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The Adventures of a Master Naturalist and Nature Photographer

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Autumn Leaves

Mother Nature's Son Posted on October 11, 2015 by Art ArizpeOctober 11, 2015

The calendar says autumn started almost three weeks ago. The central Texas landscape doesn’t know it though. I heard a local gardener say that we don’t get our autumn until December around here. I’d say that’s about right.

I was in upstate New York at the end of September last year. This is a view along a country road. I don’t know what kind of trees they are, but they are quite pretty. Upstate New York seems to align with the calendar fairly well.

Upstate New York Fall

Upstate New York Fall

Of course, the definition of autumn has more to do with the length of day and the position of the earth along its orbit than with the landscape’s appearance. In North America, it’s considered to start with the September equinox and end at the winter solstice in December.

It’s common to say that the leaves are turning color, but what is actually happening is that they’re losing their cholorophyll, which is what they use in the process of photosynthesis, and gives them a green color. When the green is gone, the leaves’ real color shows.

The whole process is triggered by the shortening day. That’s the cue deciduous trees need to start shutting down for winter. Less daylight, less need for cholorophyll. That’s neat.

The leaves change color even in central Texas. They’re just not as showy about it as in other parts. That makes me appreciate even more the colors we do get.

Here’s a view along a Hill Country back road which I took last year. This is in late November, so the observation about getting our autumn in December is about right.

Hill Country Fall

Hill Country Fall

Posted in blog | Tagged fall | Leave a reply

Garden Spots

Mother Nature's Son Posted on October 4, 2015 by Art ArizpeOctober 4, 2015

We had almost five inches of rain in September and our garden is definitely showing the results. Our Texas Flowery Senna (Senna corymbosa) bush is in full bloom and has produced many seed pods. The plant is about 6 feet … Continue reading →

Posted in blog | Tagged invasive | Leave a reply

Big Box Finds

Mother Nature's Son Posted on September 20, 2015 by Art ArizpeSeptember 20, 2015

I was at the local big box store this weekend. I was quite bored as Mary wandered through the greenhouse section, looking for something new for our landscaping. All I had with me was my smart phone. I quickly came … Continue reading →

Posted in blog | Tagged photography, plants | Leave a reply

Light My Fire

Mother Nature's Son Posted on September 13, 2015 by Art ArizpeSeptember 13, 2015

I saw the signs for a prescribed fire at the entrance to our neighborhood last week. We live near two Austin Water Quality Protection Lands and one of the land management tools they use is a prescribed burn, also known as … Continue reading →

Posted in blog | Tagged burn, restoration | Leave a reply

Looking Out My Back Door

Mother Nature's Son Posted on September 6, 2015 by Art ArizpeSeptember 13, 2015

A young rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis) decided to hang out just outside one of our back doors. We had a  small brush pile on the deck, a result of recent planting bed clearing. When it came time to move the brush pile, we … Continue reading →

Posted in blog | Tagged native, snake | Leave a reply

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