Minivan Moments

I'm a maple leaf. Maple leaves change colors in the fall, much like many other leaves, but have you ever wondered why they turn such bright reds? In our study about living things this year, we discovered something scientists didn't know when I was learning about the changing leaves way back in The Dark Ages : maple leaves are stubborn. You see, maple leaves start getting all the same environmental cues that cooler weather is coming that the other tree leaves get, but a maple leaf holds on with 'both fists,' if you will, and continues to try to do its job.  Despite the shorter days, regardless of the tree pulling resources away, and heedless of the cooler temperatures, the maple leaf keeps trying to do its job: photosynthesis. The maple leaf essentially says, "WAIT! NO, just one more minute... just one more day... hold on... I can..." While the leaf is striving to produce food for the tree, the tree has stopped receiving, having pulled the water and chlorophyll...