Autumn, or Fall, is a particularly nostalgic time of year. The earthy scent of leaves, the bright primary colors in the trees, cool brisk mornings, and the chittering of squirrels meticulously hiding away food stores for later. Autumn invigorates our senses and we become keenly aware that time as a whole seems shorter now. Despite seeming to have less time, we have more of everything else. Crops ripen and an absolute bounty of goods become available for us to eat and enjoy. Holidays of generosity are shared among family and friends, and even strangers give freely to each other during this time. We plan for our future, preparing to brave winter only to come through thriving in spring. Death constantly crops up as a motif, however, renewal is perhaps more fitting. Autumn is best season because it looks as beautiful as it feels. It provides us with motivation, convivial companionship, and gorgeous views to match.
With less time in a day and an impending winter, we plan accordingly. Ideas previously put off are realized, and many projects delayed now come to the fore with a sense of urgency. We find need to complete our goals before the rush of Winter comes and steals our ambitions, freezing them until the first thaw in Spring. Deadlines are a sort of magic, a catalyst that increases our focus and drive.
While thinking of drive, we must consider the squirrel; these common rodents grant us laughs and frustration. They chew through our decorative gourds and run in front of our bikes, but it is rather funny watching them torment each other or even a hapless human passerby underneath their tree. Fall is the best season to watch these little creatures hard at work. They are sourcing food, eating as much as they can and storing the rest. It is a common sight to see many squirrels working over a lawn, scouring for seeds, nuts, and anything else they can eat. It’s hard not to love the antics of squirrels (provided they are not in your attic) in the fall. These little creatures embody the busybody spirit of Autumn, emboldened by their need to survive through the Spring.
Like Spring, the amount of light we receive is less than what we would see in the summer, but how beautiful it is. The sun goes lower in the horizon at all points in the day, and the light appears softer and golden. The light goes through more of the atmosphere, causing the higher temperature colors (such as blue and violet) to reflect out of the visible light spectrum. It does not take all the higher temperature light away completely, but it leaves the lower color temperatures, such as red, orange, and yellow, more prominent, which is pleasing to our eyes.
As temperatures drop and days shorten, trees stop producing chlorophyll, which soon breaks down leaving the underlying pigments prominent. This lays bare the other pigments that were previously overwhelmed by green. This gives us brilliant reds, oranges, yellows, purples, and yes, brown (which, by the way, is a hue of orange. The more you know).
Eventually the color show ends and leaves are sealed off from the branch by the tree, die and fall off, but even then fall is revealing something new and interesting. The look of fall reinvents itself many times over, giving us a season of great variation.
Why does this matter? How does this make Autumn the best season? It must be that the oncoming winter causes outspoken woodland creatures to work overtime to find food. Or perhaps it is people going to as many different events as possible to make use of the remaining good weather. Or maybe all of the environmental conditions combining to create beautiful views. Likely, it is all these factors and admittedly some personal taste that makes Autumn the best season. It is great happenstance that these factors combine to make the world look beautiful this fine season.
Read more:
ESF Office of Communications, ESF College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Why Leaves Change Color. https://www.esf.edu/ecenter/eis/leaves.php.
US Department of Commerce, NOAA, National Weather Service. (2017, October 02). The Color of Clouds. https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/clouds/color-of-clouds
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