( flaming foliage for all this fall )

portraits of nature

( flaming foliage for all this fall )

by “porcupine pat” mckinney

you stared in disbelief when you tore off yet another month from your calendar to reveal that the great engine that turns our earth is shifting into the autumn gear. yes, a new season has arrived, and with it the visual stimulus which is a main ingredient of autumn.

each month has its own personality, too, and this time of year seems befitting of a split one ! we start out with warmer days but end up with light jacket weather, that is, from cool to cold at night.   

some swear that the cooler temps are the reason why leaves change color. over the course of late summer, you probably glimpsed some leaves that were already expressing their true colors. most likely, this is due to stresses from drought and hot temps. the major reason for fall color is the length of sunlight available during the day. 

according to www.sciencemadesimple.com, “leaves are nature's ‘food factories.’” plants siphon water from the ground through their roots and absorb a gas called carbon dioxide from the air. plants use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and glucose.

oxygen is a gas in the air which we need in order to breathe. glucose is a kind of sugar. plants use glucose as food for energy and as a building block for growing.

the way plants turn water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugar is called photosynthesis, which means "putting together with light."

a chemical called chlorophyll helps make photosynthesis happen and is the stuff that gives plants their green color. as summer ends and autumn arrives, the days get shorter, and this is how the trees just "know" when to begin getting ready for winter.

trees have to shut down for the winter because there is not enough sunlight or available water, due to the ground being frozen. if a tree still had sap in its wood, most likely the tree would shatter due to the extreme cold. this is akin to when your pipes burst due to ice expanding inside the pipes from a home that has lost its heat during winter. 

but, we are getting ahead of ourselves ! the key to remember is that green chlorophyll masks the true color of each leaf.  as a tree shuts down for the season, the green chlorophyll fades away, unveiling that leaf’s true colors.

we all know that there are several ways to identify a tree from its shape, bark, leaves, etc. leaf color is yet another way to do so.

most common tree colors include: bronze for american beech, red for red maple, orange for sugar maple, yellow for tulip poplar and slippery elm, and the list can go on. we are very fortunate in having such a variety of trees to enjoy in our little nook and cranny of pennsylvania, especially when in some places on this same planet of ours, the change of seasons is less authentic and visible for appreciation station efforts.

as you traipse around the environs here in southeastern pennsylvania, keep a sharp eye out for peak foliage that usually occurs around mid to late october. experts predict that this year will be a doozy, so be sure to take time to enjoy the sights.

some of the best sites for the act of “leaf-peeping” include: anywhere along the schuylkill river, route 100, and oley valley’s back roads. in fact, places like monocacy hill in douglassville feature walkable trails and enjoyable views of autumn leaves crisply responding to each footfall you offer the ground.    

remember that folks who enjoy glimpsing fall foliage are sometimes called “leaf-peepers.” so, be sure to take time this fall to peep at some leaves !