Foliage: A Living Painting

Foliage is a living painting of the trees at a real place, on a real day. Choose a town anywhere in the United States. Foliage paints the trees that actually grow there, in the manner of the American Impressionists who painted New England in autumn. Each species turns and lets go of its leaves on its own timetable, measured from satellites and from observers near that place. The sky, the rain and the snow follow the weather as it really is. Leave it be and it keeps time with the world. Clouds drift, the light moves through the day, and leaves fall and settle into piles beneath their trees. Or take hold of the year and turn it: drag through the seasons and watch a whole autumn play out in a few seconds. • Real trees: the mix of species comes from the USDA Forest Service's survey of America's forests. • Real seasons: colour and leaf fall are timed from NASA satellite records and USA…