The Autumn Leaves
Birch in Autumn colors - Mine Road - 10/11/25
While we are not at “peak” color yet, there are many signs of the change of hue in the foliage of the trees here in the Hudson Valley. Cool September nights stimulated cells at the base of leaf stems to start drying out. A layer of corky deposits develops at the leaf base and limits the circulation of water, nutrients, and waste in and out of the leaf which basically stops the production of chlorophyll in the leaf. Sunlight leads to the breakdown of remaining chlorophyll revealing other pigments present such as carotenoids and anthocyanins. Carotenoids produce yellow and orange hues, while anthocyanins contribute reds and purples. This natural process helps trees conserve energy during the winter months and prepares them for new growth in the spring.
Different species of trees will produce different colors in their leaves as they go through this change. Birches like the one seen above tend to turn brilliant yellow.
Red maple - Mine Road - 10-11-25
Red maples on the other hand are generally brilliant crimson but certain environmental conditions may cause the leaves in fall to turn yellow or orange. Sugar maples closely resemble Red maples and if both happen to turn red (or yellow!) in fall, the confusion is even greater. The leaf edges of the red maple are more toothed than the smoother edges of the sugar maple’s leaves, however. In the image below, we see three different maples…the red, the sugar, and the yet to change color green Norway maples. Folks with Norway maples in their yards are well aware of the fact that Norway maples change and lose their leaves much later than other maples. It is not uncommon to be raking up the leaves of the Norway maple in late November or even early December!
Sugar maple (red), Sugar maple (yellow) and Norway maple (green) along Mine Road
We’ll anxiously await the continuing change of colors and hope that we don’t get a “killing frost” before we reach “peak” colors. A hard freeze can cause the cells of the leaf to rupture and leak out the materials leading to the fantastic colors of the fall foliage. Let’s hope for a relatively warm fall.
After seeing all this beauty along the road’s edge, one of the final sightings was kind of a downer. I’m always looking for mammals along Mine Road…deer, fox, bobcat, and hopefully bear. Well, I got my bear, but not before someone else “got” him. A beautiful Black bear had been hit by a vehicle and apparently it was a recent causality. The bear was in pretty much pristine consition. A few flies were investigating the carcass, but it had not been found yet by any other scavengers. Such a shame to see a beautiful mammal like this lying on the roadside rather than scampering through the woodlands. Roads do take a toll to be sure.
Black bear road kill - Mine Road - 10-11-25
