
Daily Note
Every day, a photograph, a poem. In October a year ago we hiked along Banks Lake at Steamboat Rock State Park where this lovely view of nature’s trees fading from green to yellow reflected into the lake. Today as I thought of this change of color, I turned to the color wheel, which as an artist and teacher, I know blue and yellow blend to green. I wondered, “Is it the blue that fades from green so only yellow shines?”
Autumn’s Color Wheel
Leaves of green that lose the blue
SHERI EDWARDS
brighten all in sunshine’s hue.
092922 274.365.22
POETRY/PHOTOGRAPHY
Daily Wonder
Perhaps — I do see some blue in these Chloroplasts in Plagiomnium affine moss.

by Kristian Peters — Fabelfroh, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
However, the science of leaves is fascinating, and it’s chlorophyll that gives leaves its green color, and when autumn arrives, the chlorophyll breaks down and leaves the leaves, allowing other pigments to shine through. For more information about autumn leaves, see these resources:
- Ask a Biologist: Why do leaves change colors
- National Geographic: Chlorophyll
Perhaps it’s time to take a walk outdoors and look more closely at the leaves of trees in your area. Perhaps make a sketch or painting.

WriteOut
Yes– perhaps take a walk outdoors with a sketchbook or journal– and participate in this year’s “Write Out”– a joint venture by the National Writing Project and the National Park Service to encourage people to get outdoors. This year’s Write Out is STEAM- Powered (STEAM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) from October 9-23, 2022. It’s free. It encourages writing and making and sharing about your own experiences with the outdoors in a local event, on your own, or with the Write Out activities you can find here.
Field Journal Ideas
Don’t have a sketchbook, notebook, or journal? The @writingproject has some DIY [Do It Yourself] suggestions for you:
- Rick Novak’s Field Journaling
- Field Journals How To pdf — just paper, rubber band, and a stick
- Zines
- More About Zines:
- How to make a Mini-Notebook Zine — 1 sheet of paper and scissors only
- DIY Journal: another style with only paper and scissors needed
Inspired by The Daily Create
Today’s Daily Create prompt —-#clmooc #DS106 @ds106dc #tdc3912 suggested sharing a sketch or drawing of trees. I chose the photo above with the short wondering poem.
For more poems on parks– See Poet.org celebration of parks: Imagine Our Parks as Poems
1309 days of posts in a row on Ask What Else
This post is a cross-posted of Autumn’s Color Wheel on Sheri42net 09.29.22.