A Q&A on Seasons and the Senses
Q&A With Shay Each Sunday
As we have progressed into fall I started thinking about my favorite aspects of fall as they appeal to the senses. I always comment on this as an editor (and remind myself as a writer): How can this be written in sensory detail? I started pondering my favorite smells, sounds, tastes, feels, and sights of fall, and then, further, for all seasons. I have also been thinking about my overall favorite things and LEAST favorite things about each season, and started to realize how it’s interesting that sometimes something you love in one season becomes something you dislike in another simply because your mindset changes season to season, and we expect a certain pattern depending on the time of year. I love when it gets dark early in winter and the sleepy quiet of the season, but if that happened in summer I wouldn’t be in the right state to deal with it and it’d probably feel depressing. Expectations and patterns and routines in our minds are the biggest factor when it comes to what we cherish in our seasons. We’d hate it if it was summer or winter all the time, we wouldn’t have the chance to experience things from a different angle (well, I think most of us would hate it even if we claim we wouldn't).
Q: Favorite fall smell
A: Pumpkin candles, and really any candle that smells like baked goods. That always reminds me of fall. But I also love the smell of the air in fall—clean and crisp and healthy feeling.
Q: Favorite fall sound
A: Crows cawing. I immediately feel immersed in fall any time I hear crows. Even if I hear them in different seasons I suddenly feel like it’s fall. And this kind of goes to my point about mindset, but when I hear crows in summer I’m longing for it to be fall even though I love summer.
Q: Favorite fall taste
A: Pumpkin pie
Q: Favorite fall feel
A: Soft sweaters in crisp air
Q: Favorite fall sight
A: Foliage, of course!
Now, let’s go onto summer…
Q: Favorite summer smell
A: Salt air and citronella
Q: Favorite summer sound
A: Waves crashing
Q: Favorite summer taste
A: Iced coffee
Q: Favorite summer feel
A: The hot sun
Q: Favorite summer sight
A: The ocean
Now, winter…
Q: Favorite winter smell
A: Fireplace/ firepit/ smoke
Q: Favorite winter sound
A: Wind howling
Q: Favorite winter taste
A: Hmm. I suppose maybe hot chocolate…it is still kind of pumpkin time, though…
Q: Favorite winter feel
A: Again, fireplace
Q: Favorite winter sight
A: Dark nights, especially when there’s that lovely white wispy swirl in the air.
Springtime…
Q: Favorite spring smell
A: Honeysuckle
Q: Favorite spring sound
A: Rain on the window
Q: Favorite spring taste
A: I feel like I can safely say that I do not associate any taste with spring. I’m far more into all the tastes that fall has to offer. Spring is also my least favorite season, so this whole section of spring and the senses was the most difficult. I think a lot of green vegetables are of the spring season, but I eat them all year so not sure I’d associate them with spring!
Q: Favorite spring feel
A: The air getting warmer
Q: Favorite spring sight
A: Cherry blossoms
Now, let’s move onto absolute bests and worsts of each season. My favorite seasons are fall and summer—they’re pretty much tied for first. I don’t think I can choose a preference because I love them both so much for different reasons. I wish we could alternate between summer and fall all year with a touch of winter around the holidays. But as I said, it would probably get pretty old without all the variation.
Fall favorite: The chill in the air with fluttering and changing leaves. Which is basically to say: The overall feeling and sentiment of peace and calm. (But, also, spookiness.)
Fall worst: Only that there’s no more beach time. So, I guess I don’t downright dislike anything about fall.
Summer favorite: Everything about being outside—the ocean, the water, the sun. I stay outside as much as possible in summer.
Summer worst: MOSQUITOES! And all the biting insects. I am one of those people who is an absolute magnet for bugs. I’m always covered in bites in summer. In fact, I’m still sitting here itching as I write this. The bugs haven’t gone away just yet. (Though, I sometimes even get a couple bites in winter. They never fully leave me.)
Winter favorite: The dark eerie quiet and the overall feeling of rest. Also, of course, the festive feel of the holidays but since that’s right at the start of winter, there’s still a while to go from there.
Winter worst: The cold, of course. I feel actual pain when I’m really cold, so some of those winter days are excruciating. Have you ever gotten so cold that it felt like your flesh was being burned? Me too.
Spring favorite: That it’s starting to warm back up. There’s a feeling of rebirth in the spring and I’m always ready for the warm weather by that point, but I get eager to skip straight to summer.
Spring worst: POLLEN. Even though the weather is getting warmer in the spring and I’d love to enjoy outdoor activities, I’m usually suffering and itching too much if I try to go outside for an extended time so I have to wait until the pollen finishes.
What are your favorites and worsts and what senses stand out to you as related to the seasons?
Happy fall! Let the pumpkins commence.
