One of my favourite things about fall is its smells: pumpkin pie, hearty stews, and especially wet leaves! Perhaps it’s because I grew up in Oregon, where wet leaves always plastered the driveway for months due to the almost constant drizzle, or perhaps it’s because there’s something rich and earthy about the slightly spicy smell they have that entices one to start nesting before the weather gets colder.

Either way, walking home tonight, I relished the smell in the cooling air, thinking how Autumn seems to have more smells than Winter–at least outdoors. I love Winter for its crispness and the sharp cold air that is in fact relatively allergen free for me–making Winter one of my new favourite seasons just for that!

But there’s nothing like Fall nights in late October and November, when the leaves have turned and fallen, and you know by December they will be all gone. Fall leaves feel like a welcome mat for the most introspective time of the year to come, and a reminder of how ephemeral the heights of Summer can be.