The Colours of Autumn

Fiery reds, scorching oranges and glowing yellows - the leaves of autumn against the empty grey skies makes this season one of my favourite times of year. Perhaps it's the colours that bring so much warmth when the nights start drawing in. I have happy nostalgic memories of school starting, of cosy times in front of the TV and looking forward to Halloween and Bonfire Night.

I wonder where the most beautiful places are to see the colours of autumn and imagine what it would be like to visit the forests of New England or the boreal woods of Russia.

Autumn also reminds me of the different seasons and how they pattern our lives. We look forward to festivals, we change our fashion, we take part in different activities and plan our holidays. Where does this changing sunlight come from? Well, it's from the 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth. As the Earth orbits the sun in a year, it's tilt means that parts of our planet receive different amounts of the sun's energy. Whilst it orbits the sun it also spins on it's axis creating the familiar rhythm of day and night that rules our lives.

My nicely drawn Earth is orbiting the sun and in December the sun's rays hit mainly the southern hemisphere creating summer in places like Australia, whilst the northern hemisphere gets less sun and experiences winter. Then another six months pass and the Earth has travelled around to the other side of the sun and in June the process is reversed. The sun's rays mainly hit the northern hemisphere creating long hot summer days in places like the UK, whilst the southern hemisphere gets cold. You can see how this tilt creates the seasons.

The changing amount of sunlight and the change in seasons has a powerful effect on nature. It can dictate when mating time begins, it can mean all sorts of creatures start their fantastic migration journeys or get ready for hibernating, enjoying a long winter sleep. One of the most lovely and obvious effects is simply watching trees as they change.

Take a walk through Kew Garden's in London at different times of the year and you can clearly see the changes in the trees that give a perfect cycle of growth and rebirth.

From the bright green spring leaves

Through to the trees just bursting with flowers throughout spring and summer.

To the growth of seeds and fruit as shown in this Sweet Chestnut Tree.

Through to the seeping of the golden hue in autumn.

And finally the bare silhouette of the trees in winter

The cycle shows how interdependent nature is. Trees rely on the energy from the sunlight, water from the soil and carbon dioxide from the air to produce nourishing glucose food. This vitally important photosynthesis process also releases oxygen in the air for us all to breathe.

During the autumn when there is less daylight hours and the weather cools, the chlorophyll which makes the leaves green, stops being produced and the other pigments such as carotene and xanthophyll pigments shine through producing the spectacular red and yellow colours.

It's amazing that what can seem so familiar and common such as the seasons, a day, a breath, can in turn be intriguing and mysterious when you try to understand the reason they happen. Trees especially hold this power for me. I may see them everyday, but I feel like I'm only starting to take a real interest in them.
Autumn has made me want to find out more about trees. I want to learn to recognise an Alder from a Beech or an Elm from a Sycamore. But for now I'm just going to enjoy kicking the golden leaves before it's gets to winter and the trees begin their 'sleep'.