"Desert Autumn" by Robert Wood (1889 - 1979)
The Rogue Speaks:
We all learned about chlorophyll in elementary school science class, so we know why leaves are green, but there is another very important component, xanthophyll, that makes leaves, flowers, fruits, and vegetables turn yellow by acting to moderate light energy.
When animals (including ourselves) ingest plant material containing the xanthophylls, it is metabolized and shows up in various ways. The macula lutea in our eye absorbs the xanthophylls, and is called the "yellow spot." You've been hearing a lot lately about lutein being good for our eyes, and it is one of the xanthophylls. Likewise, when chickens take in certain feed that is filled with xanthophylls, the eggs readily absorb it, causing the egg "yellow" to turn that yummy color!
The beautiful yellow leaves of fall, as seen in the painting by Robert Wood, come to us complements of the xanthophylls. Yes, we actually do have the theater of the seasons in the desert!! Van Gogh was grateful for xanthophylls, but he didn't realize it at that time in history.
When we lived in Tennessee, one of our favorite fall trips took us to the mountains to view the fall colors.
That's about all I have to say on the subject of xanthophyll, but in case you are interested, lycopene is what makes those beautiful RED fall leaves.
Please don't forget to check out the other entries for Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday this week. Oh, and in case you are interested, PLEASE click here to see my offering for Whimsical Wednesday! I'd love to have your reaction!!
49 comments:
Beautiful frames with a delicious light, lovely.
Great photos and post!! Very interesting!
Wonderful photos and very informative, one of my favorite colors is yellow! xo
always fun to learn more... Thanks for sharing! Xanthophyll is fun to say :o)
Also your photos on your sidebar of your little sweethearts are adorable! (What a cutie your Pirate Emaline Sparrow is! ...I have pirates on my current post too :o) ( I totally missed joining in with the "W" posts!)
Blessings & Aloha!
I love the bright yellow it creates.
Very interesting. Pretty pictures.
What a great X post! I love all that xanthophyll we're starting to see.
I can't really pronounce the word but it's nice to know how beautiful nature can be. yellow is such a happy color. great X post.
Great colors Judie. Yellow does have a sunny feel to it.
Awesome X word! I bow to your superiority!
LOL!
this is smart,
the light yellow does gives one a warm feel.
you rock.
What a wonderful post and so colorful. When my grandson was a baby he ate a lot of carrots and sweet potatoes he actually had a orange tint.
Clever you! That was new to me - I think I was paying insufficient attention when this was taught in science class.
I think you have the greatest X post here Judie! You always have something to make me smile! I truly love coming over. Enjoy the weekend,
Each time I learn something new and interesting. Yellow has always been my favorite color, so now I have more information about it. You are indeed an artist!
What a great X post Judy. I love your yellows and your photo's. Have a nice day
Riet
OH my you sure brought out not only great information, but amazing photos, the colors are just so dreamy and the photos of each thing ...I am now craving a soft yummy boiled egg..thank you very much...but seriously XCELLENT ! ..and I did already check out your fabulous WW too...both posts grrrrrrrrrrreat!
What a great science lesson! And now I want some yellow peppers to put on my salad. =>
Why oh why didn't they teach science like this in school? I enjoyed reclining in my chair, morning coffee in hand, looking at beautiful photos and learning something. Wonderful X post!
You Xed this week Judie! You're my favorite teacher, you know that...
I spent Monday in Park City UT and the fall colors are awesome. Autumn is my favorite holiday :)
That's a really informative post.. never knew that there was a word like XANTHOPHYLL . Love the yellow hews and the warm it creates.
Always an interesting post, Judie! The photos are just fantastic!
Hi again Judie!
Love your ‘X’ post - always learn so much here!
And thanks too for stopping by at mine.
Have a great weekend & look forward to *seeing* you again next time,
XOXO LOLA:)
I never heard the word xanthophylls ! Thanks to blogging I become intelligent !
kiss, hug, kiss, hug
X O X O !!
xanthophyllxanthophyllxanthophyll... if I say it often enough, I may remember the word. Heck, not likely. But I WILL remember the process, and if anyone every mentions xanthophyll, I'll know. My recall sucks; my recognition pretty good. Nice X post, Judie.
Well,Well,good to know.
You always have such interesting educational post.
How's Liz?And I hope the bell tails go to sleep soon(winter hibernate)...have a great weekend.
~Jo
Great photos. I do like my yolks nice and yellow--so give this chicks what they need:)
Erika
Artful Rising
I can look back to when I was a child and remember that I loved the color yellow. It was my favorite. And when all the other girls were loving blue and pink I was different because I loved my yellow. Oh and green of course. In my sister's famous words "I don't trust anyone who doesn't love the color green!" Me either. I think it must have been one of God's favorite colors. But yellow...yellow is cheery!~Ames
I like yellow, so I'm glad that xanthophyll exists in the world. Especially during the fall!
=)
Wonderful post! Love that "crazy" X-word!!! Have a beautiful day and thanks for your visit!
Coralie
Excellent entry Judie ... what a great X word ...
I'm kinda a science nut and just love information like this. Great X word and great read!
God bless ya and have a X~cellent day!!! :o)
Basking in yellow is so much better than feeling blue.
Wow, that is totally amazing!!! I never heard the word before!!! or the one for turning the leaves read--so interesting!!!
XO
Cindy
Loved the pictures, very educational post...I don't remember ever hearing or seeing that word until today! !
Judie you're so funny! But we're all winners...and this letter X did kind of throw me for a loop...but it's really interesting seeing what everyone comes up with...getting pictures to go with it though that's something not so easy...you have that mastered very well! I had trouble getting on Jenny's blog to see the others this morning, I'll check it now but did you have trouble too?
beautiful pics. like this shining paprika :)
Wow. That's really interesting. I never really though about why plants are different colors but that makes sense.
I'll pretend I didn't read this and the colors are being changed by the color fairies...like a song I learned when I was a kid. :)
I had trouble getting on Jenny's blog as well. I also had trouble leaving comments on the other posts. I read and commented on every one, so if someone didn't get a comment from me, blame Blogger.
Yeah, I used to think it was the color fairy too. Damn science, anyway!
What a cool word, and very informative. Now I will never be able to see an egg without remember this post. Thanks alot. :)
Love the post!!! I learned something new today. I'm going to use that word to sound like I know what I'm talking about. :) I posted the recipe for Brownie Cheesecake on my blog. I also used a mocha brownie mix. Just for added goodness. :) I love the nature pohots and Gattina's blue cat picture. Thanks for stoppin by.
Drats! You left me a comment, Judie? Blogger blitzed it... and I so like to hear from you... :-) Seriously, I was wondering why so few return visits today... this is not nice of Blogger... Jenny's linky goes in and out when you refresh the page. She's not the only one with linky issues this week. I wonder if Google is working the architecture of Blogger and there's a conflict...?
This is quite interesting! I guess I never gave it much thought as to why leaves turn yellow and red. Now I know! And it all makes sense after reading this post :)
This was fascinating, Judie! I knew about lycopene but not xanthophyll. Your posts are always so educational and wonderfulto read!
Have a lovely weekend!
Beautiful bright yellow photos! One of my fave colors - so cheerful and happy. I've heard of the word but never really knew what it meant. Nice to know.
I don't remember learning about xanthophyll in school. Very informative post!
I am getting smarter every single time I read your blog!
Soon I will be able to be on a game show...especially if you're the friend I can call!
Thanks for another Xcellent link!
A+
Lovely artwork
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