Smells and sounds of the season

So, this is one of my favorite times of  the year.  From about the middle of October (my birthday!) on, I just love it.  There is just a different feeling when it cools a little.  I love the way October smells.  It used to be in Auburndale, that during October the plants would be cooking oranges or whatever they did with them and that was a fabulous smell.  I don’t get that smell anymore.  When we lived in Clewiston, the smell was the sugar mill and that is a smell I definitely do NOT miss. That is one of the most foul smells in the world, it’s sort of a sickly, overly sweet smell that is just indescribably gross. Someone once told me that to them it smelled like money, but it is horrible.  However, that is still a smell I associate with this time of year.

I like the smell of fall scented candles.  I have one  that is an autumn smell – I can’t even describe it.  It’s such a good smell.  I have a cinnamon bun candle and a farmhouse apple candle, all burning at the same time. 

I like the smell of turkey, dressing and most of all, pumpkin bread baking in the oven.  My mom made the best pumpkin bread ever. When she died, we had a hard time finding the right recipe. My oldest sister tried five or six different recipes, trying to get it just right and it took a while.  Finally, she found an old cookbook that my aunt got for my mom the first year she was married and there it was, all spattered and stained!  There is something about that smell that is just fabulous. Mrs. Sharon at my church makes a pumpkin muffin recipe that reminds me a lot of my mom’s recipe. 

My new favorite sound for this season is the sound of the squirrel that lives in our tree playing with acorns on the porch!  Last night I was up late and the wind was blowing a little, and I could hear the acorns falling off the tree and hitting the roof of our front porch. Today while I was home, I could hear the squirrel running around, jumping from the tree to the porch.  It’s funny. 

The one sound that you will NEVER hear at my house yet, is the sound of Christmas music. My rule is this – no Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving.   Last year I cheated a tiny bit and listened to Chris Tomlin’s Christmas album, but that was an exception to the rule. I think we get so caught up in Christmas that we miss the joy of thankfulness.  So, no Christmas sounds for me, yet! Now, Friday – that’s a whole different story. Friday, all the Christmas music comes out – Chris Tomlin, Avalon, Harry Connick , Jr., Third Day, the Carpenters, the Beach Boys and of course, the Chipmunks!  That doesn’t even count my  CD’s with multiple artists!  I have more Christmas music than there will be days until Christmas.