It happens every year: that first day of autumn. We're conditioned to expect trees full of colorful leaves, cooler temperatures leading to chilly evenings and hot cocoa sipped while wearing warm sweaters. We imagine walks in the crisp air wearing boots and jackets and imagine the first flakes of winter snow that we've been told are just around the corner. However, in the deep south, those expectations are vastly different.
With a much warmer climate, we still have the same greenery as summer. Our temperatures don't drop, and "cooler" simply means the heat doesn't suck your breath away quite as much when you step out your front door in shorts and flip flops.
Without these typical autumn signals which dominate much of the United States, how do folks in the southern states recognize the arrival of the autumnal season? Two words: pumpkin spice. As the season draws near, one or two items begin to pop up. A flavored tea, a cookie or a candle here and there in past years has grown to include everything from Little Debbie cakes to potato chips.
Pumpkin spice pretzels, pumpkin spice caramel corn, pumpkin spice shampoos and soaps, pumpkin spice perfumes and colognes, pumpkin spice lattes and teas, pumpkin spice cakes and cookies, pumpkin spice candles and room sprays and incense, pumpkin spice popcorn, pumpkin spice bagels and cream cheese. The list goes on and on, with every company, regardless of their product line, attempting to jump into the pumpkin spice arena.
For the more health conscious, there are now protein powders and bars, organic juices, almonds, kale chips and organic kombucha to round out the diet. Of course, some may follow these with pumpkin spice marshmallows, donuts, chocolates or cookies baked using pumpkin spice flavored Nestle chips and pumpkin spice flavored Land o' Lakes butter.
From Cheerios to applesauce, Oreos to ice cream and Jell-O to granola bars, the list of items has grown so large that it's everywhere we look. It almost makes me wonder if the marketing folks at some of these companies have pushed a pumpkin spice product simply for those of us who will roll our eyes, chuckle and purchase it for the novelty, so we can show our friends and say, "Can you believe this?" Seriously, do dogs really want pumpkin spice greenies?
Fortunately, the pumpkin spice season passes, and life returns to a normal level of a very few pumpkin spice items available, and Southerners know it's time for another seasonal change. We will push through another sweltering summer next year, watching for the first signs that the temperatures may become bearable again in the autumn, searching those store shelves for our first glimpse of the annual pumpkin spice insanity.
