Saturday, October 15, 2011

what's that smell?

Okay, at the risk of sounding like a crazy person, I'm just going to ask if anyone has any idea what this is all about...

There's been a weird smell in the neighborhood lately. I first smelled it about a month ago, so strong that it woke me up in the middle of the night. It smelled like fireworks... that burnt sulfur smell of a spent firework. I had to shut my window it was so strong. The following morning I was sure I must have dreamed it. But I've smelled it a few more times since then. Only once in daylight, usually at night, and sometimes down the road a half mile or so. Mom's smelled it, and one of my neighbors even texted me a week or so ago late at night and said "does it smell weird outside to you?"

At 2:30 last night it was so strong it woke me up again, blowing in the window on the breeze. It was less sulfury this time, hard to describe... sort of a cooking smell, like BBQ, but in a gross way, kind of a nasty undertone to it, like something dead? By morning the air is normal.

Does anyone have any idea what this could be? Do you think someone's cooking meth around here? Does it smell like that? Any other ideas? At least I'm not the only one aware of it... It's really quite disturbing though.

6 comments:

Jan Blawat said...

Your back neighbors with all the horses work for the Sheriff's Dept. Maybe they could contact the dept. for the neighborhood. Or maybe, with all those horses, they're cooking up a way to buy hay.

brokenfeather said...

An acrid, ammonia/burning styrofoam smell coupled to the "night only" activity could mean methlab. Sulfur is also acrid/pungent when burning...but Phosphorous is the chemical of choice...
you always have the most interesting blogs!!!!LOL
Aaron(35 years Chem teacher)

Granny Annie said...

Basically what brokenfeather said only easier to understand is that meth cooking is supposed to smell like cat urine. It seems teachers are always asking certain kids, "do you have a cat" and if the answer is no, that family with a cat smelling child might get a visit from the authorities:)

dougzilla said...

Well, it certainly wouldn't be out of character if it were a meth lab. I remember when Wilton had the dubious honor of having the first ever meth lab bust in the area, back, I think, when I was in junior high. At the time, they called it "ice", and I really, for the life of me, couldn't figure out why anyone would bust a lab making ice. Total innocence can be a wonderful thing, sometimes... Sigh.

chickensforeggs@gmail.com said...

OMG...do you know I mentioned the SAME THING a week or so ago on FB????
I smelt a smell, middle of the night (usually 3:30am) that actually woke me up. Seemed to be surrounding the house (I went outside to see if there was a breeze blowing a certain way). It's happened several times now....I called the fire department and Sheriff's....they thought it might be something they are using to ripen the walnuts more quickly. I thought it could be something from the landfill (called them too, but nope) and they also mentioned a possible meth-lab, but that is supposed to smell more like dirty socks. The smell is nothing like I have ever smelt in the 15 + years here....it's not a dead smell, not a burnt or chemical smell. It's not an "ag" smell such as after they have sprayed. I will call you!

tirot said...

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