Shorter days and lower light intensity triggers the withdrawal of nutrients from the leaves into the stems.
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The chlorophyll that has catalysed sunlight into sugar from the early Spring has now completed its work, at least for this cycle.
As ever, nature wastes nothing, so this verdant alchemical molecule is broken down into its constituent parts and reabsorbed for the lean times of winter.
All that remains are the fiery colours of this aestival season, the last great display of the trees and shrubs.
This is no parsimony though, as the thrift is more than evened out by the later Summer explosion of colour.
The magnificent biology of the trees thus forms a visual poem for our souls, and all around me the great life begins imperceptibly to draw in upon itself in anticipation of the winter to come.
Photos: Wild Grape Vine leaves at the Almodovar. Courtesy of the author.