AUTUMN CHANGES 20100831

Dear China Friends,

AUTUMN CHANGES

The earth��s seasons are not due to differences in the distance from the Sun throughout the year since these distances are relatively small.  The seasons are the result of the tilt of the Earth��s axis as it travels around the Sun.  The Earth��s axis is tilted perpendicular to the Sun by 23.45 degrees.  Since the earth is tilted, different parts of the globe receive more sunlight in its yearly orbit around the Sun.

Autumn is the transition time between summer and winter.  The oppressive heat of summer is diminishing.  The days are growing shorter and shorter and the nights feel cooler.  This change of seasons is invigorating.  Astronomically autumn is said to start on September 23^rd in the northern hemisphere when the North Pole starts to slant away from the sun in the earth��s yearly orbit.  At this point the sun appears directly over the equator making the days and nights of equal length.  Because of this, that date should really mark the middle of autumn.  However, because of the lag time in the oceans cooling down, this is not the case.

The more reasonable way to determine Autumn is climatically.  By averaging the temperature on both sides of the equal days and nights date, the months of September, October and November are determined to be the Autumn season.  The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is from mid-August through early October.  Before the 16^th century ��harvest�� was the term usually used to refer to the season.  But as more people moved from farms to town the season began to be called Autumn, a word derived from French and Latin.  ��Harvest�� then became limited to the actual activity of reaping and threshing.

The alternative word for Autumn in the United States is ��Fall.��  This relates back to Old English and Old Norse words meaning ��to fall from a height�� and later ��fall of the leaf�� and ��fall of the year.��  Indeed fall time is noted for its colorful fall of the leaves!  Perhaps you have wondered what makes these leaves so colorful this time of the year.  All summer long, the broad leaves of trees have been making food for tree growth.  The green chlorophyll in the leaves uses sunlight to turn carbon dioxide and water into food.  There are also other colored chemicals in the leaves that do not show up until the food factory shuts down in the Fall.  It is then that you see the beautiful display of yellow, orange and red leaves.

Have you noticed that in some years the leaves seem more brightly colored than in others?  The answer is that the leaves are brightest when the summer is warm and dry and autumn has many sunny days and cool nights.  The sunny days help the leaves to make some food, but the cool nights will keep the food from moving from the leaves.  It is then that the trapped food will form brilliant purple and red chemicals in the leaves�� colors.

��At the base of each leaf is a special layer of cells called ��abscission�� or separation layer.  All summer, small tubes which pass through this layer carry water into the leaf, and food back to the tree.  In the fall, the cells of the abscission layer begin to swell and form a cork-like material, reducing and finally cutting off the flow between leaf and tree.��  (Quote from Internet article).  This finally results in the leaves falling from the tree.  But this decaying leaf provides nourishment for future plant life.

The wise man Solomon gives us a poetic description of the changes that take place during the Autumn of human life.

            When you become old,

               The light from the sun, moon and stars will seem dark to you.

            It will seem as if the rain clouds never go away.

               At that time your arms will lose their strength.

            Your strong legs will become weak and bent.

               Your teeth will fall out so you cannot chew.

            Your eyes will not see clearly.

               Your ears will be deaf to the noise in the streets.

            You will barely hear singing.

               The sound of the millstone grinding your grain will seem very quiet.

            But you will wake up when a bird first starts singing!

               You will fear high places.

            And you will be afraid to go for a walk because you may fall.

               Your hair will become white like the flowers on an almond tree.

            You will limp along like a grasshopper when you walk.

               Your desires will be gone.

            Then you will go to your everlasting home.

               And people will go to your funeral.

            Remember God before your life is snapped like a silver chain.

               Remember God before your life is broken like a golden bowl.

            It will be useless as a broken bucket at the spring.

               It will be no good, like a broken (pulley) wheel at a water well.

            Your body will become part of the dust of the earth again.

               But your spirit will return to God who gave it.

                                                                        (Ecclesiastes 12:2-7ncv)

Life goes on as usual for me.  Some day I will hear God��s call to another world.  I get few visitors but was surprised to have an old friend drop in today with his young grandson.  I also saw my son Tom and family from Alaska on their vacation recently.  I get to see my daughter Carolyn on her business trips here.  She lives in New York at the center of the clothing business.  Friends and family mean a lot as one gets on in years.  Fortunately my health is reasonably good for my age.  I enjoy communicating with my friends over the internet.  I hope things are going well for you and your loved ones.

Your Friend,

Tom Atkinson