Falling For You

Every leaf speaks bliss to me,
Fluttering from the autumn tree.

EMILY BRONTE

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons. I love how the leaves turn into different shades of yellow, red and orange, as if someone had painted on them. They are most beautiful when they are falling from the branches, like butterflies retreating for the winter and sparkling like the glitters inside a giant snow globe. It delights me greatly as I watch them falling, covering the verdant lawn like a carpet of gold, red and fiery orange– what a beautiful sight! And then you see the birds enjoying the red berries where the leaves left exposed.

So, what causes the leaves to turn into different colors?
The leaves serve as food factory for the plants. During spring and summer when daytime is longer, the leaves are able to produce plenty of food for the plants. Plants obtain light from the sun using chlorophyll found in the leaves. By using light energy, plants are able to turn water and carbon dioxide to glucose. However, in the fall, daytime is shorter and less light are absorbed, which means less food for the plants. In order to preserve its energy, the factory shutdowns and the plants live off the food they stored during summer. As the process begins, the green chlorophyll starts to disappear and exposes some of the colors found in the leaves. Few trees such as Maples, trap glucose in the leaves after photosynthesis ends. Cold weather and sunlight cause glucose to turn red. There are several factors why leaves turn color in the fall. If you want to learn more, visit Gonewengland.