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PHOTOS BY GARRY BRANDENBURG – All kinds of fall colors are coming to an open-air theater near you soon. Admission is free. Popcorn and soft drinks are your own responsibility. The color show starts now and lasts through October. Be prepared to see all shades of yellow, gold, red, brown, even latent green, and a mix of all of these on trees, shrubs, and even prairie grasses. Migratory birds will bring their own colors, as evidenced by this large flock of red-winged blackbirds in the Iowa River Wildlife Area.
AUTUMN COLOR SHOWS will soon come up over us. Mother Nature provides this natural history that we love to contemplate and marvel at, and in some places the flamboyant fall trees bring large numbers of tourists to different parts of the United States. A little closer to home here in Iowa, we can expect the leaf color to transition north to south, a typical pattern due to changes in latitude and length of day. These northern three levels of counties can expect rotating foliage tree displays from now through mid-October. For the middle strata of County Iowa, including Marshall, the first through third weeks of October will be our best color choices. The three counties of southern Iowa should plan the second through fourth weeks of October.
Botanists studying the cell structure of tree leaves have long pondered the question of why there is such a wide range of colors. It can get a little technical. However, the colors we observed are the result of chemical changes within the leaves. Shorter daylight hours trigger pigment production as the trees prepare for the fall season and the coming winter. The trees are now ceasing to produce food sources for the year, like going on vacation to wait for winter and the return of spring next year.
All leaves gradually lose chlorophyll at an accelerated rate each fall. It is an orderly and progressive process that enables the plant to reabsorb a large part of the nitrogen in the structure of the pigment molecule. Carotenoid is just a pigment name. Other names are anthocyanin, which is synthesized in some leaves to make them red. The actual reds are the result of the amounts of anthocyanins, retention of carotenoids, and even some chlorophyll. Anthocyanins and chlorophyll produce brownish colors. Anthocyanins and carotenoids produce shades of orange.
As you rake your lawn leaves this fall, watch out for the chemistry Mother Nature is putting in place to prepare the plants at the end of the growing season and the beginning of a season “Sleep” just to prepare for next spring.
OUR AUTUMN EQUINOX Day was wednesday. Basically, the sun rose over the horizon just east of us. Sunset was due west. If you have to drive to work early in the morning or back home in the evening, depending on where you live and work, you can get a lot of sunlight in your eyes. Fall happened on Wednesday at 7:21 p.m. UTC, which is the same at 2:21 p.m. CDT, according to astronomical charts. Rapidly changing day lengths are a fact during the equinox. And the fall season for harvesting crops is a big deal in the agricultural states of the Midwest. Garden products are also in the main harvest season. The pumpkin sale will give us an orange color code indicating that the gardens will soon be on a hiatus for late fall and winter.
The main reason we experience seasonal changes has to do with the physics of our earth orbit around the sun. The earth’s axis is inclined to the plane of its orbit. The axial tilt remains oriented at the same angle as the earth transitions into space along its orbit. The transition of our northern hemisphere into autumn is the transition of the southern hemisphere to a new spring season.
The PHEASANT SEASON starts on October 30th. In preparation for this exciting time, however, here is your early bird announcement for the Marshall / Tama County Pheasants Forever Banquet and Fundraiser Event – Aug. November at the Midnight Ballroom, 1700 South Center St. There are games and raffles and silent plus live auctions. Tickets purchased in advance receive a discount. Call Steve Armstrong at 641-751-1668 or John Fox at 641-751-4487. Put the date on your calendar that you would like to attend this PF event. Your dollars help make a difference to habitat and conservation projects.
The 2021-22 pheasant hunting season in Iowa begins October 30th and runs until January 10th, 2022. Hunting times are 8:00 am to 4:30 pm daily with a limit of three birds per day for rooster pheasants. Northwest and north-central Iowa have the highest chances of finding these colorful wild birds, according to a DNR distribution map of Iowa derived from street censuses in August. Poweshiek County, southeast of Marshall, had improved bird numbers that fall. Visit the Iowa DNR websites to see the pheasant distribution map, as well as other maps for rabbits and quail or partridges.
DEER HUNTING SEASONS for young people and / or the disabled. This timeframe opened on September 18th and ends on October 3rd. The archery hunting season began on September 18 for municipal authorized hunts and will run unhindered until January 10, 2022. The Iowa archery hunting season begins October 1 through December 3 and closes during the hunting season. Archery will reopen on December 20th and will end on January 10th, 2022.
By mid-week, Iowa teenagers had caught 891 deer nationwide.
NATIONAL HUNTING AND FISHING DAY This weekend, actually Saturday, is a time to celebrate the rich traditions of hunting, fishing and shooting. Official recognition of Hunting and Fishing Day began in 1971 when Congress approved it. In 1972 President Richard Nixon announced the start by saying: “I urge all citizens to join outdoor sports enthusiasts in the sensible use of our natural resources and to ensure their proper management for the benefit of future generations.” This recognition is proof of the support that hunters and fishermen have given the protection of species through self-imposed excise taxes on hunting weapons and through license fees. Since 1939, programs have allocated $ 65.1 billion to habitat restoration and public land.
To celebrate, the Izaak Walton League is holding a Sporting Clay Shoot, a 100-bird non-stop course, on October 3rd. Registration is possible from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Young people aged 19 and over are free. The normal fee for the shoot is $ 40. Catering is offered on site. The Ikes property is located at 2601 Smith Ave.
The official home of National Hunting and Fishing Day is the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri. If you’re ever thinking about a road trip to Springfield, take a day or two to explore the wonder of the Wildlife Museum. It covers 350,000 square meters of exhibition space. A stroll through the aquarium allows visitors to look up and directly at the swimming fish in a huge water-filled exhibit. This national museum has further expansions planned over the next few years to accommodate the exhibits and artifacts from the Pope & Young archery museum. It is a growing company of the highest order.
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