Dazzling Deciduous

WHEN: Fall 2011
WHERE: The Northern Hemisphere

As I've made clear many times before on my blog, I am largely partial to summer.  I am never happy to see summer end.  It is not as much that I dislike fall (or is it "autumn"?), I just like summer so much better than all the other seasons that I'm unhappy summer only receives a quarter of the calendar.

One thing that makes fall's onset a bit easier for me to accept is that the first day of fall also happens to be the birthday of my favorite person in the world, Stacie Jo Brass.  Today we will celebrate her 27th birthday and she will enthusiastically welcome in her favorite season of the year.  If there is anyone that rivals my affinity for a single season, it's Stacie's affinity for fall.  She loves the cooler temps, football every weekend, her birthday, pumpkin spice lattes (or anything pumpkin flavored), setting up her fall decorations, and the fall colors outdoors.  I don't think it's an accident God gave us birthdays inside our favorite seasons, nor do I think our birthdays are the only reason they are our favorites (mine is actually in the spring, astronomically speaking).  It is everything summer and fall bring with them that makes them our respective favorite.

And speaking of fall foliage, what better day to do so than the first day of fall?  The colors of fall are beautiful and an exciting part of the season, whether you like fall or not.  Even as kids, most of us can relate to the excitement of changing colors and falling leaves, which with them brought the simple joy of jumping and playing in leaf piles and the hours of entertainment that brought.  It was one of the few times my sister and I could play together and get along.  It was a simple recipe; she raked, I jumped!  If she was going to be the older, bossy sibling, I was going to do my best to have her assume all the responsibilities while I reaped the privileges. :)

As much as I hate to see summer go, I am always excited to see the trees change colors.  That was something (particularly) Stacie was concerned about when we moved to the Southeast.  She was afraid that she would no longer have a fall to look forward to or the colors that came with it.  Thankfully, that was not the case.  While we may have to wait longer for the colors to arrive and they may not be as vivid, fall is still colorful and Stacie is still happy.  The fall foliage is what gave me the idea for my Seasons page that I created a year ago.  I haven't updated that page since August and it's still alive with the ambience of summer - the season I can never really let go of.  I will eventually get it updated; it is only the first day of fall.

Until then, I will leave you with the dazzling colors of the fall season that our deciduous trees delight us with every year.

The current progression of fall foliage across the US

Typical periods for peak colors across the US

My original post last year about fall foliage, which began my Seasons page

I have for a long time used Bing.com as my homepage at home and work.  The brilliant pictures they use on their homepage each day is one reason, and starting today the homepage will periodically have a short video background instead of a picture (may not work with Internet Explorer).  Today's animation is of the colorful valleys and snow-capped peaks in Grand Tetons National Park.

This video explains why leaves change color every fall

The autumnal equinox (today) and the vernal equinox (first day of spring) mark the only two days of the year when the length of daily sunlight is equal at ever point on the globe (12 hours).

This is noticeably different than during the summer and winter soltices.
(The image above is from July 28 - about one month after the summer soltice - when the northern hemisphere still receives a majority of the Earth's daily sunlight exposure).

And for those of you already looking forward to winter, it appears this winter will be yet another intense one.  Just don't complain to me - I'm the one who never wants summer to end!