Children In Autumn (1958)

[Music] can you guess what Jane and her friend Susan are doing with the shopping bag they're going to collect signs of autumn for their class exhibit it is the beginning of autumn or as it is also called fall Jane's and Susan's teacher has asked each of her pupils to look all around and to gather together different signs of autumn to learn what Autumn is all about where Jane and Susan live the first signs of autumn appear almost as soon as school [Music] starts in September the garden is full of signs of autumn Jane will choose some fall flowers for her collection marold and different kinds of zenas are in full bloom cool Autumn nights will kill some of these flowers quickly the zenas and The Morning Glory for instance but dalas will Bloom for another month some Hardy flowers like mums and asers will Bloom even past the early frosts with the sun setting earlier each day the days in September May sometimes turn cool quickly this is the beginning of the football season football is Jerry Frank's favorite fall game Mrs nap across the street has a fine vegetable garden she picks the tomatoes before they get too ripe Mrs nap planted them last spring all through the summer they grew in the warm sun and now every day some Tomatoes Get just right for picking from the nearby Arbor Mrs naap selects some ripe grapes for the girls see what a beautiful ripe purple they are they too should be picked before they get too soft or before the birds get them all the birds are having a great time feasting on the Wild buckthorns and the mountain ash in Autumn many trees are heavy with fruit crab apples are ready for C canning these late ripening apples will keep all winter if properly [Music] stored today the sun has been shining on our part of the earth for 12 hours the night will be exactly as long as the day was we call this day the time of the autumnal equinox this is really the first day of autumn the time when we have warm days in October is called Indian summer the whole Countryside is splashed with yellows and reds and beautiful Browns the maple tree has turned to gold and orange and the leaves of some Oaks are changing to a flaming red the leaves are beginning to fall from some trees Jan's teacher Miss Phillips is taking a few members of the nature Club to the forest preserve to enjoy the colors of Indian summer Equinox the days have been growing gradually shorter and the nights colder making the trees change their green coloring to yellow and red and [Music] [Music] brown and now how they'll go [Music] exploring the Washington Hawthorne has already lost all its leaves its red fruits have been shriveled by the frost inside the fruits are tiny seeds which the birds carry far away spreading new Hawthorns about the countryside nearby the leaves of the winter honeysuckle have turned a rich chocolate color between the old old leaves buds have formed out of which new leaves will Sprout next spring there is so much to be seen in the forest in Fall with each gust of wind the trees shed more leaves and fruits and nuts fall to the ground that's Nature's Way of replanting itself Jerry and Jane pick up some acorns for Jane's collection acorns are seeds of oak trees from acorns new oak trees May grow and many animals live off the nourishing nuts what the squirrels cannot eat they'll hide under the Autumn Leaves the weasel digs a burrow for its winter home it has already changed the color of its fur for winter the raccoon is getting fatter by the day when he retires into this hollow tree for the winter he will have enough fat to keep him till [Music] spring among the fallen leaves Jane and her Club friends find many beautiful samples for their collection soon they will be ready for the big Autumn [Music] show on the way home the children see the farmer collecting the Autumn [Music] harvest the golden corn the yellow pumpkins and the many fruits and vegetables all growing on the nearby truck Farms the pumpkins are offered for sale pumpkins for Halloween Jane would like one and so would Jerry Halloween is a another sign of autumn it tells us that October is drawing to an [Music] end one day in November Jane and Jerry notied an empty bird's nest many birds have already gone South the last flock of geese is flying away but some birds stay on all winter long for them Jerry and Jane are setting up a bird feeder the seeds may help some birds to survive the hardships of winter and now Jane and Jerry have some chores to do in the yard with Mrs Frank's help they are raking up the leaves some plants form seeds and then dry up at the end of the season the roots of other plants stay alive under the ground till next spring notice how the bed of asers and chrysanthemums has changed as a result of heavy November Frost this is the same bed you saw in the beginning of the film when Jane was picking flowers for the fall exhibit how lifeless the mums look now last night's Frost killed the last blooms [Music] Jerry and Jane are carrying leaves into a corner of the garden where their father will make a compost pile over the weekend there the leaves will rot and become a kind of fertilizer in front of the house the branches are already completely bare the lawn is covered with dry leaves the children are warmly dressed even on sunny days the November air is [Music] brisk Jerry is having fun with Sparky the dog is growing a heavy coat of fur heavy enough to keep him warm during the winter months in some towns burning leaves is not permitted because of fire hazards but where the Franks live people may burn leaves the smell of burning leaves is another sign of autumn Mrs Frank has canned some tomatoes from the neighbor's Garden her pantry is ready for the winter canning is done mostly in Autumn tomorrow is the day of the Autumn exhibit at school with Jerry's help Jane has gathered together a rich collection although it is still early afterno afternoon Mrs Frank needs more light to work in the kitchen hey says Jerry here's another sign of autumn the days are getting shorter let's put a light bulb into the collection to remind us that the sun sets earlier every day in Autumn Jane's proud of her collection she hopes she'll win a star for it but win or not she's learned a lot by collecting the signs of autumn why don't you try to make your own collection you too may find an exciting Adventure in learning new things about Autumn [Music]