Have a Fantastic …. Cut?

 

Fall is here.  You can tell because all the leaves are making my lawn look more red and orange than brown/green.  But the truth behind it is that trees are actually "throwing" the leaves off.  Telling them their season of welcome has come to an end. 

Here's what I've found as to why...

Around this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, as the days grow shorter and colder, those changes trigger a hormone in leaf-dropping trees that sends a chemical message to every leaf that says, in essence, "Time to go! Let's part company!" Once the message is received, says Raven, little cells appear at the place where the leaf stem meets the branch. They are called "abscission" cells. They have the same root as the word scissors, meaning they are designed, like scissors, to make a cut. And within a few days or weeks, every leaf on these deciduous trees develops a thin bumpy line of cells that push the leaf, bit by bit, away from the stem.  That's where the tree gives each leaf a push, leaving it increasingly dangling. So with that very slender connection, they're sort of ready to be kicked off, and then a breeze comes along and finishes the job.

I still think Fall sounds better...so have a Fantastic Fall!