The Up and Down of Fall
Autumn is an ephemeral time of blasting colour where the asters spark up, leaves are set a blaze, pumpkins perch as glowing beacons, and avian migrants give birders their seasonal eye check-up and neck workout. If not for the sake of easing the neck pain from looking up, trick-or- treat your eyes to a fungal foray in the forest and you’ll be surprised at all the different colours, shapes, and forms mushrooms come in. As triumphant green chlorophyll, the star of photosynthesis, exits the solar stage to unveil the carotenoids and xanthophylls that give off yellow, orange, and brown hues.…