Golden Green #15056

The Story

In late Fall sunlight, sugar maple leaves transition from pale green leaves to golden yellow on this tree. In contrast, the oak tree leaves on either side have changed to a dark copper color to frame the scene.

Late in the season, it’s almost November in this picture. All the trees here have lost plenty of leaves and they lay covering the green grass. Echoing the look of the trees, the ground is covered in scattered copper and gold leaves.

In about a week, time and wind will have made the sugar maple tree bare and the ground will be more golden. That visual wealth will be transferred to the ground. But although oaks lose plentiful leaves, there are always some that hang on till Spring on every oak tree, large and small. The leaves curl while turning dull brown and stiff. They always rattle together in a frozen chorus any time the winter winds blow, making those cold breezes even colder down to the core.

Sugar maple leaves can be the most vibrant of all the trees in the Fall foliage. Here’s another picture of them called Light Tunnel #13707 going from that luminous pale green color to golden glory.

Location: Near Hollidaysburg, Blair County, Pennsylvania. Picture and story © Andrew Dierks