The Scent of Autumn
There are certain things I miss about summers on the east coast such as crickets and fire flies, though I have heard crickets here at the beach. I just don’t have them where I live.
I’ve written several articles in the past few months that talk about summer, but it’s time I move onto autumn.
It isn’t so much the colorful foliage of the east coast fall that I miss. I can get a taste of it with the changing colors of the vine maples and the occasional aspen. Though the color is less here at least there is still a lot of green left here when the deciduous trees have lost their leaves. On the east coast the forests just turn grey.
There is a marked change in the air that one can appreciate weather one is here or on the east coast. A frosty morning feels the same no matter where you are.
One thing I do miss about autumn on the east coast is the smell of wild concord grapes that grow in the woods there. These grapes are a bit bitter to the taste, smell great. You can also make some really good grape juice, jelly or wine from them. Best of all they grow wild and they are free for the picking. The only problem is that sometimes they are out of reach so you need to bring poles with a cutting device and baskets on them.
The smell of ripe grapes on the vine is the smell of fall to me and I miss it dearly, though a the smell of a good apple harvest can do the trick as well.
posted by The Guy Who Writes This at 5:41 AM
6 Comments:
I have mentioned before that I love fall,and mostly because of the smells and I also miss the changing colors of the leaves that you find further inland.
My fall smells are: burning fireplaces on the first chilly clear evening, burning leaves, and just that crisp coldness and somethings the evening or morning fog. Yeah, that has a smell too. I am just a smelly girl, I guess. Maybe I am part dog - DONT answer that please.
You brought back another childhood memory - making grape jelly with my mom and sisters. When did we let that tradition go???
As for burning leaves - we're not allowed to do that here any more. Brings the cops to your door - and a fine.
The three things I missed most while on the left coast (San Diego) were thunderstorms, the smell of spring, and the smell of fall.
Autumn? On the East Coast? WTF is that? Here it's still creeping into the 90's. We're over 6 inches short of rain. Farmers have had massive crop failures. Pumpkins will be imported from other areas due to the lack of rain. I've only had to mow the lawn twice since June when it's usually at least a weekly chore. The tomato plants from which I should still be plucking fruit are shriveled up no matter how much water I give them.
The only sign of autumn I've seen is the crickets coming into the house. They usually wait until September, but this year they started in mid-August. The cats are happy with the extra protein snacks.
Yeah, I'll be glad to see some fall weather, if it means getting some precipitation. And unless we do get some rain there won't be much fall color in the trees.
Auntie, you usually set yourself up like that on your own blog. I'll be kind...
Beth, the smell of making grape jelly is like no other. We are allowed to burn here, but not until October. I'm sure that will end one day.
Trop, we do have all three of those things here, but they aren't as intense as the east coast.
Rich,Extreme is bad. We never seem to get extreme here on the Coast. It may be odd from time to time, but never extreme.
Guess we're lucky here to have normal rainfall. Our leaves are well on the way to a rainbow and the woodsmoke is abundant most nights. Smoke from a fireplace and ground fog, great aromas:)
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