Five Senses of Fall: The Best of Vermont

The Touch of Fall

Fall in Vermont is the slight breeze blowing against your cheek as you hike through the famous Green Mountains. It’s sitting at the edge of the dock, feet dangling above the pond, the water touching just the tips of your toes. Fall is a smooth pumpkin fresh from a local patch, carving open the top to expose seeds and all kinds of bright orange mush. The touch of fall is a warm flannel over your shoulders and the fire in your cabin warming your soul. It’s everything all at once, wrapping you in a huge Vermont hug.  

The Sound of Fall

Fall sounds like a dog racing through piles of leaves, red and yellow exploding all around as more leaves drift down from the trees. It’s the cool evening as crickets chirp and the fire crackles. Fall sounds like calling to tell your sister that you found the perfect pumpkin but her yelling back that she found one better. Fall is the yummy noises you can’t help but make when you bite into a  fresh cider donut, and then take another bite a second later because they’re just so good. Fall is the sound of life and change and growth all happening at once, but oh so slowly.

The Taste of Fall

The taste of Fall is warm apple cider pressed just down the street. It’s dunking a pumpkin muffin into your coffee in the morning as you look out at the leaves changing all around you. Fall tastes like warm maple syrup and spice and sweet and fun. It’s toasting pumpkin seeds in the oven and adding just a pinch of salt. Fall is everything sweet and special and savory all at once filling your belly and making your day whole.

The Sight of Fall

The sight of fall is the most famous of them all, with the leaves changing into the most phenomenal colors. The trees go from deep greens to a patchwork of red, yellow, and orange. Fall is discovering how many colors red can be from a maple to an oak to a sumac. The sights of fall are unique, every day and every year creating a new scene of colors that tell the story of sunlight, chlorophyll, and September chill. Fall is seeing the beauty in the world and recognizing just how good change can be.

The Smell of Fall

The smell of fall is a loaf of bread baking in the oven and a cinnamon candle beside your bath. It’s that indescribable smell of crunchy leaves, something like soil and bark and freshness all at once. Fall smells like cool rivers racing over rocks and your favorite boots that have been packed away for far too long. It’s the turkey in the oven and the local beer you’re trying for the first time. Fall is breathing deep and feeling life rush into your body, keeping you warm and strong and happy just in time for another winter to settle in.