How Do It Know!?
Blue oak leaves, El Dorado Hills (11/13/13) John Poimiroo
“How do it know!?” is the silly punchline of the old joke about the guy, who claims the Thermos to be the world’s greatest invention, after his friends have named the printing press, airplane and computer as their choices. He reasons, “In summer, it keeps a drink cold and in winter, it keeps a drink hot. How do it know!?”
Yesterday, I had the same sort of experience upon seeing blue oak in the Sierra foothills suddenly dump piles of leaves. It wasn’t a particularly breezy day, though it was overcast. Then, a day-long shower of dry, buff, oak leaves littered the ground around my house to be raked, swept or blown into piles.
Blue oaks, El Dorado Hills (11/13/13) John Poimiroo
The same thing scene is occurring across California as trees shed their leaves. Some species of oaks provide spectacular shows of color… the black oak – growing between 4,000′ and 5,000′ in elevation – is one of them. Though others, like the blue oak, will exhibit the slightest hint of orange color, as they change quickly from blue-green to dry-brown. That’s happening now in the Sierra foothills.
How do it know!?
GO NOW! – 75 – 100% – Sierra foothills (1,000′)