Fall's colourful canvas

For those who may read this that have not experienced a Canadian fall with its incredibly coloured vistas, my opinion that Canada is Numero Uno will likely leave you feeling miffed, but I make no apologies. Even the best exposed or edited photo pales in comparison to beholding nature's colours live and in person. The temperate forests of Canada (and to be honest, all places son earth of similar latitudes) explode each fall as deciduous trees succumb to the constant struggle of producing and maintaining chlorophyl stores in its leaves, exposing a wide a variety of yellow, orange, and red hues that create vistas the literally take your breath away. Living in Barrie not only provides ready opportunities for colour watching but is also an easy launch pad to nearby communities a scant few km away.

For the science geeks who need to get their nerd on, the biology of the fall colours is not as complicated as you might think. Leaves are filled with molecules called pigments and when they reflect light, they are visible to our eyes depending on the wavelength of that reflected light. In the summer, the most abundant pigment is chlorophyll and it reflects green light. Chlorophyll is important for plants to make food using sunlight's energy to change CO2 and H2O into C6H12O6 (sugar), feeding the tree's needs for growth during the warmer months. During spring and summer when there is plenty of sunlight, plants expend a lot energy making or maintaining chlorophyll. In autumn when the weather turns cold, some plants stop making or maintaining chlorophyll choosing to break down chlorophyll into smaller molecules and move it out of their leaves before the leaves fall, saving the plants energy because they can reabsorb the molecules that make up chlorophyll. If the weather were to turn warm and sunny enough to grow again, the plants can use those smaller molecules to remake the chlorophyll, eliminating the need to make chlorophyll from scratch, saving a HUGE amount of energy.

As chlorophyll is broken down, other pigments start to show their colours, which is why leaves turn colour in colder seasons like fall. Some of these other pigments are called carotenoids, primarily seen as yellow and orange. Still others are called anthocyanins and are only made in the fall because they are used to protect leaves from being eaten or getting sun burnt. These pigments cause red, pink, or purples, and it's the combinations of carotenoids and anthocyanins is what creates the huge array of colours.

One of the numerous awesome advantages about retirement is time. Joyce and I have used that gift to commune with nature, recharging our connections with Mother Earth, hiking through a wide variety of trails offered within a short drive of Barrie. In my opinion, when we choose to roam through life in urban settings, it is far too easy to forget that Mother Nature is a short distance away, yet immersing yourself in it creates the truest sense of awe when beholding the beauty of the landscapes visited. My colleagues who taught geography and geology are no stranger to the natural phenomenons that have created the seemingly endless variety of formations, but Joyce and I spend a sizeable amount of our hiking conversations appreciating the mind-blowing beauty we encounter. We recently encountered the tree at the right on a hike in Torrance Barrens, just west of Gravenhurst. If you've never ventured to that area, find the time to do so ... you won't be disappointed!

The old saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" rings loud and true, the latest subject being the wise assortment of fungi busily doing their part in the succession of a temperate forest life cycle. While I'm no botanist, I can certainly marvel at the diversity of the fungi we spy, with so many shapes and colours eking out an existence in the strangest of places. Thanks to a youth spent in Algonquin Forest, canoe tripping my summers away, I learned early on that not all fungi are edible and it takes a keenly educated eye to understand which can be suitable for my kitchen. Not to be outdone, we have encountered a sizeable population of mushroom foragers on our many hikes, each laden with an overfilled basket from the spoils of the hunt. They are braver than I, that is for sure. The photo at the left is just and smattering of the many we took throughout the summer's trails. 

I have heard it said that Canada's landscapes include all of nature's formations within her borders. From the temperate rainforests and awe inspiring Rocky Mountains of BC + AB, to the wide expanses of the prairies in SK + MN, to the geologic wonders of ON and QB's Canadian Shield, to the wetlands of the NB + NS, to the island uniqueness of NF + PEI, to the stark tundra of IQ + NWT + YK, Canada offers nature enthusiasts all they can handle. Since we live here, it's ludicrous that we don't get out of our subdivisions and experience them first hand. 

Further to that point, what have you got to lose?
A little less doom and gloom from the news?
A little less Social Media pandemic fear mongering?
A little less couch potato-ness? 

No pressure ... just some friendly advice from an old fart.