This post was written specifically for the #AuthorToolboxBlogHop.
We ended up having a bit of a snow storm here in Albuquerque last night and, despite already having a post for the #AuthorToolboxBlogHop, I found myself thinking about describing the seasons.
With maybe only one or two exceptions (anything set exclusively in space, for example), you’re liable to have scenes set outdoors and the environment is going to be a factor. And, even indoors there are ways to clue the reader in to the time of year. So, in what ways can you describe the seasons?
Spring
Spring is often considered a time of rebirth & renewal, with lengthening days, flowers blooming and rising temperatures. There are also April showers. And, of course, if you have a real-world setting, there’s Easter.
I looked out across a sea of daffodils, bright yellow against the green and still beaded with moisture from the earlier rain.
Summer
Here you have both lengthening and shortening days, depending on which side of Midsummer. Generally, there will be warmer weather leading to the likelihood of outdoor cooking. Some areas will experience rain or thunderstorms.
The day’s heat clung to the city. Even with sundown two hours past, the temperature was still in the high eighties. She shifted uncomfortably as sweat slicked the small of her back.
Autumn/Fall
The days are getting shorter. Temperatures begin to fall, as do leaves. And those leaves will go through a variety of colours before they do. Harvesting as also common to this time, along with harvest celebrations.
The street was awash in leaves, crisp and crackling under their feet. Breath misted around them as they took turns sipping from a shared coffee.
Winter
The coldest and darkest, with snow and ice as common features. With the winter solstice, days will start becoming longer. And, again, if you have a real-world setting you can have Christmas & New Year to add to your backdrop.
There had been another thick drift of snow, a fresh foot or more in the past hour. The rooftops on the far bank of the canal were still blanketed in white, glistening in the streetlights. Below the white gave way to grey as the traffic in the streets turned into it into slush.
I’m going to finish up for now but I hope this sparks one or two ideas.
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The Scribblings 
I’d like to add a few things. Spring flowers popping up between the melting snow, slush, robins coming home to nest, ducklings following mama in a pond or across a road, floods, backed up sewers, rushing rivers, dirty water coming out the tap and having to boil your water. Then the water recedes and all is good. Schools out and kids are free.
Summer: sprinklers and kids running through the water, too hot or drought. Air conditioners and fans. Water shortages, sunburn. Suntan lotions and the smell of cocoa butter. Sounds of mowing the lawn far off, or bugs a buzzing and if at the beach the waves lapping against the warf, Building sandcastles. Picnics. Tourists. Summer clothes. Loose dresses. Sandals. The slap of flip flops. Traffic. (Forest Fires)
Fall. Brilliant colors. Kids back in school. New clothes. New books. New shoes. Kicking fallen leaves. Maples leaves falling. Halloween. Bonfires. Crisp air. Bright blue skies. Huge harvest moon.
Winter. Xmas Holidays! Hot chocolate. Skiing, sledding, snowball fights. Snow days. Cuddling by a fireplace. Scrapping car windows. Shoveling snow. Ice on puddles. Ice skating. Snowsuits that make kids look like colorful walking stars. Mittens, scarves, and weird colorful hats. Boots.
Yeah the seasons get my imagination going too. 😉
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And everything is different in the Southern hemisphere. April showers are autumn showers. Christmas signals the start of summer. And we don’t really celebrate Harvest, because it falls in the middle of Lent.
But that raises another valid point: the way we describe the seasons and the time of year helps establish our setting.
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True enough, thanks for catching my oversight there 🙂
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The lengthening and shortening of days sparked something for me. Thanks, Drew!
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