A month has passed since we first observed these trees, and you can tell from the pictures that there has been many changes. In the first photo, all of the trees are green. There is some variation in color, but for the most part they are around the same shade. The picture looks like it was taken in the summer, not necessarily in the fall, because the trees have not started to change color. The process of leaf senescence has not occurred yet.

Now lets look at the second photo. There is a definite variation in the colors of the leaves. We can see shades of red, orange, and a bit of yellow. Also, there is still a lot of green on some of the trees that have started changing color. Other trees are completely green because they have not started the color changing process. The leaves are changing color because the tree is absorbing nutrients from the leaves, which removes the green color from the leaves and changes it to the beautiful warm colors we see. This picture clearly depicts a fall scene.

Another thing to take into consideration is that all the trees look different from one another. They are not changing colors simultaneously. Some are more colorful than others, and some have yet to change at all. Why is this? First of all, we are looking at a photo that includes multiple species of trees. Each kind grows and changes colors at its own rate. In this picture, we have multiple sugar maples, which look similar in their color change because they are the same species. Farther down the line, there is a willow oak, and a tulip poplar. While each species changes at its own rate, they also change certain colors. Sugar maples have orange and red hues, which we can see in the photograph. Oak trees change to a reddish brown color, which we can see at the very tops of our oak trees. On the other hand, poplar trees tend to have a golden yellow hue. This has yet to happen to our tree in the picture, but it does have more of a yellowish hue to its green leaves, compared to the rest of the trees. Hopefully the next time we photograph these trees, they will be vivid with a variety of fall colors.