A sunny weekend spent in the cascades of Oregon, hiking to the base of Three Fingered Jack, a formation of volcanic horns in the heart of Santiam Pass. The pass burned in 2003, leaving relics of a once dense evergreen forest. New vegetation slowly making a appearance. In the background- mt. Jefferson cloaked in low lying clouds.
when the autumn months bring the beauty of red, yellow and orange
The green in leaves is known as chlorophyll, a pigment which assists plants in photosynthesis (the process of manufacturing sugar.) During the growing months, chlorophyll is needed to produce food for the plant. Other pigments are present at this time, but because of the high levels of chlorophyll, our eyes detect only the green hue. As sunlight begins to lessen in intensity and duration during the autumn months, chlorophyll production slows until eventually the chlorophyll breaks down in the leaves making way for other pigments to be detected by our eyes. Carotenoids in leaves are responsible for the yellows, oranges and brown hues. Anthocyanin, another type of pigment, is responsible for the bright reds, purples and crimson colors. During this first week of October, we wandered into a meadow that highlighted this impressive show of color change. M and blueberry plants.
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