Smells like Fall, Y'all!

Good Morning, Y'all! My family accuses me of being a "sniffer!" I cannot help having a VERY sensitive nose. I know immediately when Olliebear, the aged BIG poodle, has had an accident. I can tell when a neighbor has had a load of composted material delivered. Perfumes and certain detergents just drive me crazy! The nose just knows!
I was at my local grocery store(akaTheTeeter)when I caught a familiar odor. It suddenly smelled like FALL! It was a rainy and warm day. Humidity makes odors hang around longer, I think. It also seems to intensify smells. There was a big truck out in front, unloading MUMS! Golden yellow, rusty red, dusty lavender. . .all beautiful colors of MUMS! Nothing says that fall is beginning to me like the sight and smell of those plants and their distinct flowers!
I usually purchase about three rounds of chrysanthemums. The first round is usally in mid-September, when the impatiens that are in pots on my porch begin to look a little droopy. I rotate the summer flowers around back, and replace them with the pots filled with golden blooms. The nicest thing about the mums, is that they do last(when I keep them watered!) on my shady front porch about a month. The secret is to buy them in tight buds!
Round two is in mid-October, so that the porch will look festive for Halloween. Those are generally yellow, as well. Round three is another color. Many times I try the rusty red or purple shades moving towards Thanksviving. The really nice thing is that I then plant the mums in my garden. and get pretty blooms the following year, since they are perennials! Another WIN/WIN!
The next time you hit the grocery store or garden center, inhale and enjoy the woodsy fragrance of garden mums. The distinctive odor brings the warm fuzzy feelings of the approaching season. Hmmm! I think that I can hear the local high school band practicing for tonight's football game! It MUST be fall, y'all! THE NOSE KNOWS!