Henry David Thoreau, the environmental philosopher and author of "Walden", was a keen observer of seasonal change. In 1862, for example, he wrote in the Atlantic Monthly:
"October is the month of painted leaves. Their rich glow now flashes round the world. As fruits and leaves and the day itself acquire a bright tint just before they fall, so the year near its setting. October is its sunset sky; November the later twilight."
