these are actually leaves found in Evanston, not Naperville
Devouring autumnal foliage with one's eyes is one of the pleasures of living north of the Mason-Dixie line. This year was pretty much a dud.
Warm weather slowed the appearance of the reds, oranges and yellows of autumnWe went to the Morton Arboretum a couple weeks ago, and the line of cars waiting to get into the park was outrageously long. We didn't have the stamina to wait our turn, and went to Naperville instead. Apparently, would have been disappointed even if we did manage to gain entrance. Global Warming denialists have some other sort of answer as to why the leaves are not their normal brilliant color, but I am skeptical of their skepticism:
[snip]
Intense heat in late summer and early fall delayed the changing of the leaves in the area, with peak colors not arriving until last week, about two weeks later than normal.
Now, leaf enthusiasts like Blankenship are scrambling to enjoy the remainder of the season after gusting winds Monday stripped many trees bare and freezing temperatures expected Tuesday night threaten to turn leaves a dull brown.
In his 1862 essay philosopher Henry David Thoreau dubbed October "the month of painted leaves," but this October brought days with temperatures in the 80s to the Chicago area.
At Morton Arboretum in west suburban Lisle, sugar maples that traditionally turn vibrant shades of red stayed yellow and orange into November, said Ed Hedborn, a botanist at the arboretum.
"The plants did not get their normal cue from the temperature drop to start changing color in the fall," Hedborn said. "The concern now is if we get hard frosts, that can actually cause leaves to turn brown and drop off."
As the days grow shorter in autumn, photosynthesis shuts down and the green chlorophyll in leaves disappears, unmasking yellow and orange pigments below the surface.
[From This fall's foliage goes from green to gone]
The Chicago area's average temperature this September was 68 degrees, about 4 degrees above average. The warm weather continued into October, when it was 7 degrees above average, including a record high of 87 degrees Oct. 7, according to the National Weather Service.
The late arrival of fall foliage is not isolated to Illinois. In Missouri, abnormal weather conditions over the entire year, including a late freeze and persistent drought, have led to unspectacular colors, state conservation officials said.
Although fall colors can still be found across northern Illinois, all but a few southern counties in Wisconsin are past their peak, according to a fall-color report on the Wisconsin Department of Tourism's Web site.
Hedborn said that autumn in Illinois this year was an anomaly and that the season could return to its usual brilliance next year. Over the long term, though, scientists project that climate change will lead to longer summers in Illinois, which could delay frosts that trigger leaves to change colors.
