Fall in Chicago

38 thoughts on “Fall in Chicago”

1. Nice photo – I like the brilliant fall colours offset by the random mundane guy.

2. Beautiful colours! The leaves are mostly down here in the Canadian prairies.

3. beeyewtifull

4. Great photo, reminds me of home (Massachusetts), don’t get foliage like that down here in Alabama, I miss it.

5. Shorts and a jacket. That’s an excellent assessment about weather in the fall.

6. .And it looks to me like the man in the picture is enjoying the outdoors while reading FAITH VS FACT on his iPhone Kindle app

   1. and the burning bush said, “Moses, moses”, but the man’s name was Joe.

      So the bush was not omniscient..

7. I do miss fall in Chicago. Winter, not so much.

8. The footwear matches the foliage!

   b&

9. Man, the students looks older than I remember.

   October in Chicago is great.

   1. Shorts in Chicago on 24 October. That’s crazy. Must be an early trick or treat.

      1. Nah, up here in Canukistan you see shorts until there’s lots of snow on the ground.

10. Most likely the bright red bush is Euonymus alatus, an introduced species that gives a lot of Homo sapien’s pleasure in the fall but causes problems for native plants. It is also known as burning bush. Maybe that is Moses in the picture. Oh wait, no….he’s not wearing sandals and he’s sitting on a picnic table not Mt. Whatev. (Sorry don’t know the real name).

    1. I agree on the identification of the shrub. Lovely plant.

       1. That Euonymus alata, that horrible red thing, should be uprooted and burned. It is an example of an invasive alien. If you plant it, you could be going against a state regulation or recommendation. You are also showing yourself to be naive gardener and a bad steward of the environment.

          1. That euonymus is on the Chicago region shit list:

             http://www.chicagobotanic.org/research/identifying_threats/invasive

             “R Remove as soon as possible, including all cultivars, and/or do not add to collection in future”

          2. Agreed. Yes is it common and beautiful in the fall, and yes it is an invasive and would be better for the local species if it was not used.

          3. I have a neighbor who has planted Purple Loosestrife. Is that still on the kill-on-sight list, or is it more or less under (bio-)control now?

             1. Anecdotally, for many years now I’ve noticed a most significant diminution of purple loosestrife around here, in the wetlands that used to be sea of purple when it was in bloom.

             2. Same here in central NY. Purple Loosestrife diminished significantly over the past few years.

             3. That was my comment. (That Rick’s replying to, in case things get out of order.)

             4. I knew it. The cultivated handwriting gave you away.

             5. Ooh, thank you! Wait–you’re referring to my cursive, aren’t you?!

             6. That too. 😉

       2. I wonder if it has roots like these?
          http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2015/10/15/digging-deep-reveals-the-intricate-world-of-roots/?utm_source=NatGeocom&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=pom_20151025&utm_campaign=Content&utm_rd=894365187

11. Looks like New York. I love the Eastern deciduous forest for it’s diversity. So many species! Trees become red, pink, orange, brown, yellow. The West, unfortunately, is largely deprived and deficient in this dimension, for sure. Oh, the West has it’s color and charm, but not like autumn in the East.

12. What a photogenic dude. Too bad all those clashing leaves spoil the pic.

    1. That was me, sigh.

13. Sub

14. I understand that the evolution of deciduous trees differed between North America and Europe following the ice age. http://tinyurl.com/ogbxnm9

    1. Clicking on that link caused a “phishing attack ahead” alert from my antivirus software.

    2. Interesting. I noted a lack of red leaves while visiting Washington and northern Idaho as well. Not sure if it’s caused by ice ages, or just reduced diversity.

       1. Having just driven through Utah, Idaho, Washington, BC, and then all the way back east through Canada, I can attest that there were many fewer red leaves out west than what we found, and expect, in Ontario. There’s lots of yellow out west from the aspens, but only sprinklings of red from, probably, transplanted maples.

          1. Ah, but the native Vine Maples can be fiery! And the native Bigleaf Maples may be yellow, but, hey–big leaves!

             And above all, what colors there are show off so spectacularly against the forest green of the firs, hemlocks, spruces, yews, pines…

15. Apologies if this is a repeat. Forgot to enter my info before. Wondering whether the burning bush has roots like these?
    http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2015/10/15/digging-deep-reveals-the-intricate-world-of-roots/?utm_source=NatGeocom&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=pom_20151025&utm_campaign=Content&utm_rd=894365187

    1. Thank you for that, Merilee! Wonderful info and pictures!

       One of the most memorable courses I ever took was agronomy, heavily weighted toward the soil science part. The unbelievably deep, rich soils of the pre-settlement Great Plains were dwelt on at length. Everything from the soil classification system to how soils mold local politics is just fascinating. Soils have their own form of evolution, intimately entwined with the biota of course.

       1. We even had soil labs, some of which were a lot like making mud pies…

          1. Sigh. Me, of course.

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