the possum
New member
The other day, I went outside to warm up my wife's car before she headed to work, and when I opened the door, my nostrils were instantly greeted by the powerful smell of anhydrous ammonia. My wife came out a few moments later, and wrinkled her nose at the odor. She is not quite as familiar with the smell, but I recognized it instantly from my farm background. I could tell it wasn't quite "pure", as there was a hint of a "dirty" smell mixed in with it.
This is the second time I've smelled it in the past few weeks. The first time, I recognized the anhydrous, but it was also mixed with the aroma of burning rubber, or dirty surplus gunpowder or something.
I called the police on both occasions, since it was so strong, and farmers certainly aren't using it now. But both times, the smell had mostly died off (after about 20-40 minutes since I first smelled it) by the time the locals arrived. I am hoping there is a reasonable explanation for the smell, but I knew I'd kick myself if something bad happened and I never reported it.
This brings me to last night. I hesitate to even post it, because I am rather uncertain I saw anything at all; I'm probably just paranoid after the above experiences. But, there is a house just across the street from us that's for sale, and I *thought* it was unoccupied. But last night I went out to feed our dog again, and a silver car pulled into the driveway just a little bit. (I was already walking/facing that direction, otherwise I would have never even paid attention) I saw a light shimmer at the side door of the house, and at first I thought it was just the headlights from this car shining on the window. But, the car was not moving at the time, and neither was I. I then realized it looked more like someone was flashing a flashlight from inside the door, five or six times. After this flashing, the car immediately backed out of the driveway again and took off. When the car moved, I quickly turned and walked to the side so it wouldn't look like I was watching, but I did go back to where I observed all this to make sure I wasn't just seeing the reflection of a street light or something. It really is a bad angle, so I can't be sure of what I saw, but it was enough to freak me out a bit after thinking about someone brewing meth nearby.
I'll probably see one of the local boys again within the next few days, and will mention this to him, but I wasn't sure enough to make a call last night. I guess I'm really hoping someone can confirm or put my mind at ease about the strange odors. I can't think of anything else that smells like that.
This is the second time I've smelled it in the past few weeks. The first time, I recognized the anhydrous, but it was also mixed with the aroma of burning rubber, or dirty surplus gunpowder or something.
I called the police on both occasions, since it was so strong, and farmers certainly aren't using it now. But both times, the smell had mostly died off (after about 20-40 minutes since I first smelled it) by the time the locals arrived. I am hoping there is a reasonable explanation for the smell, but I knew I'd kick myself if something bad happened and I never reported it.
This brings me to last night. I hesitate to even post it, because I am rather uncertain I saw anything at all; I'm probably just paranoid after the above experiences. But, there is a house just across the street from us that's for sale, and I *thought* it was unoccupied. But last night I went out to feed our dog again, and a silver car pulled into the driveway just a little bit. (I was already walking/facing that direction, otherwise I would have never even paid attention) I saw a light shimmer at the side door of the house, and at first I thought it was just the headlights from this car shining on the window. But, the car was not moving at the time, and neither was I. I then realized it looked more like someone was flashing a flashlight from inside the door, five or six times. After this flashing, the car immediately backed out of the driveway again and took off. When the car moved, I quickly turned and walked to the side so it wouldn't look like I was watching, but I did go back to where I observed all this to make sure I wasn't just seeing the reflection of a street light or something. It really is a bad angle, so I can't be sure of what I saw, but it was enough to freak me out a bit after thinking about someone brewing meth nearby.
I'll probably see one of the local boys again within the next few days, and will mention this to him, but I wasn't sure enough to make a call last night. I guess I'm really hoping someone can confirm or put my mind at ease about the strange odors. I can't think of anything else that smells like that.