Colors, I See Colors

Colors, this is the time of year that whenever I’ve been outdoors there have been colors, vibrant colors, everywhere. These are not the colors of wildflowers or the greens of summer, they’re the colors that paint entire hillsides in northeastern North America – the yellows, reds, oranges, purples and browns of the changing leaves.

As the days shorten and the green chlorophyll in the leaves of deciduous trees  breaks down, other pigments in the leaves begin to become apparent, very apparent –

Each tree species tends to have its own distinctive color. Red maple lives up to its name –

While sugar maple tends toward orange –

But can also display yellow or red –

Black maple, sugar maple's close relative, is even more colorful with it's leaves of many colors –

The birches, black, yellow and white, display a brilliant lemon yellow –

White ash leaves (on the few trees that are left alive after the arrival of the emerald ash borer) often turn purple –

The hickories and tulip-poplar are species whose leaves become bright yellow –

Pignut Hickory

Tulip-poplar

It’s not just tree leaves that turn color, the leaves of many shrubs and vines also acquire vibrant colors –

Poison Ivy

Maple-leaved Viburnum

Virginia Creeper

Staghorn Sumac

What a joy it is to live here where there is a change of seasons and the forests are ablaze with color each fall –