Let your sense of smell lead you to greater enjoyment of the season and to new discoveries.
Peterborough Examiner – October 25, 2024 – by Drew Monkman
One of my favorite fall memories is raking and burning leaves with my grandfather at our family cottage. The air was filled with the spicy aroma of the fallen foliage, beautifully blended with the sweet smoke from the fires. Now, these same smells impart a certain nostalgia, a reminder of the deep bond I shared with my grandparents and how quickly time passes. Those autumn days remain etched in my heart.
Every fall, a symphony of scents fills the air. It’s a captivating blend of crisp leaves, damp soil and whiffs of everything from seasonal foods to woodsmoke. These smells are woven into our memories and tied to family traditions. They are also an integral part of seasonal rituals like Thanksgiving, Hallowe’en and fall fairs. Each season has its signature smells but those of fall seem to carry the greatest emotional impact.
Along with the transition to cooler weather and the quickly changing landscapes, the aromas of fall are also a striking reminder of seasonal change. And, as nature prepares for winter, we also find ourselves reflecting on our own lives.
The smell of leaves…and more
The delightful smell of fall leaves is caused by the breakdown of organic compounds as the leaves change colour, fall to the ground and eventually decay. During this process, a host of chemicals are released.
Aromatic compounds called terpenes contribute to the sweet and earthy scents. Phenols, which are similar to alcohols, contribute to the spicy or fruity notes, while tannins deliver astringent, woody smells. Then, as the leaves decompose from fungal and bacterial activity, earthy scents are given off. Warm weather and rain amplify these pleasant odours even more.
The smells of fall are limited to leaves, however. Here’s some other aromas you don’t want to miss.
1. The damp, earthy smell of mushrooms can be quite distinctive. Shaggy mane mushrooms (Coprinus comatus) have a slightly nutty aroma, akin to fresh flour. When cooked, the scent becomes even more appealing.
2. If there are campfires or nearby cabins with a woodstove, the smoky aroma of burning wood always evokes cozy autumn feelings.
3. Evergreen trees release a fresh, resinous scent. This is especially true for the yellow needles of white pines that litter the ground in autumn. Warm temperatures enhance their aroma even more.
4. If you’re near orchards or wild apple trees, the sweet scent of ripe fruit can fill the air. Decomposing apples on the ground also have a signature smell, albeit not always pleasant. Smells don’t have to be appealing to be evocative!
5. The nutty, slightly sweet fragrance of fallen acorns also adds to the woodland aroma. To appreciate their scent even more, look for a freshly fallen acorn. Remove the cap, hold the acorn close to your nose, and take a slow, deep breath. Try to identify the subtle nutty, earthy aromas. Does it remind you of other natural scents, like damp earth or wood?
6. After it rains, or in damp, low-lying forest areas, the smell of the soil and decaying leaves is both pronounced and refreshing. As the poet Robert Bly wrote, “The leaves are down, and touching the soaked earth, giving off the odours that partridges love.”
7. The cool, brisk air itself seems to carry an invigorating fresh scent – or at least that’s how our brains interpret it. This is especially the case when it’s about to snow. Maybe it’s the way that snow interacts with the environment, trapping airborne particles and pollutants, resulting in a purer, crisper aroma. Some people also note a slight sweet scent from the moisture in the air, creating a unique olfactory experience associated with late fall and winter.
8. Flowers that have already faded and gone to seed can also have pleasant odours. Try rubbing the dead leaves or seed heads of species like asters, roses, mints, lavender, eucalyptus and monarda (also known as bee-balm or bergamot). The citrus scent of wild bergamot is one of my favourites. It’s the smell of Earl Grey tea.
Enhancing the experience
The following tips will help engage and maximize your olfactory senses. The most important thing is to simply get in the habit of smelling things, be they flowers, buds, leaves, bark, seeds, needles, conifer sap, mushrooms or most anything else.
1. When you find something you want to smell, rub it vigorously between your thumb and index finger, and then bring your fingers to your nose. This will release more of the chemicals that give off the fragrance. When you move on to smelling something else, use different fingers or maybe a bit of sanitizer so as not to jumble the different smells.
2. Take slow, deep breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.
3. Take time your time. Walk slowly and pause frequently to absorb the aromas around you. Can you identify them? If you don’t know what a given smell is, what does it remind you of?
4. Try to smell as many different elements of the environment as you can. Be curious.
5. Explore different habitats—forests, meadows, wetlands and more. Each habitat offers a different olfactory experience.
6. Go outside after it rains. Rain can enhance many smells. There’s even a word for the pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather. It’s called petrichor.
7. Take time to think about how certain smells make you feel. The nerves that sense smell are directly connected to the brain’s limbic system which controls emotions.
8. When you can’t get outside, use candles or essential oils that capture the essence of fall. These include cedar, balsam fir, sandalwood and cinnamon.
9. Engaging in autumn yard work can be surprisingly enjoyable. The act of raking leaves, for example, releases their fragrance, allowing you to immerse yourself in their spiciness.
10. Making a “smell cocktail” can be a fun activity for adults and kids alike. All you need are some small containers such as paper cups. As you walk along, harvest tiny “bits” of the forest – maybe a pinch of moist leaf mould, a part of a rubbed leaf, some damp soil, and some pine needles. When you have four or five items, stir them with a twig. You can even give your creation a name – perhaps “leafatopia”. Ask everyone to smell each other’s concoction. Which scents dominate?
This fall, let your sense of smell lead you to greater enjoyment of the season and to new discoveries. It’s fall’s unique scents – and the flood of memories they impart – that make this time of year so beloved.
Climate chaos by the numbers
CO2 levels: The global atmospheric CO2 reading on Oct. 21 was 422.21 parts per million (ppm), compared to 418.19 ppm a year ago. The highest level considered safe for the world’s climate is 350 ppm. We surpassed this level in the 1990s. Source: CO2.earth at https://www.co2.earth/
Local temperature averages: The average temperature for the last 30 days was 11.6 C. This is 2.1 C above average. On Wednesday, Oct. 22, the temperature reached 24.8 C which is almost 14 C above average. This is the second hottest Oct. 22 ever recorded in Peterborough. If we maintain current development patterns (i.e., a medium GHG emission scenario), the temperature is likely to rise by 2.7 C to 5.1 C by the end of the century. Source: CBC Climate Dashboard at https://tinyurl.com/yaew76nc
