Inspired By The Forest (Photos)

I've never felt as grounded as I do when I'm in the middle of the woods. The vast array of trees and plants and creatures is so natural and alluring. The soil, covered by decomposing leaves of years past, the trees that have grown so tall and strong over many hundreds of years, the animals with their instincts still perfectly intact. A mountain river with its chilled breeze, huge boulders plopped in mysterious places, evergreen branches weighed down by a fresh snow. There's nowhere else I'd rather be. What do you love most about forests? Leave some comment love!

100 Awe-Inspiring Fall Photos

During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during the summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. As the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors. Small amounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along. We just can't see them in the summer, because they are covered up by the green chlorophyll.

The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in the fall. In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves turn this glucose into a red color. The brown color of trees like oaks is made from wastes left in the leaves.

It is the combination of all these things that make the beautiful fall foliage colors we enjoy each year.