October is quite possibly my favorite month of the year. I thought I’d write up a little list of everything I love about October because this can be a good exercise to recognize some of the senses we often forget to write about. So today, I show my appreciation for October through the five senses.
- Sight: I live in New England, and each October am gifted with the beautiful foliage that so many flock here to see. The maples are typically the first to go, and turn so deep a red that it almost looks as though they’re on fire upon first glance. The best is driving through farm country, surrounded by rolling hills of reds, yellows and oranges that flicker in the breeze.
- Smell: Around here, it’s supposedly illegal to burn leaves in your fireplace. People still do it though, and even though it’s not great for the atmosphere, I love that smell. It’s smoky, a little sweet, and just sharp enough to catch my attention, and to me it means autumn. In a matter of a week or two, the air is going to be filled with that scent, and I’m looking forward to it.
- Sound: Oak trees reproduce with the help of squirrels every year. The sound of acorns dropping off of the trees, hitting the roof and rolling off to the ground, makes me happy. Supposedly, the more acorns that drop, the more snowy the winter will be. I love the cold, and the snow, so the percussive acorns are always welcome to my ears.
- Touch: This one is a bit difficult. What does it feel like to touch October? As the air cools, I bake more bread, so I’m going to go with the feeling of mixing, kneading and working with bread dough in general. I typically make bread on a weekly basis during the fall, and September around here is usually pretty warm still, so October is the start of bread season for me.
- Taste: Apples. Need I say more? Probably not, but I will anyway. With October comes the opportunity to go apple picking for a myriad of kinds of apples, which are delicious in so many ways.
Let’s face it, Halloween is fun too. This year, my nephew wants me to be a monster for Halloween. The adorable way in which he requested this is enough to make me love October, even if I didn’t love it all my life. I challenge you to pick your favorite month, or food, or anything else, and list what you like about it in the scope of the five senses.
(For example, if I were going to use bread, I might say I like the way the crust gets a little burned where I cut it before baking, the way the sourdough makes the kitchen smell a little like sweetened vinegar, the way the crust continues to audibly sizzle for minutes after I take it out of the oven, the texture of the large crumb when I hold a slice of bread and the taste…well, what beats the taste of a fresh-made sourdough boule?)
