Waning Colors

While there will be future posts to share about our UK travels, we're glad to have returned home in time to appreciate some of autumn's beauty. It's always enjoyable to share local images.

Living in the mill apartments, we're within walking distance of Mine Falls Park, the largest city park in Nashua, NH. Join me on our November jaunt, perhaps the last this season.

Our recent travels abroad began in mid-October through the end of the month. That's about the time most of the autumn colors here in Nashua, NH, were most vibrant, at peak is the term.

We feared that most of the famed New England color this fall would have gone by the time we were back in Nashua. We went walking, the first November weekend after returning home to find that fall color was not all gone. There was a lot more color than expected in the park.

I've posted many times before about the 325-acre Mine Falls Park, which was purchased in 1969 from the Nashua, New Hampshire Foundation with city and federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) money. It is bordered on the north by the Nashua River and on the south by the millpond and canal.

The park name originates from the 18th century, when low-quality lead was reportedly mined from the islands below the park's falls. In the early 19th century, the potential of the Nashua River to drive the wheels of industrial mills was recognized.

The property was once owned by the Nashua Manufacturing Company, which harnessed the river's flow for power in its mills which closed in 1948. (Nashua Manufacturing Company is now Clocktower Place Apartments.) In 1992, the park trails were designated part of the New Hampshire Heritage Trail system, which extends 130 miles along the Merrimack River from Massachusetts to Canada.

Water reflects remain as one of my favorite photo subjects and, on the day of our walk, these were captured.

There was a large group of Mallard ducks in the canal that afternoon. Several males were putting on quite a display, perhaps for the females among the group?

Above is the late afternoon view of the former millyard, which is now apartments and business use. In 1987, the Nashua River Canal and the Nashua Manufacturing Company Historic District (Millyard) were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Thanks for coming along on this walk, hope you enjoyed the local colors too.