Skip to main content

The Pondering 10 - Favorite Outdoor Smells

Bit of a weird topic, huh? Regardless, you can't tell me that there aren't certain smells in life that you just love. Certain whiffs that relax you, remind you of good times, or just simply put you in a very happy place. Yeaaaaah, thought so. With that in mind, I've decided to put together the latest Pondering 10 based on my favorite outdoor smells. Just a warning, most of these will be from the summer, because, well, winter is terrible!


10. Honeysuckle - With summer comes the bloom of various plants and flowers. Some of them bring about a specific scent that can't be duplicated. The Honeysuckle is obviously one of them.



9. Burned Firewood - Say what? Sometimes this city kid loves an old fashioned fire-pit. I've had my share in the day, plenty during my Caribbean visits, and a few sprinkled in during my time in upstate New York. A good fire is always fun, especially that scent of burned wood.



8. Rain at the end of a Hot Day - I'm not sure how to describe this one. It's just one of those things in life...We all know when rain is coming in the summer as it gives that certain chemical release from the weather approaching. That scent that eventually cools the hot summer day, and reminds you, it's summer time!


7. Open Road - Nothing like rollin...err, I guess pushing the button to put your windows down, and smelling that open road as you drive during the summer. For this city slicker, I appreciate this a lot as we tend to leave our windows up with the A/C blasting to avoid smog and other pollution.



6. Hot Drink on Cold Winter Morning - The ONLY non-summer point on this list. Nonetheless, as much as I dislike the winter, having that warm beverage (coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc...) in your hand on a cold winter morning is a great feeling, and a great scent.



5. Baseball Field - Baseball fields just have that smell. That smell. It's hard to explain. Some say it's just grass and dirt combined, but there is a little extra in there for baseball diamonds. Maybe it's a baseball thing? Maybe I'm just crazy? Who knows? Either way, still a favorite.



4. The Beach - One of my favorite places on earth. Nothing like the sun, the sand, the salt water, and the open air all combined.



3. Morning Dew - I am not a morning person. Not even close. Most of you already know this. However, when I do wake up early, and it's in the summertime, I do enjoy that summertime smell of the morning dew. But of course, I rarely catch that.



2. Caribbean - My family homeland. Only few know if this smell. If there is anything on this list I cannot describe, it is this smell. It hits you as soon as you exit the plane and that tropical paradise breeze hits you. Smmmmmfff, I want to book a ticket just thinking about it.



1. Summer Barbecue - What's better than this? Summertime, food on the grill, and livin' is easy. Gotta' love it. 

Recent Favorites

Dome Pondering Movie Review: The Incredibles 2 (2018)

What is it about? The Parr family returns to take on a new mission which involves a change in family roles as well as a new villain. Who is in it? Craig T. Nelson - Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible Holly Hunter - Helen Parr/Elastagirl Sarah Powell - Violet Parr Favorite Scene: After trying to contain Jack-Jack, his constant battle with a backyard rodent opens up the family to the multitude of powers that he possesses, or even, can develop. Favorite Quote: "If you wanna get out of the hole, first you gotta put down the shovel." Review: Like many, I LOVED the original Incredibles film. And yes, I too was annoyed whenever a sequel wasn't announced. After all, there were many franchises that debuted, got a sequel, and even moved straight to release on their third installment before our lovable heroic family got their turn! But I digress... Nonetheless, it finally arrived. And if I'm being honest, The Incredibles 2 was good. It just wasn't what I wa

AEW All IN: London (2023) Review: "This large of a crowd for an event that wasn't the WWE!"

I'm obviously registering these thoughts incredibly late, but such is the current state of pro wrestling right now - there is just so much going on, and so much to enjoy. It's a great time to be a fan, regardless of where your tribalism fandom falls - if you carry such allegiances.  I'm sure no matter what product you find entertaining, you circled AEW's All In event from Wembley Stadium as a must-watch. I don't care about someone else's "take" on the attendance total - I couldn't care less if it was the record for a pro wrestling event or not - what AEW was able to accomplish is absolutely amazing! Four years in, and the company produced an event on the levels of Wrestlemania in terms of attendance and business - that's damn impressive! Tony Khan and the entire company deserve loads of credit for taking that leap because it very much could have failed. They took a chance, and absolutely delivered (and so much more), and proved there is a subs

Sunday Sundown Rundown - 9/10/23

3 Up 1. Coco Gauf & Novak Djokovic - The US Open wrapped up this weekend and tennis crowned some deserving champions. Djokovic continues to add to a remarkable career with his 24th (!!) grand slam title win. And of course, Coco Gauff won over America with her win. It's impressive to see the effect that the Williams sisters have had on tennis - wow. Looking forward to seeing the star Gauff will become.  2. Olivia Rodrigo - Her first album was fire. Even this late-thirties male enjoyed it. The sophomore album is always the toughest and Rodrigo apparently (haven't listened to it myself, yet) dropped an absolute banger in "Guts". So much so, that it broke records for debut stream with over 60 million streams!  3. Deion Sanders - There's way to much dialogue around Sanders that isn't needed. Here is what it boils down to for me - Sanders took over a program that was 1-11. He brought in 80+ players. His team is currently 2-0, including victories over a ranked op