11 - Autumn

A slightly shorter episode this month, but looking ahead to the forthcoming season of autumn. Where does the word autumn come from? Some scientific facts - we enlighten you. Listen to some mythology, good info for those awkward quiz questions. There is something for everyone in our podcasts. 

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Transcript

0:11

Welcome. You're listening to Mark and Jacky's Wildlife Photography podcast. Explore and learn about the natural world and how to take pictures. This episode is all about wildlife and nature. Understanding the natural world is important. It's what makes life on this planet possible. Our podcast gives you insight into just how complicated and fascinating this world is. Episode 11 Autumn in this episode, we're talking all about autumn. I love all the seasons for different reasons, but I think autumn is a very special time. Trees change color. They begin. Their shut down for winter, but still give us humans a spectacular display. I still haven't lost that thrill of walking through a pile of dry leaves and having a kick about. Still a kid at heart. I'm glad to say. Autumn is the time when the countryside is ablaze with colour, often thought of as the most colourful season, with the trees changing colour and giving us displays of red, green and gold like the other seasons. Autumn has over time been marked by festivals around the season's importance in food production. Animals gather food in preparation for the winter. And we humans follow suit. Berries and other hedgerow fruits are gathered. Many birds migrate for warmer winter weather in the northern hemisphere. Autumn is from September to November. And in the southern hemisphere, from March to May. Usually when we talk about the first day of autumn, we're referring to the astronomical Autumn, which is defined by the earth axis and orbit around the sun. It begins on the Equinox falling on the 22nd or 23rd of September. This year autumn begins on the 22nd of September and ends on the 21st of December. The astronomical calendar determines the seasons due to the twenty three point five degrees of tilt of the Earth's rotational axis in relation to its orbit around the sun. Autumn comes from the word or Autumnus with the root of the word having connotations regarding the passing of the year. The term fall was likely a derivative from the old English words fiaell or feallan, both of which mean to fall from a height. Okay, here goes that did, you know, bit the chemistry of colour why we are gifted with such a wonderful display. It is basically the tree shutting down for winter, storing its energy for the coming years growth. Trees make the chemical chlorophyll it's what makes the leaves green, although all these chemicals are present. It is as it declines through the lack of light that other chemicals become more prominent in the leaves flavonoids, carotenoids and anthocyanins take over, giving us bright colours that we see. These are the same chemicals that give carrots and egg yolks their colours. There are many places around the world to see great autumn displays. I'll mention a few, but I apologize if I've missed of your favorite. Every bit as stunning as the cherry blossom, autumn in Japan is just a spectacular. The Japanese word Kouyou means autumn leaves. There is New Hampshire, as well as New England in America, the Loire valley in France, Huangshan Mountain in China. And I apologize if I've pronounce that incorrectly. Lombardy in northern Italy and here in Scotland, we have many places that give rise to some great displays. Some fun facts for you. Apparently, people born in autumn live longer. A study in the Journal of Aging Research found that babies born during autumn months are likely to live to 100 than those born during the rest of the year. Their study found that 30 percent of U.S. centenarians born during 1880 to 1895 were born in the autumn months. We all hear the word equinox, but where does it come from? Those of you that have studied Latin will know equal means equal. And Knox means night. Equinox marks when the day and night are of equal length. And here's a date for your diary. The 24th of September 2303. I'll explain a little more generally speaking, the autumn, equinox falls, either on the 22nd or twenty third of September. But not quite all the time, because the Gregorian calendar that we follow is not in perfect symmetry with the Earth's orbit. Autumn Equinox will very occasionally fall on September the 24th. This last happened in 1931 and will next happen in 2303. And now a bit of mythology. Yes, there's something for everyone in our podcasts. In Greek mythology Autumn began when Persephone was abducted by Hades to be the queen of the underworld. In distress Persephone's mother, Dmitri, the goddess of the harvest. Caused all the crops on the earth to die until her daughter was allowed to return, marking spring. There goes the Greek mythology bit. I just wanted to leave you with a final thoughts. Autumn is very much dependent on our climate and we see these wonderful colours. If we don't preserve our planet and our climate, these colors won't be there because the trees react to what we're doing. You might like to record when your trees change colour, when you see the autumn berries come through and look back over year on year, how it's actually changing. You need we need to preserve these this planet and what's on it. And don't forget that the soil, the tree roots are in, that matters too. But take a little bit of time, maybe do a bit of research about it, but please try and preserve our planet so that our future generations can see these wonderful colours. I hope you found this podcast interesting and you have a wonderful autumn wherever you are in the world with colourful displays. If you're in Scotland, listen for Stags roaring, watch the wildlife being busy about their business before the winter arrives. My name is Jacky Bloomfield, and thank you for listening. You've been listening to a wildlife and photography podcast produced by M&J Bloomfield. For more information and details about us and our work, visit our website at mandjbloomfield.com. Thank you for listening and we hope you will join us again soon. Chun an sin, mar sin leat.