It sure doesn’t take long for summer to turn up missing in the north country. So many maples were starting to turn color near the end of August. The next month will be a cascade of color so we thought we would do a post on the colors of Autumn Leaves.
Most of you know that leaves are like little factories that produce food for the trees and plants. Generally speaking, in spring and summer these leaves are green. As the hours of daylight shorten and temperatures start to drop in the fall this process of producing food for the tree stops. The green color in the leaves starts to disappear revealing the yellows, reds, purples and browns that we all enjoy.
Weather is also a factor in the brightness and intensity of these colors. If the temps are cool but still above freezing the color red is brighter in maples. Early frost will hurt the color intensity of leaves. Rainy overcast weather tend to help with color brightness and intensity. So when we do get the bright clear Autumn days we can enjoy the amazing colors of Autumn leaves.
My wife and I enjoy riding our motorcycles down the Mississippi River valley south of the Twin Cities when the colors are peaking. The bluff country is really spectacular with fall colors. Riding around Lake Pepin is always enjoyable with all the interesting little towns on both the Minnesota and Wisconsin side of the river.
