Fall colors dazzle; Wilson’s cheese a must

Fall color ride includes a stop in Pinconning for “fuel”

 

For as long as I have been an avid photographer, more than four decades now, fall has been one of my favorite times of the year.

Whether it was chasing the breathtaking fall colors of the harvest and various trees up north, or seizing the moment closer to home. getting photos of the fall foliage and harvest is hard to beat.

In the fall, I will use the excuse of wanting to go see my grandparents old farm on Hockaday Rd. in Gladwin, enjoying vivid colors God has painted on His canvas. Simply breathtaking!

While peak season is well underway in the northern Lower Peninsula, colors have begun to pop more recently further downstate. As was the case last week on my drives back and forth to Yale.

With perfect weather and cooler evenings, the colors glistening in the sun are simply stunning. At least to me. I have been known to suddenly (and safely) pull off the road and use my phone to snap a picture or two. The camera doesn’t do it justice. But regardless, it is a sight to behold for sure.

On recent trips up north, we’ve been known to stop in Pinconning and other points along the eastern shoreline to take in more of the colorful spectacle. All the while, we make sure we also stop at Wilson’s Cheese for a tasty treat.

No trip is complete for us, until we snag a few slabs of kojak cheese and some club crackers for the ride home.

This annual fall light show in the trees got me to thinking, what exactly is this process of trees changing colors.

I know what it means and what comes after it (boo on snow), but it just amazes me, the variety of stunning colors.

In doing a little research, experts say for years, scientists have worked to understand the changes that occur in trees and shrubs during autumn.

Although experts admit they don’t know all the details, they do know enough to explain the basics to help enjoy nature’s multicolored display.

Three factors influence autumn leaf color: leaf pigments, length of night and the weather.

The timing of color changes and the onset of falling leaves is primarily regulated by the calendar as nights become longer.

None of the other environmental influences–such as temperature, rainfall, food supply–are as unvarying as the steadily increasing length of night during autumn.

As days grow shorter, and nights grow longer and cooler, biochemical processes in the leaf begin to paint the landscape with Nature’s autumn palette.

A color palette needs pigments, and there are three types that are involved in autumn color:

• Carotenoids: Produces yellow, orange, and brown colors in such things as corn, carrots, and daffodils, as well as rutabagas, buttercups, and bananas.

• Anthocyanin: Gives color to such familiar things as cranberries, red apples, concord grapes, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, and plums. They are water soluble and appear in the watery liquid of leaf cells.

• Chlorophyll: Gives leaves a basic green color. It is necessary for photosynthesis, the chemical reaction that enables plants to use sunlight to manufacture sugars for food. Trees in the temperate zones store these sugars for the winter dormant period.

During the growing season, chlorophyll is continually being produced and broken down and leaves appear green. As night length increases in the autumn, chlorophyll production slows down and then stops and eventually all the chlorophyll is destroyed.

The carotenoids and anthocyanin that are present in the leaf are then unmasked and show their colors. Certain colors are characteristic of particular species:

• Oaks: red, brown, or russet

• Hickories: golden bronze

• Aspen and yellow-poplar: golden yellow

• Dogwood: purplish red

• Beech: light tan

• Sourwood and black tupelo: crimson.

The color of maple leaves differ species by species:

• Red maple: brilliant scarlet;

• Sugar maple: orange-red;

• Black maple: glowing yellow

• Striped maple: almost colorless.

Some leaves of some species, such as the elms simply shrivel up and fall, exhibiting little color other than drab brown.

Oaks put on their colors long after other species have already shed their leaves.

In early autumn, in response to the shortening days and declining intensity of sunlight, leaves begin the processes leading up to their fall.

The veins that carry fluids into and out of the leaf gradually close off as a layer of cells forms at the base of each leaf.

These clogged veins trap sugars in the leaf and promote production of anthocyanin.

Once this separation layer is complete and the connecting tissues are sealed off, the leaf is ready to fall.

The amount and brilliance of the colors that develop in any particular autumn season are related to weather conditions that occur before and during the time the chlorophyll in the leaves is dwindling.

Temperature and moisture are the main influences.

A succession of warm, sunny days and cool, crisp but not freezing nights seems to bring the most spectacular color displays.

Still on my bucket list is to go up to the Petoskey area and drive through The Tunnel of Trees!

I hear it is a breathtaking ride when conditions are just right. Of course, even after that trip, we’d have to swing through Pinconning for my favorite cheese!