A different type of fall.

H.R. Waller
Date: 22 September, 2008
Time: 1015
Location: Across form Hatfield Library on the patch of grass before entering the chicken fountain area.
Weather: Cool, blue skies, 58 degrees.
Lately I have been noticing that the leaves are beginning to change, one of the telltale signs that the bittersweet fall is creeping upon us. However, today walking back from class, I spotted a tree that had shed a plethora of its leaves, but instead of the usual goldens, yellows, and oranges, all the leaves were shades of pink and light purple, a beautiful but strange sight. Its trunk is about as wide as my arms. They fit around it in a comfortable hug. The tree is very tall and branchy, the bark white and brown. The leaves are arranged randomly and are large. They are round at the bottom, and then turn into palmately lobed shaped at the top, only there are three lobes rather than the typical five. The tree stands opposite the Mark O. Hatfield Library, just to the south of the building. Upon walking away from the area, I couldn't recall any of the other plants in the surrounding area, because the pink and purple veil the tree had layed out on the ground in front of itself was so distracting and interesting to look at. The (alive) leaves are bright green and look like any other leaves on the rest of the trees, so I'm curious as to why these ones turn a much different color? Is it composed of different sugars?