Colorful Autumn
Have you ever taken your time to admire the beautiful display of colors of autumn? Did you ever take a walk in the park or on the paths of a forest stepping on what could be considered to be a bed of colorful leaves? Most of us have done all these things and it is perhaps precisely this that made them choose autumn as their favorite season. It may not be pleasant when thinking about the rains and cloudy, cold weather but it certainly regains its lost charm in those sunny autumn days in which every leaf appears even more shining and colorful as if regaining its long last beauty.
One may rightfully say like Albert Camus said that “Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.” I think this statement is the ultimate truth in my case as if you have ever tried to bring together leaves of all colors then you most certainly obtained a colorful bouquet of leaves. Indeed flowers have their own unparalleled beauty, yet leaves do have their own uniqueness in the autumn natural setting.
Have you ever been curious to find what determines the changing of colors in leaves? First of all we should mention that as you all know autumn brings with it colder temperatures and a certain moisture in the air and of course days get shorter. We keep complaining about these things as they affect us, our mood and our way of dealing with the challenges of a new day. But leaves seem to be also affected by these environmental factors. The vividness of colors is the privilege of spring whereas dull colors are considered to be the privilege of autumn. I do not say that the red, brown or green nuances which can be found in autumn leaves are dull; it is true that they carry on their own charisma, yet one has to admit that spring brings to surface the attribute of distinctness. The debate may continue as indeed both seasons have their own distinctness and splendor. But, since I have started mentioning the autumn leaves I would continue strolling on this path. What a nice thing to say when referring to leaves as a path of leaves, don’t you think so? You should not take this as a praise of my writing but more like a praise of autumn. Three main things influence the color of leaves: chlorophyll is the one which determines their green color and which proves to be essential as far as the process of photosynthesis is to be brought into discussion; the other two are carotenoids and authocyanins. Indeed the nature can be compared to a huge laboratory where various chemical reactions take place in a certain pre-established order as if afraid not to disturb the good functioning of things; such is the case of leaves and the various nuances they take when autumn makes its presence felt. The trees seem to prepare themselves for the winter which is about to come and as such they put on the cold weather coat, one which is made of brown, orange, yellow, golden or red leaves. As days get shorter the trees stop producing chlorophyll and as such it makes way to carotenoids and anthocyanins. Carotenoids, what does this word makes you think of? Most probably your answer would be related to the color of carrots. In the case of leaves the carotenoids are responsible for the brown, orange, yellow and golden nuances which one is able to deem in leaves in this season. It is true that these colors are spectacular when set in a natural setting but what I find even more spectacular is the red shade which can be found in certain leaves. And here my option confirms one more time the saying which states that ‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.’ It may be because I find these shades rather unique in leaves and as such I appreciate them even more in the rare occasions I see them. Anthocyanins are the ones to be blamed for these amazing reddish tones.
However the lack of rain in a certain period can certainly influence the color changing process undergone by leaves and make us miss all this spectacular autumn show offered to us by nature and enable us to witness only brown leaves. If you happen to live in area where temperatures change gradually then you most certainly were able to see al the nuances I have mentioned above. What better display of colors if not the one taking place in the womb of nature! It makes painters envy it as it most times look like the real artist is nature.
Did you ever take your time to write in an agenda such things as “take a stroll in a park and admire the falling leaves”? There is not a single person to do this as we seem to be too busy to admire whatever is related to the beautiful aspects of nature. It looks as I am crazy as I say something like this, yet perhaps some of the most beautiful moments in our life are spent in the middle of nature, and as we tend to take all natural elements for granted we are unable to enjoy them.
If you want to see spectacular colors in their entire splendor in autumn you should look for such trees as oaks, maples, birch and ash trees and nevertheless elms. We most certainly appreciate sunny autumn days but not so much for the falling leaves or the colors they have but because they are sunny and they manage to make most of us think about the past summer days. Yet, each season has its own beauty and autumn certainly does not fail to do the same thing.
If it was for me to make a choice and name one tree I love most in autumn coating then even with my eyes closed I’d choose to embrace the tree named maple. It must be because of the red nuance that can be found in the maple leaves.
Surprisingly or not science has proven that tones such as red, brown and yellow are present in leaves all year long hiding from our eyes and as such they make their presence felt only when chlorophyll vanishes as autumn becomes the landlady.
Bed of leaves
In case you were not able to be present at the show offered by autumn then you should look for an oak as it looks like this tree keeps postponing any change in the color of its leaves until all the others have already remained nude. I use the term ‘nude’ as it looks the most appropriate to me when talking about trees and the falling leaves.
The colors of autumn have been celebrated along the time, being the source of inspiration for many poets, writers and famous singers as well and why should they not be for you too? You may have heard about the already famous song that Nat King Cole used to sing “Autumn leaves”; I find this song most inspiring when it comes to looking out the window and admiring the falling leaves. Is there any story of autumn that one can mention? Most of us have no relation to poetry being strongly anchored in reality and as such they are unable to find any story in this season. Who blames them? I don’t because perhaps this is the world we deserve since in order to be able to survive these days one need to be so, realistic I mean, with his feet on the ground. Feel free to contradict me as I am willing to admit if I may be wrong.
Native Americans may sustain my theory about the existence of a story of autumn as in case you didn’t know they account for the red color in leaves by coming up with a story about a hunting taking place in the autumn sky; during this hunting a huge bear gets to be killed and the blood drops reach the leaves and as such they turn out to be red. It is quite a poetic explanation, perhaps too poetic for many of you.
Even though you may find the bed of fallen leaves useless in a forest you should know that they are as useful as they can be given the situation; These leaves provide just the perfect environment for some tree seeds to germinate in and not only do they manage to facilitate the germination of seeds but they also help enrich the soil as they seem to be rich in nutrients too. So, next time you hurry to disregard natural element you should refrain yourself from doing it and instead utter the following words, quoting George Eliot “Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns”.
