1. The witchling’s hair. It’s a mixture of calendula (from the shampoo we use), various herbs and oils (from the blend I made up for her before she was born), and, well, witchling (though it’s not the same as that newborn smell, which I thought was to be attributed to far too many maternal hormones or something, before I encountered it myself).

2. The smell of the cats’ fur when they’ve been out in the cold nighttime air. I like to snuffle my face into their fur as they warm up and start purring (well, Wixon virtually never stops purring, but still, you get the idea); Pyewacket smells like old powderpuffs, and Wixon smells like dark naughtiness (which is about right).

3. The puff of woodsmoke that comes out of the stove when I open it to throw in a log; this only really happens when the wind is in the right direction, as normally our chimney vents like nobody’s business; you need strong wind from the south for anything to make it out into the room.

4. Washing drying over the stove.

5. Lemon zest.

6. Ground coffee (which I love, though I still wish that it tasted as good as it smells).

7. Valerian.*

8. Leather.

9. That Chrimbly smell you get when you come downstairs to a room with a real Christmas tree in situ.

10. The smell of damp cob – earthy, musty and a little like an old church.

And you?

* This is an all-time favourite, though I’ve tried to avoid getting into oils and scents for this post – there are just too many!