Fall is probably my favorite season to run. This is partly because fifty degrees (or somewhat lower) is my ideal running temperature, but it’s more than about climate. A primary reason is that the smells of fall in Maine have a nostalgia for me. The scent of decaying leaves and earth, the moistness of morning wet leaves on bricks or pavement, or frozen brightly-colored leaves crunching beneath my sneakers as temperatures, sometimes slowly and other times way too quickly, drop below freezing, remind me of my childhood.
When I run, I breathe deeply to capture the smells and fill my lungs with the cold Autumn air. Fall produces my favorite smells, better than baking bread or apple pie or freshly mowed grass. Getting outside and experiencing it from ground level is tantamount. I run through the leaves as they lay in piles against the side walks’ curbs, swishing my feet right through them, trying to kick them up just to get a stronger whiff.
I walked to school most grades; I wasn't on a bus route. I loved school and anticipated fall with enthusiasm and a sense of a fresh beginning with each new grade. Walking down Maine Avenue to Perry School in the first grade with my Mom walking beside me, my sister in a stroller, is a fond memory. At recess, I would always go to the little piece of dirt or tree area at my schools, a path or bushy area and play pretend. I wasn’t much of an athlete, playing various ball games, so the blacktop held little appeal for me. I’d always go toward the periphery, toward the smallest spot of nature. I’ve never been a concrete or blacktop type of girl; I’ll take the dirt road and the wooded path any chance I get.
Running or walking outside in the early mornings of fall give me a boost of energy and happiness as I reminisce and fondly remember positive parts of my childhood. I know if I make the effort to get myself out in the mornings before work, my whole day will flow more beautifully. Funny how memories can be of the strangest things – not events as you might expect, but smells.
What smells bring you back?
(photo: Southwest Harbor, ME)
