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We are at peak fall color right now and it's the perfect time for leaf peeping! I love all of the stunning oranges, reds, and yellows that appear this time of year, but did you know that these pigments have been there ever since the leaf burst into the world in the spring?! The chlorophyll, or that green pigment, outcompetes the rest of the pigments visually, since there needs to be a lot of it to undergo the process of photosynthesis. The other pigments are still important, and help to keep the tree healthy, but they just aren't as saturated. When the tree reabsorbs the chlorophyll components in the fall, we can finally see the other colors underneath!
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to Hawk Mountain and just get outside, watch for birds, and explore the natural world. Early October is a great time for watching bird migration along the Atlantic Flyway, and Hawk Mountain is a perfect spot to watch, especially on their overlook!
It's Spooky Season time! Enjoy stickers (perfect for trick-or-treating allergy free and sugar free!), snag some themed autumnal and handmade jewelry, or a foraging cocktails book, designed to get you outside enjoying the crisp autumn air!
Abscission is such a fun phenomenon to witness in the fall! It felt like it was raining gold while we were picnicking at the park under these Tulip Poplars and sycamores. Abscission is when the leaf is cut at the petiole (by the tree itself) once the tree no longer finds it worthwhile to keep the tissue. Wind comes along and detached the leaf, which then falls to the ground (or bonks you in the head mid-apple bite) relatively nearby. Decomposers break the old leaf down and return those nutrients to the parent tree to start growing new leaves again in the spring.
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