Thursday, October 7, 2010

THURSDAY IN THE GARDEN WITH DANTE: MYSTERY SOLVED!


If you have been following Dante's gardening posts recently, you will know that he has been quite PURRplexed about the condition of the trees in our yard.  The leaves keep turning to yellow and red and falling to the ground.  It seemed to Dante that it must be the work of an evil force like those rampant rodents known as squirrels, or perhaps even that poisonous pooping pug from next door.

Dante is endeavouring to stop this tree deterioration before it spreads around the world.  He took samples of the bark from the trees in the front and back yards, and the results are due today.  Here's Dante to fill you in. 

"Heer I is in da back yawd ware moar an' moar leafs has fallen on da grownd.  It's gettin' verreh messy I mus' say!"

"An' dis is wot I see frum mai back yawd!  The poison is spreadin' alREDdy!"

From our back yard we have a clear view of the wooded ravine which runs the whole length of the street (and beyond).  As you can see, the deciduous trees are turning colour.  Dante better get to the bottom of this right quick!


"Now I is in da front yawd, an' checkin' fings owt arownd heer."

"Dis is reely kwite alarming!"

"Da whole yawd is jus' littahed wif leafs!  Normally I likes any kind of littah, but dis makes me feer fur da future of da werld."


"All dese leafs is deaded.  Dey are even turnin' brown."


"Oh, heer cums da UPS man!  It mus' be da wesults of da tests I bin watin' for."


"Mama is openin' da envelope fur me and heer is wot it says."


"Leaves are Mother Nature's food factories. Plants take water from the ground through their roots. They take a gas called carbon dioxide from the air. Plants use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and glucose. Oxygen is a gas in the air that we need to breathe. Glucose is a kind of sugar. Plants use glucose as food for energy and as a building block for growing. The way plants turn water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugar is called photosynthesis. That means "putting together with light." A chemical called chlorophyll helps make photosynthesis happen. Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color.

As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter. This is how the trees "know" to begin getting ready for winter.

During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during the summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. As the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors. Small amounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along. We just can't see them in the summer, because they are covered up by the green chlorophyll."

"Boy, is mai face wed!  Dere isn't any poison.  Dis is Mudder Nachur tellin' us dat wintah is comin'.
An' yoo noes wot dey say abowt Mudder Nachur."

"Doan mess wif her or yoo hasta answah to me!"

So Dante has learned a major lesson today, and it will only serve to make him a better gardener in the future.  Mother Nature needs all the support she can get.
 

17 comments:

Samantha & Mom said...

Wow!!! Thanks for that information Dante!!! We live in TX and our leaves stay green almost all year round!! But if we see some leafless trees we'll now know while they are that way!!
Howdy from your TX furiends,

Hannah and Lucy said...

Thank you for solving that Dante - we were wondering why there were so many leaves flying through the air. We do love chasing them though when they blow about in the garden.

Anonymous said...

Aren't you relieved now??? We sure are! YIKES...and to think we all thought the world was poisoned! Soon, the trees will be covered in snows.

Meowers from Missouri said...

thank you, dante. we is furry glad to know the why of this. we haf wondered efurry year why the maples outside our liffin' room winder turns all red an' then gets nekkid (we fink they're blushin' in advance).

Admiral Hestorb said...

Dante, you solved the mystery and I am so relieved because seemed like the poison was spreading here TOO! WHEW! By the way, your man cat appearance has my heart all aflutter. You are so handsome. What a gorgeous face and what beautiful furs you have.♥♥♥

SuziQCat said...

Dante that was some great information...we are sorry to see winter approaching, but loving the fact that the hot summer is fading fast! Sometimes I wish it could be fall all year!

Anonymous said...

That was great information--we were really concerned about your yard!

Gemini and Ichiro said...

Dante you are brilliant to learn all of that!

Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

Oh...we thought maybe the leaves were all so envious of your golden color that they were all trying to imitate your furs...glad you edumacated us (though we are still envious of your pelage)

SeaThreePeeO said...

You had us worried for a while there Dante!

Jacqueline said...

A very informative post with so much mancat gorgeousness attached :)...Seeing you always makes us smile, handsome Dante...kisses...Calle, Halle, Sukki

Amy & the house of cats said...

Dante that was some good investigating on your part - you were very thorough and ended up finding the right answer! And the good news is that it isn't poison, it is just nature, so you won't need to worry anymore!

Ozark Mountain Cats said...

We still tink dat dose poopy pugs had sumthing to do wif da fall'n leaves.

Noll's Nip said...

Good sleuth work Dante. Now for the mystery of "who is going to rake those deaded leaves up???"

Keiko said...

Dante, thanks for solving that mystery! We love playing with leaves!!! They are FUN!

Cory said...

Smart boy to not mess with Mother Nature! I don't mess with my momma Ellie either!

Purrfect Haven said...

we thing your name SO suits you. That coat must be brushed a lot to be so beautifully fluffy. Loved your post. Love Darcy and Bingley xx