{"id":29754,"date":"2017-10-06T06:29:57","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T13:29:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=29754"},"modified":"2017-10-06T09:28:45","modified_gmt":"2017-10-06T16:28:45","slug":"friday-fun-mother-nature-says-its-showtime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2017\/10\/06\/friday-fun-mother-nature-says-its-showtime\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Fun: Mother Nature Says, \u201cIt\u2019s Showtime!\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>My favorite time of year is here again \u2013 <strong><em>AUTUMN!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So once again you get my annual fall foliage portfolio.\u00a0 And as always, it seems pretty logical the best way to begin our overview of the story behind fall\u2019s phantasmagorical foliage fling is with \u2026 well, an <strong><em>overview<\/em><\/strong> of the vast verdant vegetation of the vales and vistas of Vermont.\u00a0 <em>(OK, OK &#8211; there probably are a few other states included &#8211; but that ruins my alliteration.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"695\" height=\"391\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/A1a-YIJ4wZo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>So Just Try and Stop Me from Telling You Why Leaves Change Color<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To understand why leaves change colors we need to realize that it\u2019s part of a (hopefully) endless cycle.\u00a0 Once a new leaf if fully formed, usually around June, the next thing a tree spends its energy on is setting the following year\u2019s leaf buds.\u00a0 The job of the leaves currently in place is to create and store food as carbohydrates\/sugars necessary for that task.\u00a0 And unlike us, trees are unique in that they\u2019re able to manufacture their own food\/energy, courtesy of <strong>photosynthesis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Photosynthesis_Chlorophyll_Leaf.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-29755\" src=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Photosynthesis_Chlorophyll_Leaf-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Photosynthesis_Chlorophyll_Leaf-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Photosynthesis_Chlorophyll_Leaf-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Photosynthesis_Chlorophyll_Leaf-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Photosynthesis_Chlorophyll_Leaf.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Chlorophyll<\/em><\/strong> is the green pigmented chemical in leaves that uses the energy provided by the sun during the process of <em>photosynthesis<\/em> to convert water taken up by the roots and carbon dioxide taken from the air into sugars and starches \u2013 nutrients that the tree needs for growth \u2013 while giving off oxygen as a by-product.<\/p>\n<p>But the chlorophyll that gives trees their green is not the only color pigment present in leaves all summer.\u00a0 Working just as hard in the leaves are the <strong><em>carotenoids<\/em><\/strong> (<strong><em>carotene<\/em><\/strong> and <strong><em>xanthophyll<\/em><\/strong>).\u00a0 These pigments are important in capturing light energy needed in the process of photosynthesis.\u00a0 It\u2019s just that the <em>carotenoids<\/em> are masked by the overpowering green of the chlorophyll during the summer months.<\/p>\n<p>But with the coming of autumn, as daylight hours shorten and temperatures cool down, cells near the juncture of the leaf and its stem start to divide very rapidly.\u00a0 This creates what is called an <strong><em>abscission layer<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 This corky abscission layer of cells is the site where the leaf will eventually break from the tree and flutter to the ground.\u00a0 That corky layer then serves to protect the branch through winter after the leaf leaves.<\/p>\n<p>The rapid growth of that corky layer begins to physically block transport of nutrients needed by the leaf to manufacture the carbohydrates.\u00a0 Consequently the photosynthesis that\u2019s been creating chlorophyll (which is not a very stable chemical and has been rapidly broken down and replaced throughout the summer) ceases.<\/p>\n<p>Once the chlorophyll is gone, the carotene and xanthophyll chemical pigments that have been present all summer long can now take center stage.<\/p>\n<p>These <strong><em>carotenoids<\/em><\/strong> (<strong><em>carotene<\/em><\/strong> and <strong><em>xanthophyll<\/em><\/strong>) give their characteristic orange and yellow colors to not just leaves, but also to carrots, corn, canaries, and daffodils \u2013 as well as egg yolks, rutabagas, buttercups, and bananas.\u00a0 And they account as the predominant color in about 15-30% of our tree species \u2013 typically the hardwood species of hickories, ash, maple, yellow poplar, aspen, birch, black cherry, sycamore, cottonwood, sassafras, and alder.<\/p>\n<p>And the third class of color that trees have (the first two being <em>chlorophyll<\/em> and the <em>carotenoids<\/em>) are the reds and purples of <strong><em>anthocyanin<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 But unlike the other two classes, anthocyanin has <em><u>not<\/u><\/em> been present in the leaves the whole summer.\u00a0 The anthocyanins are created brand new \u2013\u00a0 just for autumn\u2019s fall foliage!<\/p>\n<p>Why the tree would expend its precious energy, when it\u2019s shutting down for the winter, for the creation of a new product is not understood.\u00a0 But we do know the brighter the sunlight during this period, the greater the production of anthocyanins \u2013 and the more brilliant the resulting reds and purples. \u00a0This pretty direct proportion of redness to sunlight exposure explains why the periphery of hardwood trees are bright red, while the foliage lower down and inside are the more typical oranges and yellows.<\/p>\n<p>Anthocyanins also account for the coloring of cranberries, red apples, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, and plums.\u00a0 They are present in only about 10% of hardwood species \u2013 mainly maples, sourwood, sweetgums, dogwoods, tupelos, cherry trees and persimmons.<\/p>\n<p>But in a few lucky areas \u2014 most famously New England \u2014 up to 70% of tree species are the type that produce the anthocyanin pigment.\u00a0 That high concentration of a single color (the reds of anthocyanin) accounts for the intense but relatively brief autumnal color display in New England.\u00a0 Whereas in most other areas that have a higher mix of tree varieties the colors may not be as intense, but the season lasts longer.<\/p>\n<p>You can see where your particularly area is peak-wise with this <strong><em>Interactive Peak Color Map<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 Just slide the circle on the bar to the date you want.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/smokymountains.com\/fall-foliage-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>Click Me for the Map<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Time to enjoy some of my new favorite photos of the fantasia of fall \u2026<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Foliage-Forest_Quebec.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29756\" src=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Foliage-Forest_Quebec.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"762\" height=\"497\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Foliage-Forest_Quebec.jpg 762w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Foliage-Forest_Quebec-150x98.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Foliage-Forest_Quebec-300x196.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 762px) 100vw, 762px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Drone View of Fall Foliage in Quebec<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall_Road-Germany.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29758\" src=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall_Road-Germany.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall_Road-Germany.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall_Road-Germany-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall_Road-Germany-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>A Tree All\u00e9e in Germany<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Autumn_Bear-Rocks_WV_Anthony-Heflin.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29759\" src=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Autumn_Bear-Rocks_WV_Anthony-Heflin.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Autumn_Bear-Rocks_WV_Anthony-Heflin.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Autumn_Bear-Rocks_WV_Anthony-Heflin-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Autumn_Bear-Rocks_WV_Anthony-Heflin-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Autumn_Bear-Rocks_WV_Anthony-Heflin-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Autumn_Bear-Rocks_WV_Anthony-Heflin-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Bears Rocks in West Virginia<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Autumn-Foliage_Aerial-Drone_Justen-Soule.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29760\" src=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Autumn-Foliage_Aerial-Drone_Justen-Soule.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Autumn-Foliage_Aerial-Drone_Justen-Soule.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Autumn-Foliage_Aerial-Drone_Justen-Soule-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Autumn-Foliage_Aerial-Drone_Justen-Soule-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Autumn-Foliage_Aerial-Drone_Justen-Soule-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Autumn-Foliage_Aerial-Drone_Justen-Soule-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Drone View of Farm Fields Cut Through a Forest in Keene, Ontario<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/FAll-Foliage_Fog1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29761\" src=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/FAll-Foliage_Fog1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1556\" height=\"1054\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/FAll-Foliage_Fog1.jpg 1556w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/FAll-Foliage_Fog1-150x102.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/FAll-Foliage_Fog1-300x203.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/FAll-Foliage_Fog1-768x520.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/FAll-Foliage_Fog1-1024x694.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1556px) 100vw, 1556px\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Fall Foliage in the Fog<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall_Drone_Bogata-Forest_Romania_Calin-Andrei-Stan.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29757\" src=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall_Drone_Bogata-Forest_Romania_Calin-Andrei-Stan.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall_Drone_Bogata-Forest_Romania_Calin-Andrei-Stan.jpg 520w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall_Drone_Bogata-Forest_Romania_Calin-Andrei-Stan-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall_Drone_Bogata-Forest_Romania_Calin-Andrei-Stan-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Drone View of Winding Road Through the Bogata Forest in Romania<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Foliage_Swans-Lake.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29762\" src=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Foliage_Swans-Lake.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Foliage_Swans-Lake.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Foliage_Swans-Lake-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fall-Foliage_Swans-Lake-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Swans Enjoying the Autumnal Splendors<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll see you again next year!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My favorite time of year is here again \u2013 AUTUMN! So once again you get my annual fall foliage portfolio.\u00a0 And as always, it seems pretty logical the best way to begin our overview of the story behind fall\u2019s phantasmagorical foliage fling is with \u2026 well, an overview of the vast verdant vegetation of the <a href='https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2017\/10\/06\/friday-fun-mother-nature-says-its-showtime\/' class='excerpt-more'>[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-5-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29754\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}