Piñon smoke and a school bus in Santa Fe

Pale wooden garden bench with a curved back in front of a clipped hedge

I drive the school bus in Santa Fe, and any evening now the first piñon fires start and the whole town smells sweet and smoky. Nothing beats it for me. I'm trying to learn resins and woods, slowly.

Pine and fir Oud

4 comments

frankie.incense October 3, 2026

Fun fact: oud, the dark resin-soaked wood, forms in Aquilaria trees after a fungal infection, says Wikipedia's entry on agarwood. [Piñon is definitely the friendlier way in.] For a tour of the woods, the Class on sandalwood, oud and cedar is a good map. Footnotes welcome.

lupe.pinon October 3, 2026

A tree that makes its smell after getting sick. That's going to stay with me.

brynn.pine October 4, 2026

Woodsmoke all winter here in Minneapolis too. Welcome from further north.

juniper_jules October 4, 2026

I burn a little piñon while the kiln cools, sweet and resinous, softer than pine.