These first photos were from my evening walk on the very first of the month.
The month in question being August, I didn’t credit the blood-red leaves to seasonal change. I figured there was simply something wrong with this tree.
Two evenings later, I’m walking home down the the other side of the street, and I see this. There’s something wrong with this tree, too, right?
Before this, the earliest I’ve seen leaves changing was on the 15th of August, in Anchorage, Alaska. They’re not fully gone over like the leaves on these maples, though. The edges of the leaves on the birches take on a rusty color, with bits of yellow peppering the broader surface.
The color change accelerates rapidly, however, and peaks on the next to the last weekend in September. After that one spectacularly golden Saturday, the glorious reds and yellows all fade to dead, dull brown before they begin dropping from their branches in volume. When you wake up on the first of October, it’s nothing but knotty, skeletal fingers reaching for frigid gray skies fattening with the first snow.
Autumn as most of us know and love it lasts for a little over six weeks. This schedule was rigidly adhered to for all the turnings I witnessed from 2001 through 2003.
There are many differences to be observed between Anchorage and where I am now. Anchorage is high latitude; Monte Vista is high altitude. Anchorage is a boreal swamp built on the accumulated debris of the erosion of the Chugach Mountains into Cook Inlet. Monte Vista is an alpine desert. Every factor that determines how the leaves change color and fall—the light, the air, the soil, and water quality— is different.
At least autumn in Colorado’s San Luis Valley is good through Thanksgiving. One thing I did pick up on during my first fall here last year is that every individual tree seemed to run on its own schedule. Some were indeed bare by the first of October, while others were just getting started on their change. But there will be color through November.
Meanwhile, it’s already cool enough in the mornings that I need to wear my heavy winter robe. Soon these windows will be closed at night. It’s been a breathtakingly brief summer.
The month in question being August, I didn’t credit the blood-red leaves to seasonal change. I figured there was simply something wrong with this tree.
 |
| The color is somewhat washed out here, so one might be forgiven for presuming this tree really has a blight. |
Before this, the earliest I’ve seen leaves changing was on the 15th of August, in Anchorage, Alaska. They’re not fully gone over like the leaves on these maples, though. The edges of the leaves on the birches take on a rusty color, with bits of yellow peppering the broader surface.
The color change accelerates rapidly, however, and peaks on the next to the last weekend in September. After that one spectacularly golden Saturday, the glorious reds and yellows all fade to dead, dull brown before they begin dropping from their branches in volume. When you wake up on the first of October, it’s nothing but knotty, skeletal fingers reaching for frigid gray skies fattening with the first snow.
Autumn as most of us know and love it lasts for a little over six weeks. This schedule was rigidly adhered to for all the turnings I witnessed from 2001 through 2003.
There are many differences to be observed between Anchorage and where I am now. Anchorage is high latitude; Monte Vista is high altitude. Anchorage is a boreal swamp built on the accumulated debris of the erosion of the Chugach Mountains into Cook Inlet. Monte Vista is an alpine desert. Every factor that determines how the leaves change color and fall—the light, the air, the soil, and water quality— is different.
 |
| The third day of August, and I’m like, “Are you kidding me?” |
At least autumn in Colorado’s San Luis Valley is good through Thanksgiving. One thing I did pick up on during my first fall here last year is that every individual tree seemed to run on its own schedule. Some were indeed bare by the first of October, while others were just getting started on their change. But there will be color through November.
Meanwhile, it’s already cool enough in the mornings that I need to wear my heavy winter robe. Soon these windows will be closed at night. It’s been a breathtakingly brief summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment