The Mountain-Ear
The voice of the Peak to Peak
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| Naturally Speaking “Gold in Them Thar’ Hills” |
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| Written by administrator | |
| Wednesday, 02 September 2009 | |
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Dave Hallock ELDORA September continues many of the plant and animal happenings started in last half of August. They just intensify as the sun gets lower, days shorter and temperatures cooler. Plants are curing and changing colors. Animals are migrating, harvesting food for winter supplies, or gorging themselves to add fat for hibernation. Some animals, particularly elk, are thinking about sex! One of the exciting fall events is when aspen leaves change color from green to yellow or red. As early as late August, a few golden leaves may be seen in scattered locations, particularly at higher elevations. Years ago I heard one old-timer in Eldora say that the average peak date for turning color was around September 21. I have found that date to be as good as any; but the reality of nature is that the average rarely happens. The timing and intensity of the color change often comes up in conversations with people during this month. We try to correlate current and recent weather to what is being observed. Theories and predictions abound! Will the cool, wet summer bring more intense colors? Or has it lead to an extended growing season, with more green chlorophyll in the leaves to diminish the vibrancy and duration of color? Will the coming storms be the trigger to quickly change the hillside to gold, or will it be too wet, cold and windy and dampen the display? Most of us just watch and take in the show. The shortening of the day is given most of the credit for triggering the change in leaf color. Cold nights can accelerate the change. The green leaves we see from spring to late summer come from the production of chlorophyll, a light absorbing substance that aides in the creation of chemical energy needed for plants to grow and flower. This is all part of photosynthesis. Aspen become dormant as the days get shorter and cooler. The absence of green chlorophyll results in the visibility of a yellow pigment in the leaf due to the presence of other chemicals, particularly carotenes. Red coloration comes from the presence of anthocyanin, a chemical related to sugar. Greater acidity also appears to play a role. An interesting facet of the changing colors is related to the very nature of the aspen growth form. Aspen generally reproduce through root suckering. A stand of aspen trees may, in fact, be a single organism, or clone, interconnected through the root system. All of the interconnected trees are genetically the same, so are predisposed to turn color in the fall (or leaf out in the spring) at the same time. When looking at a hillside, you can actually see the separate clones based on the timing of the changing colors. If one group of aspen is yellow and an adjacent is still green, then they are likely two separate clones. So now we just wait and see what nature unfolds. My notes from last year say: “Aspen peak last weekend of September. The leaves were slow in turning, but were radiant for a long time, as there were no storms to blow them off. One of the best years for color.” I am finding with age that notes are an important supplement to memory. Other September nature happenings in the Nederland area are: I call this the time of “dropping cones and shedding needles.” Squirrels are dropping pine cones to the ground for winter reserves to be stashed in their middens. Needles on many conifers will start turning brown, particularly in lower branches and the inner portions of other branches, as the trees shed excess foliage. Of course, if you see all the needles turning brown, you may have a larger problem. Berries continue to ripen. Look for huckleberries, chokecherries and others. If you hit a good patch of huckleberries, you can smell their wonderful aroma in the air. Black bear diets heavily shift toward berries as they gorge themselves for winter hibernation. Bull elk are bugling. The peak of the rut occurs around the end of September. Pocket gophers will continue to aerate the ground by tunneling and leaving mounds of dirt on the surface. Just last week I watched a tall prairie sage disappear under the ground, probably by a gopher. Birds are on the move. Flocks of sparrows, warblers and bluebirds are coming from the north, while local birds are flocking up and getting ready to head south. Some resident birds, such as pygmy nuthatches, will take a trip to higher elevations; they are normally birds of low to moderate elevation ponderosa pine forests, but can be found in the subalpine in the fall. A few butterflies will still be around in September. Some of these, like commas (orange with black spots and angular wings) and mourning cloaks (large, dark brown with yellow stripes), will overwinter as adults and can emerge during warm periods in winter or in early spring. While not much is known about painted ladies (orange with black and white markings) migrating south, some are often seen in September and October in high elevation meadows making a strong southwest movement. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 09 September 2009 ) |
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