autumn color

We aren't seeing quite as much autumnal color as usual this year. We hypothesize that the wet spring, summer and fall ... way above average rainfall this year ... must have done something unhappy to the trees. Most of the leaves dropped before turning colors, and the ones that did change colors are a bit muted.

Nobody talks much about acid rain these days, but recently I read an article about a "sugar bush" (which means a forest of sugar maple trees, to those of you not immersed in the culture of the northeast) that was doing poorly. As an experiment, a helicopter flew over a section of the sugar bush and dumped calcium in a specific encapsulated form in just one section of the trees. Six years later, those trees are much healthier than the others.

Calcium counteracts the effect of acid rain.

It could be that the paltriness of color this year is purely due to too much moisture, mold, moisture-loving bugs, that sort of thing. But it could also be that the downpour of acid rain has caused important nutrients to be leached out of our forest soil.

Anybody have a helicopter I can borrow? And a pilot to go with it?

P.S. Oh, my gosh! I posted my Wordless Wednesday post yesterday instead of today! I totally thought yesterday was Wednesday. Doh!