Thursday, November 2, 2017

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 –


7 comments:

Jacqueline Donnelly said...

You sure had some beautiful color this year! Where I live in northeastern NY, our foliage was quite muted, with many leaves shriveling and dropping early because of a dry autumn. It was lovely to see your photos.

Out To Pasture said...

Beautiful colour show, Woody. I would hand the ribbon for 'best dressed' to the Staghorn sumac. We all have our favourites and are spoiled for choice.

Out To Pasture said...
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The Furry Gnome said...

Wonderful pictures! Looks like you had a more colourful fall than we did.

Woody Meristem said...

Thanks all for the comments about our fall colors. The photos are of the very best areas and trees that I found; actually the fall colors were rather a bust. Almost all of the sugar maples' leaves just turned brown and fell -- back in September. The only good colors have been in moist areas and/or north facing slopes. Hopefully next year will be more normal.

Kait Evensen said...

Beautiful pictures! It's been a lovely fall indeed. Where I live in Colorado we mostly only have yellows and oranges from our native aspen. But it sure lasted a lot longer than last year! Loved going out and finding all the shrubs and forbs that were changing colors as well, those smaller plants are under appreciated!

A Colorful World said...

Absolutely stunning Fall color! Some of the best Autumn glory shots I've seen this season!