Changing Leaves

Pipestone County Star, 09-27-12

I love fall.  It’s my favorite time of year.  The crisp air, the fact that I can wear my favorite yellow jacket, and the pumpkin flavoring that gets put in everything all combine to make me one very happy librarian.  I’ve always loved to look at leaves, but I’ve never given much thought to how they change color.  This year, I thought I would check into it.

Plants use sunlight to make oxygen and sugar from water and carbon dioxide.  They use a chemical called chlorophyll to accomplish this process.  Chlorophyll happens to be green, which is why leaves are green throughout the spring and summer.  In the fall, when the leaves begin to turn, the chlorophyll is going away and the trees are no longer making food.  As trees go dormant, their leaves change colors.

The beautiful red that is my favorite is caused by the leftover glucose turning color in the sunlight.  The brown of oak leaves is the result of waste products left behind from photosynthesis (turning sunlight into food) in the leaves.  Purples and yellows are caused by other chemicals and pigments left behind in the leaves as the chlorophyll fades away.

Weather also has an effect on leaf color.  If the weather is cool, more colors will form, but freezing will dull them.  This would be why we have brilliant colors for only a short period around here – it doesn’t take long to go from cool to freezing in Minnesota.  The best time to enjoy leaves is late September to early October, when the weather is clear and cool, but we haven’t (hopefully) had any frost yet.

As the leaves change color, the trees also get ready to lose them.  Small groups of cells form at the base of each leaf and gradually separate them from the tree, sealing the bark behind them.  When the leaf gets blown away or falls because it’s too heavy, it leaves behind a tiny leaf scar, already healed by the tree.

Go out and enjoy the leaves this year – hopefully they will be beautiful!  Happy fall, everyone!!

Ebooks!! Ebooks have now gone live and you can check out a book to your Nook, Kindle, or other Ereading device.  If you have trouble accessing Overdrive through the Meinders Library catalogue, please call the library and let us know!!

PAFL Update:  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  For more information, please contact the library!

Book Club Reminder:  Book Club will be meeting September 27^th at 7:00 PM in the Meinders Library Conference room.  The book this month is Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.  Please contact the library for a copy and feel free to join up with our readers!  Everyone is welcome!

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM – 5 PM.  (The Saturday of Labor Day Weekend, the library is only open from 10 until Noon).  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.