Steve Pollick

The proverbial stars have aligned this fall for a stupendous display of autumn leaves in Ohio, thanks to extended, perfect weather conditions.
Knowing the science about leaf color-change is intriguing, and it deepens your appreciation of the gift of time afield. The sudden switch from summer green to autumn bronze, red, orange, yellow and burgundy on the trees is an intricate, brilliant process, Jack Frost tall tales aside.

On Sept. 22 at 8:05 p.m., it officially will become autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, spring in the Southern Hemisphere.
It’s all got to do with Earth’s tilt on its axis as it orbits the sun and celestial mechanics, and in a way it is a technicality, however notable. For wildlife and wild plants, however, the science is reduced to the simple fact that day-length is decreasing and that triggers significant hormonal and biochemical changes. The process is called photoperiodism in animals and phototropism in plants, but all hands react accordingly.