More red...

Over the past two or three days, red spots have started to invade the mountain. These are the mountain maple leaves (Acer spicatum) turning bright red just ahead of the aspen trees, which with the pine trees constitute the bulk of the forest show their golden yellow colors. For the moment, there’s only red to announce the Fall season, although in certain spots some shades of yellow are starting to form in the aspen groves. The timing of fall colors varies vastly from year to year. I have seen fall colors appear on the third week of August. This year is rather late for Park City. I’ve never been quite able to understand how photosynthesis really works and how a dry and sunny season (this summer) impacts the speed at which leaves turn. I’ve built up theories but not seem to really work. Does anyone know?