The Southern Mercantile
  • Home
  • Getting Acquainted
    • OUR STORY
    • MEET OUR MAKERS
  • blog
  • Shop
  • Recipe Archive
  • Events

Fall in the South

11/4/2014

0 Comments

 
The heady fragrance of the last honeysuckle and muscadines fading…the earthy scent of peanuts being turned up from the dirt…even the pungent smell of cotton defoliant lingering in the air.  Cheerleaders and marching bands sending football teams to victory… big red peanut wagons rattling down the road…wind rustling through crunchy, colorful leaves. Crisp, cool mornings…children disguised as superheroes and princesses running around… pumpkins & painted hay bales spotted in many front yards. Summer is gone and fall has arrived in the South!

I’ve heard that of the five senses, the sense of smell is most tied to memory. I would agree. Going to college in Atlanta, I can remember kissing my boyfriend goodbye with the scent of honeysuckle and muscadines in the background. I felt like I was kissing my home goodbye, too. Although I didn’t visit often enough for my parents, when I did drive down I-75 and began to smell peanuts through the air conditioner vents, I knew I was almost home. That was comforting to me, even if it didn’t take long for my sniffling nose and itchy, red eyes to appear.

Of course, tied to that dusty peanut smell, is the sight and sound of those red peanut wagons bumping up and down the road.  I remember watching my uncles fill those wagons in the fields, then taking them slowly but surely to the buying point.  Those trailers annoyed me as a teenager – they were always in my way. Now, though they do make me slow down, I am grateful for the peanut wagons (and cotton trailers and hay-balers and tractors and combines) and the economic impact they have on individuals and my community.

 As I grow older, I love this season more and more. While I enjoy my flip flops, I adore tying a colorful, cozy scarf around my neck. It is so much fun to attend fairs and festivals with family and friends, getting lost in corn mazes, taking hayrides, and choosing the perfect pumpkin to decorate. Kids dress in costumes for Halloween carnivals and trick-or-treating, while the teenagers wear their semi-formal dresses and bow-ties for the Homecoming dance. There’s nothing more exciting than cheering your favorite football team to victory, then watching the marching band’s halftime show, while anxiously waiting to see which beautiful young lady is crowned Homecoming Queen!

Fall provides a respite from scorching summer temperatures in the south. Summer is always too hot for anything outside, unless it is in or on the water. That makes us southerners truly appreciate fall. From a few minutes reveling in the cool breeze on my front porch, to festivals, football games, and family gatherings, fall provides multiple opportunities to celebrate being outdoors. And we southerners sure do enjoy a celebration! The south is my home, and I never feel closer to my home than in the fall.

-Jorjanne


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    @thesouthernmerc



    Categories

    All
    Alder Street Renovation
    Beauty
    Beech St. Bungalow
    By Jorjanne
    By Roxie
    By Tara
    Childhood
    Christmas
    Curated Collection
    Decorating
    Easter
    Events
    Faith And Community
    Fall
    Family
    Free
    Gardening
    Getting Crafty
    Get Togethers
    Gift Ideas
    Meet Our Makers
    Organization
    Printable
    Recipes
    Renovations
    Showers
    Southern Summer
    Spring
    Style
    Thanksgiving
    Traditions
    Travel
    Tutorial
    Valentines Day
    Video Tutorial
    Wedding
    Words From Fellow Southerners

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    December 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Subscribe to our mailing list

    * indicates required



Home



About



Contact

Pinterest

instagram

Facebook

Picture
Copyright © 2015