Momijigari

I have recently been slowly reading The Japanese Art of Living, An Invitation to Celebrate Every Day, by Natalie Leon (Watkins Publishing, 2024). The Japanese have 72 micro seasons and pay much closer attention to nature. In fall, they look for the changing color of tree leaves, a custom called momijigari, translating to red maple leaf hunting but actually incorporating all trees' colors. They even put out a fall foliage forecast for the country so people can get out into nature and observe the changing colors.

I am not Japanese, but I have been looking at autumn's leaves changing for years. Pre-pandemic my husband and I would travel to Hope Valley and the Eastern Sierra in the fall to hike and look at the leaves. These days, we travel closer to home, and I walk around Vacaville and the arboretum at UC Davis, searching for the changing colors. I also follow the color changes online, and I know that Hope Valley had its peak in early October. I have noticed that the first tree color to appear near me in autumn seems to be orange.  Maybe it's because there are so many crape myrtles near me. The second color is red – Chinese Pistache and maples. These are prevalent now, but finally, the yellows are just starting to appear: cottonwoods, boxelders. My favorite, the gingko, needs some cooler weather and shorter daylight hours, and typically, their leaves change to yellow later than other trees around here.  As the tree's chlorophyll, nature's UV radiation protector, starts to decrease, the leaves' original pigment emerges. This process, plant senescence, is how the tree recycles nitrogen and other nutrients. Momijigari's dates are listed as November 2^nd through the 6^th in the book, in case you want to catch a quick flight to Japan. Or you can enjoy the leaf changes right at home.

photos by Michelle Davis

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