Nature's kaleidoscope: The beauty of autumn in Central New York

on October 18, 2009 at 6:00 AM, updated October 18, 2009 at 11:31 AM
2009-10-10-mjg-TTL10.JPGView full sizeFall colors on Doe Brook Road, Delaware County in the Catskill Mountains.

Nature's Kaleidoscope - Autumn In Central New York Post-Standard photographers capture autumn's brilliance in Central New York. The video also includes photographer Gary Walts performing Opus 60 No.3 by Matteo Carcassi.

See other work from The Post-Standard staff photographers here.

Paint us a picture. Make it October. Splash the colors.

The canvas is Upstate New York.

Teaching about fall foliage is part of Tim Toland's work. An assistant professor in landscape architecture at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Toland took a break from classes to discuss what's going on out there.

Is Upstate foliage so colorful, compared to other parts of the country?

I think it is. Upstate New York is on par with the rest of the Northeast - Vermont, New Hampshire, parts of Massachusetts - for the vibrancy and intensity of fall color. There are several reasons. One is the similar plant communities that make up most of the woodlands around here. They stretch in a diagonal band from New Hampshire and Maine down into Tennessee and Georgia. . . What kicks New York and New England to the top of the fall color spectrum is the combination of bright sunny days and cool crisp nights, which promote color development. The chlorophyll dies, and other pigments within the leaves become more evident.

Go south to Carolina and Virginia, and even though they have the same plant communities, the fall colors don't develop that same level of intensity, because the climate is different.

Leaf peeping

» Check out a map showing peak fall foliage on the Weather page.

These days, what trees are most colorful?

The maples certainly come to the top of my list. The whole genus -there's such a variety, from yellows to brilliant oranges, to brilliant reds, to the more muted tones of each. Coincidentally, they make up a significant portion of the woodlands in this area.

Why is one maple yellow and the next one red? Is it where they grow?

The yellows you're seeing are probably Norway maple -- an invasive plant, though pretty common around us. It escaped cultivation and grows on many hillsides. The oranges are most likely a sugar maple, a native to this area. The reds probably are red maple or silver maple, which have been planted commonly. They're also native.

What creates that perfect fall picture?

Most people like the broad vista, looking across the valley or hillside. You're taking in almost an impressionist painter's view. Combine that with the brilliant blue sky, the blue water reflection off that sky, and you get the classic color combination of blue and orange - complementary colors on the color wheel. Nature is full of complementary colors. Blue and orange, the combination is striking. They accentuate each other.

Is leaf-peeping an acquired taste, or do we associate it with maturity, because we think of "the autumn of our lives?"

This goes back to social and cultural attitudes, and just enjoyment of nature and the outdoors in general. I've encountered very few people who don't appreciate fall colors.

If you enjoy that variety in nature, and you can enjoy it for what it is -- that saturation of color around us and the warmth that the yellows, oranges and reds give. But I do know people who say, winter is just around the corner.

Hart Seely can be reached at or 470-2247.