The Creative Spirit Newsletter

October 6, 2001

To our Canadian members I would like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving!  Please see our Message Board for the beautiful poem written by Joan, for this joyous occasion.

* Please bookmark our Message Board, for it is not available to the public or via any other pages. *

We have two new members!  Please welcome Eva-Lena to The Creative Spirit, and visit her lovely website.  She is from Sweden, and has many fine photos, tributes, and poetry, plus a beautiful tribute to the USA.  Also welcome Erica, from the Netherlands.  This lady designs the most beautiful mandalas, including chakra mandalas, and even makes stationery from them.  There is a lovely selection on her site.

In this part of the world we are moving into the Autumn season, with its beautiful colors.  Yet we do have members in Australia and New Zealand who are just beginning Spring!  If any of you from down under would like to contribute pictures of your seasonal changes we would be happy to receive them.

We have lost one member, Cheryl Taul.  She has found it necessary to close her site and all webrings due to the high stress-level in the USA, and her need to keep focused on her studies in this challenging time.  We will miss her.

There have been some changes for two TCS sites:  a URL change for Dave Grant, the creator of these beautiful fall photos.  His Homestead site is gone, but we have his one remaining site!  And... a new look for my site, Spirit Dove.

~ Blessings from Cheyenne ~

Autumn Colors

Every autumn Nature presents us with a beautiful package of fall colors. The array of reds, purples, oranges and yellows comes about as the result of chemical processes that take place in the tree as the seasons change from summer to winter.

In the spring and summer the leaves act as little factories where the foods necessary for the tree's growth are manufactured. This food-making process takes place in the leaf in numerous cells containing chlorophyll, which gives the leaf its green color. This extraordinary chemical absorbs energy from the sunlight and that is used in transforming carbon dioxide and water to carbohydrates, such as sugars and starch.

Along with the green pigment are yellow to orange pigments, carotenes and xanthophyll pigments which, for example, give the orange color to a carrot. Most of the year these colors are masked by great amounts of green coloring.

But in the fall, because of changes in the length of daylight and changes in temperature, the leaves stop their food-making process. The chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears, and the yellow to orange colors become visible and give the leaves part of their fall splendor.

At the same time other chemical changes may occur, which form additional colors through the development of red anthocyanin pigments. Some mixtures give rise to the reddish and purplish fall colors of trees such as dogwoods and sumacs, while others give the sugar maple its brilliant orange.

The autumn foliage of some trees show only yellow colors. Others, like many oaks, display mostly browns. All these colors are due to the mixing of varying amounts of the chlorophyll residue and other pigments in the leaf during the fall season.

As the fall colors appear, other changes are taking place. At the point where the stem of the leaf is attached to the tree, a special layer of cells develops and gradually severs the tissues that support the leaf. At the same time, the tree seals the cut, so that when the leaf is finally blown off by the wind or falls from its own weight, it leaves behind a leaf sear.

Most of the broad-leaved trees in the North shed their leaves in the fall. However, the dead brown leaves of the oaks and a few other species may stay on the tree until growth starts again in the spring. In the South, where the winters are mild, some of the broad-leaved trees are evergreen; that is, the leaves stay on the trees during winter and keep their green color.

Temperature, light, and water supply have an influence on the degree and the duration of fall color. Low temperatures above freezing will favor anthocyanin formation producing bright reds in maples. However, early frost will weaken the brilliant red color. Rainy and/or overcast days tend to increase the intensity of fall colors. The best time to enjoy the autumn color would be on a clear, dry, and cool (not freezing) day.

Enjoy the color, it only occurs for a brief period each fall. 

~ Carl E. Palm, Jr. ~

If you would like to preserve the color of autumn, here is a URL detailing many ways to save and press leaves. 

Fall Color Hotline

If you would like to know when the autumn colors are at their peak in a particular area you can find out here.  There are also many fine pictures, fire information, and the best ways to enjoy your national forests.

Quote of the Day

I cannot pretend to feel impartial about colors. I rejoice with the brilliant ones and am genuinely sorry for the poor browns.

~ Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965) ~

 

Corn and Pumpkin images by Dave Grant