×

Harvests, fall color and migration: three of nature’s greatest features

Fall is a great time of year, a time when nature is at its zenith, a time to enjoy things we know well and a few things we don’t completely know about.

The harvest is very familiar to anyone who has ever farmed. We have the crop varieties that are equipped with everything from drought resistance to pest damage prevention.

Plus we have the modern machinery that plants and harvests at a fast pace. What used to take several weeks now only lasts for several short days.

Even people who don’t work in agriculture know that farming is important. It’s vital not just for rural regions but also for the nation’s food supply. A small number of farm families serve millions of people throughout the world.

It’s still a changing business. Every year brings with it new options, new hope for one of the best crops ever. It’s satisfying to see it all come together in the fall.

There are two other things that happen every year for which we still in 2024 don’t have complete information. One is the fall color on our hardwood trees. The other is migration.

We know how fall color happens. Every year in the fall the stems of leaves die off. The leaves are denied chlorophyll, which they need to stay green. Instead we have a show of yellows, oranges, reds and browns until the leaves fall to the ground.

We can’t say for certain what causes the color change. It could be shorter days. It could also be the cooler temperatures. Another possibility is that the trees simply have a built-in time clock that tells them every fall when it’s time for the colors to turn.

The color usually starts to show toward the middle of September in the Marshall area. The peak is usually around the first week of October.

All we know is that it’s a beautiful thing. Fall is a perfect time to get outside, to enjoy the scenery on residential streets or in the large and small river valleys throughout the region.

The only thing in the fall that’s comparable to tree color is when a large flock of Canada geese fly over on their way south.

When that happens it always reminds me that the monarch butterflies of late summer are long gone. They’ve started their long migration to the coast of Mexico.

Migration is even more of a mystery than fall color. One of the questions is how migratory species always know when to go. Another question is how they know where to go.

We can guess as to the question of when. There’s less daylight. The temperatures cool down. In some cases it gets harder to find food.

The question of knowing where to go is anyone’s guess. We know that the geese always go to locations in Missouri. The butterflies journey to Mexico, and breed generations of monarchs that are conditioned to make each voyage.

We have to wonder why they never take off in the wrong direction. It’s amazing that species supposedly less developed than humans have such a gift for navigation.

Maybe we aren’t supposed to know everything about fall color and migration. Maybe God just wants us to enjoy the natural world. It’s important to respect it and to realize that we’re part of it.

More than anything else, the autumn season is a time to be happy with what we have. It’s a time to think about how the Earth is the greatest natural wonder of all.

We should avoid taking the Earth for granted. We should build on the environmental improvements made in recent years. We should look for new ways to protect and sustain our resources.

Hopefully kids will always be fascinated by things like harvests, fall color, birds and butterflies. They’re simple yet very profound.

The best thing of all is that they’re available for free, maybe for just the fuel needed for a short drive in the country. As we enjoy them, we can make some distinctions in life about what’s important and what’s not important. It makes it easier to set priorities.

— Jim Muchlinski is a longtime reporter and contributor to the Marshall Independent

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today