The leaves are starting to change. I’d rather they didn’t, but they won’t listen to me. It’s just something they have to do.
It seems to be a bit of a mystery as to what makes them change. One tree can suddenly turn colour, while one right next to it will wait for weeks before changing. So it’s hard to point to just one thing.
Apparently, it has something to do with the amount of daylight. And temperature. Whether that’s air temperature or soil temperature, I’m not sure. But something sets them off.
The change of colour is the result of chlorophyll, the stuff that makes tree food, shutting down, changing and being stored as sugar to give the tree a kick start next year. That sugar gets sucked back into the branches of the tree. Whatever is left behind in the leaves tries to protect the chlorophyll and ends up producing other colours.
So essentially the tree stops making food for itself and takes a nap after eating all summer long. Strangely, it seems to take place around the same time as Thanksgiving. About the same time that we are pushing back from the table, saying we’ve had enough, the trees are doing the same thing. Only they go on a diet for a few months.
I have no idea what makes good colour. The only way I know of is to wait for those colours to pop out on the trees, but I hope we get some nice ones this fall.
While I hate to see it happen, I like seeing it at the same time. And there’s something good about all the seasons.
