MO' COLOR

The wind died down a bit and the sun was shining today so, after my midday Zoom meeting, I went back to Little Elkhart Lake to see if there were any photos that needed to be taken.
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Lo and behold.....I found some.  I think you can see clearly why this is called Lily Bay.  The Extra is from the same location but zoomed in a bit.
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That Singh-Ray Warming Polarizer certainly saturates the leaf color. We are nearing peak color in this area...some areas to the east are a little late in developing colors.  Many factors influence the autumn color development including, hours of daylight, soil type, sugars present and, most importantly, soil moisture.  The various colors are typical of a mixed mesic forest with certain colors being specific to certain tree species.
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BIOLOGY LESSON FOR THE DAY:  The main pigments causing the colors are Chlorophyll (Greens), Xanthophyll (Yellows), Beta-Carotene (Gold/Orange) and Anthocyanin (Reds, Violets and Bluish).  Actually, most of the pigments are present in the leaves all year but are masked by the dominant green of the chlorophyll.  In the autumn of the year, to prepare for winter's arrival, an abscission layer grows across the stem of the leaf where it attaches to the branch.  This layer is waterproof and cuts off water, etc. from entering the leaf.
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Chlorophyll is actually destroyed by the UV light in sunlight and has to be continually regenerated to allow for photosynthesis.  When the abscission layer cuts off the water supply, the materials needed for chlorophyll regeneration are also cut off and the sun's UV light slowly destroys the chlorophyll that is trapped in the leaf.  Then the other colors can show through and we see them as Mother Nature's art work.
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Maple trees have most of the reds and oranges due to Anthocyanin and Beta-carotene presence.  Yes, Martha, the orange color in a carrot is due to Beta-Carotene and it gives the taproot its name.  Golds/yellows are typically associated with aspen, cottonwoods and other members of the Genus Betula and elms (Genus Ulmus).  Oaks typically have more red/violet combination of colors.  A savvy woodsman can identify a tree species by color alone in the autumn.
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Thus endeth the biology lesson for the day.
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BEST IN LARGE