shades of autumn

Today is the first full day of autumn. It arrived yesterday at 10:49 EDT in the northern hemisphere. So, it did show up yesterday but today is the first full day. I always wonder how the comity of "they" know when that happens. Doesn't matter that much to me to research it.

The leaves change in Calgary to mostly shades of yellow. It's a sorry site to see when you're from Ontario. I miss the RED! Ok, maybe I miss the water of Lake Superior too. Yes yes, the mountains are here, I get it. (:

The question also is, why do leaves change colours at all? I've known for awhile but I don't think it's common knowledge. Most people think it's mostly due to the frost. It's not. The leaves change on only a few of our deciduous trees - maples, aspens, oaks, etc. & there are a few factors which contribute to autumn colours; the main agent is light or really, the lack thereof. As the days become shorter, the reduction of light triggers chemical changes in deciduous plants causing a corky wall to form between the twig & the leaf stalk. This eventually causes the leaf to drop in the autumn breezes which we are all very familiar with. The combination of less light, lack of nutrients & no water add up to the death of chlorophyll (the reason for the green colour in plants). Ok, enough of the science. I still miss the red. Thankfully, I am going to Vancouver next weekend to hopefully get my colour fix while I'm there.

I took a few images this evening. I always look for reds or oranges.

Yes, the last one is mostly yellow but it's still very pretty!