September is a time of transition. The days here are still hovering at 106 degrees but the sun is setting just before 7:00 p.m. giving a false sense of cooler weather. Pumpkin spice lattes are back. At the same time local menus are featuring peach cobbler and locally made peach jam. Summer is lingering but everyone is really ready for Fall this year.
Why the pumpkin spice latte? It engages the sense of taste as a marker for Fall. Yes, it is flavored syrup in a cup of coffee to manufacture a sense of the season. But the anticipation of its return tells me people are deeply seeking a connection with the seasons. We crave those little sensory signs to signal that time has moved in the patterns and cycles of nature that we need despite our technology-driven daily life.
I won’t be ordering a pumpkin spice latte until the temperature is below 100 degrees. But I will be taking down the flower arrangements from Summer and getting the hearth ready for Fall.