Words by Kayla Burns
Art by Austin Quintana and Kayla Burns
It is an annual change for all deciduous trees. As the weather grows colder, and the season morphs from autumn to winter, we witness one final show in the botanical world. With colder weather comes less sunlight, and with less sunlight comes the inability for plants to photosynthesize. Naturally, the chlorophyll in the leaves fades away, revealing the warm hues of the fall season. The world unfolds itself in bursts of red and yellow and orange. And although this transition means that these trees will soon become bare, leafless, and dormant, there is still life in these colors. They are changing because they are preparing — soaking up as much sunlight as they can, so that they may store its energy and survive the winter.
The trees may lose their vibrant green coloration, but they gain a certain vitality that will get them through the cold, and allow them to prosper yet again as they reconnect in the springtime with the warmth that birthed them.
