A FALL SURPRISE

Suddenly the red and yellow leaves of fall are almost all gone, victims of a cold snap and high winds. The oak leaves remain, bronze and shiny, but they soon will be gone, too.

But something new has been added: a frequent flash of gold among the evergreens and the bare branches of the maples and birches. The time has come for the hackmatacks to turn golden before shedding their needles for the winter. Some call them larch or tamarack, but here in eastern Maine most people say hackmatack. The tree is an oddity. The various spruces and pines and other needled trees are evergreen. In the fall, the hackmatack turns its needles yellow, then drops them and stands bare until new ones sprout light green in the spring.

This year, something else has been added. The hackmatack needles are not just the usual yellowish gold but more on the orange side. Jim Philp, associate professor of forest resources at the University of Maine, has no firm answer as to why the change.

He thinks it may be a defense against prolonged drought. He says things are really strange this year, including green leaves on birch trees in November.

So you might say that the specialists are stumped. But the rest of us can take a look and enjoy them while we can. They will be gone soon enough.