is down here.

 

     Anyway, back to funky smells..... To me, chicken houses smell like rotten milk and some sort of manure.  The smell of the smorgasbord of burning stuff, well they all have a smell of their own. So if ya decide to come down to north eastern Alabama bring your gas mask;-)

 (I was just outside doing some gardening.  The farmer across the street decided to fertilize his field today. My house smells lovely.  Guess I better close my windows.)