Put those Rods and Cones to Work!

Blog vol 4.20. Put those Rods and Cones to Work!

The seasons change, again. One of my children is studying in Vancouver and misses our glorious southern Ontario Falls with all their colour, all the wonderful produce, and the very real sense of hunkering in for a long, cold winter.  Fall is much more muted on the West Coast and the contrasts are not so great. 

The drama we see every fall is captivating. This fall we have seen a delay in the colour, with it not peaking just yet in our region of Hamilton/Wentworth and Burlington. We get these variations in length of season and colour intensity with early frosts or with warm or wet autumnal weather. Leaves have both yellow and green pigments all the time. The chlorophyll in the leaves starts to break down when the days shorten and the weather cools, then the yellow and orange pigments, called carotenoids, become visible.

Weirdly, many trees are still green. It’s mid-October. I was under the delusion that length of day played a bigger role in colour change but apparently, temperature is critical. Interesting.

The roses are still blooming!! 

We do have a red, red Burning Bush in our front flower bed. Clearly, it knows what time of year it is. A technical note: The reds and purples are formed by the accumulation of anthocyanin in the leaves, different process.

To see colour is a great gift, both practically and for the sheer pleasure of it. Those rods and cones in the back of your eye are wonderful things. 

Make time to get out and walk one of the many beautiful trails in our area. Look around you. Enjoy!



Til next week, 

the good doctor