Autumn Leaves

Why do leave fall from trees each fall? 

Last night we had a big freeze and all the leave are falling like snow! Click the link to watch!
 ginkgo leaves falling

In the fall, the tree prepares to sleep or go into dormancy for the winter by saving nutrients in its trunk.  When you see the leaves turn colors and start to fall, the tree is preparing to sleep for the winter.  The leaves on some trees such as our Ginkgo trees fall off right after the first very cold night we have.  It's really beautiful to watch!

Autumn leaves falling

On our farm, we have many trees that are over 100 years old.  Do you know what tree these leaves are from: 

These leaves are from the Gingko tree.  The shape of the leaves can vary a bit but they often have a fan shape.  Once you recognize the leaves, you will notice this tree all over.  In the fall, the leaves turn a bright yellow color and, my favorite thing, often the leaves all fall off the tree in a very short time period.  Look at my video below and you can see the leaves falling like snow flakes.  If you listen to the sound, you can hear them as they hit the ground.  This often happens just after the first frost of the season.  They call the Gingko tree a living fossil because fossil records of the Gingko tree date back 270 million years.  They trees are native to China.

The dogs you see in this video include our lab, Belle, and our two Briards, Costaud and Clara.