Fast Fading Fall

This post is short on words and shows off the fall colors viewed on recent walks in Mine Falls Park, a 325-acre park in Nashua, NH, that's close to the mill apartments. It is bordered on the North by the Nashua River and the south by the Mill Pond canal system. These images were taken on both canal and river sides of our walk. (None are AI generated.)

Photos were taken 2+ weeks ago, when there was still fall color in the park. Due to some recent windy days, most of the leaves are on the paths now.

Even when a tree is bare, it's still a beautiful sight attested to by poet Alfred Joyce Kilmer, like ourselves, a NJ native. Kilmer (1886-1918), the fourth and youngest child in his family, was named after two priests at Christ Church in New Brunswick, NJ: the curate, Alfred R. Taylor, and the rector, the Rev. Dr. Elisha Brooks  Kilmer's father, Dr. Frederick Barnett Kilmer, a physician and analytical chemist, who worked for the NJ-based Johnson and Johnson Company, is credited as inventing the company's famous baby powder.) 

Joyce Kilmer (1908)

Joyce Kilmer was a journalist, literary critic, lecturer, and editor, who also taught Latin in Morristown, NJ, defined words for the Funk and Wagnalls dictionary and later wrote for The New York Times. In 12917, shortly after the U.S. entered WW I in 1917, Kilmer enlisted in the New York National Guard. At the time of his deployment to Europe, he was considered the leading American Catholic poet and lecturer of his generation. He was deployed to France with the 69th Infantry Regiment (the famous Fighting 69th). Tragically, he died at the age of 31, killed by a sniper's bullet at the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918 leaving behind a widow and several children. He is famously remembered for a 1913 short poem, Trees, first published in the August 1913 issue of Poetry: A Magazine of Verse.

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

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.

A Bit of Color

This year, foliage colors in Mine Falls Park, Nashua, NH, wasn't as gloriously colorful as in previous years. That's what I found out during a walk there earlier this week.

Usually, fall colors are viewed from the ground up and looking at the trees. But looking down revealed some very colorful photo opps. There were many vibrant colors seen by looking in the waters of the canal that flows through the park.

The name Mine Falls dates from the 1700s, when low quality lead was supposedly mined from the island below the falls. In the early 1800s, the potential of the Nashua River to drive the wheels of industry was recognized. Workers used shovels and mules to dig the three-mile long canal that powered area mills, including Nashua Manufacturing Company. This mill building is now Clocktower Place, a residential apartment building and our current home.

Light created some beautiful patterns during my short ramble. I wanted to see some fall color since by the time we return from our UK trip (there now), most trees could be leaf-free. Autumn is such a lovely and colorful season, my favorite of all four seasons; winter comes next.

Typically, New England's foliage starts in early October and peaks towards the end of the month. According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, this year the best leaf peeping opportunities will be in early October with many areas at or near peak fall color even by mid-October. 

However, this year's wet weather means that some colors are less vibrant than usual. This past summer was very rainy in New England, characterized by flash flooding in Vermont and the second-wettest July on record in Boston, MA. Nashua, NH, also had a lot of rainy days.

Too much rain affects leaf colors as it causes fungus on leaves, especially on sugar maples. This can cause trees to drop leaves early after turning brown. It's been so wet that the saps and the sugars are not all that concentrated in the leaves. The sugars are what create the leaves vibrant red colors. It's why many areas could have more pastel or muted leaf colors this year. 

Still, I found vibrant colors just by looking at the canal waters that flow through the park.

Luckily, the 325-acre Mine Falls Park is vehicle-free, aside from bicycles. The park includes forest, wetlands, and open fields; it is bordered on the North by the Nashua River and on the South by the Millpond and canal system.

Best of all, it's within walking distance of the mill apartments.

Blooms & Flutterbys

On a recent outing along the river walk here in Nashua, NH, so called as it's a paved path along part of the Nashua River near the mill apartments we live in now, these were some, of the colorful blooms.

There was also a fritillary butterfly which only on this flower alone. This butterfly is sometimes mistaken for its more famous distant cousin, the monarch butterfly, although they seem very different to me. 

Most fritillaries are orange and black like monarchs, but with a different pattern. However, some are about the same size. There are 14 species of the so-called greater fritillaries (genus Speyeria) and 16 lesser fritillaries (genus Bolloria). Their names refer to their sizes. 



The common name comes from the Latin, fritillus, meaning chessboard or dice box.  Another name for these butterflies is silverspots because of metallic markings on their wing's undersides. It's possible that this pattern serves as a camouflage too.

Like many butterflies, the fritillary caterpillar is selective about what it eats. It doesn't favor milkweed like monarchs. It prefers violets and without violets, there would be no fritillary butterflies. Adults go for nectar of native flowers, such as butterfly weed, common milkweed, Joe-pye-weed and others. They also visit non-native flowers such as lilacs, butterfly bush and some thistles.

Soon two fritillaries were on the same bloom and didn't seem to mind sharing.

I don't know the name of this flower, but it was certainly attractive as a third fritillary landed on the same flower despite other blooms nearby.

Whatever reason these blooms were the attractive to this trio, it provided a great photo opportunity during my late afternoon walk.

Starting the New Year

We started the New Year by walking in Mine Falls Park here in Nashua, NH. There's an entrance close to our mill apartment.

The morning after a snowfall is always beautiful viewed from our 5th floor window. The Nashua River is not yet frozen over, but there's still a lot of winter weather to come.

Walking in the park after a fresh snowfall is a wonderful experience. Some folks had been out earlier than we were as evidenced by their footprints. Grenville is in the lead here.

This was a wet snowfall and there was a lot of snow left on trees along the path.

Just some fun with a fish eye effect that's part of the built-in features of the camera being used, an Olympus Stylus Tough.

More special effects, this time using the soft focus setting.

We hope that 2017 will be a year of good things for everyone. 

Evening Walk with a View

With the arrival of cooler weather, we've resumed evening walks on a paved path called river walk that parallels the Nashua River. This path winds around a portion of the former Nashua Manufacturing Company, now known as Clocktower Apartments (our current residence) and along a portion of Main Street, Nashua, NH. 

These images were taken on a recent evening stroll. You can read the company name when this image is clicked on and enlarged or check out the one below it.

Here's a "zoomed in" view with the company name and incorporation date. NMC produced cotton flannel blankets and operated from 1823-1949. It housed several other businesses after the mill ceased operation, until its conversion to mill apartments in 1990. (FYI our apartment is on the 5th floor along the word "Company.")

The two clocktowers are original to the mill buildings and remain operational. They are maintained by the current building management.

The most impressive overall view of the mill is seen from the bridge that crosses the Nashua River on Main Street in Nashua. The white cupola formerly housed a very large bell that tolled to signal mill workers. The bell was removed years ago and is now in the parking area (sorry, forgot to snap a photo this time).

We stopped to take a selfie during our walk — just because we could.

The NMC is one of numerous New England mills that have been covered to residence apartments. Clocktower Apartments has 326 apartments and most feature unique interiors. More about NMC and its conversion to mill apartments in future posts.

THANKS to everyone for the well wishes on our recent Anniversary and the comments on the flowers and grandchildren, Bobby and Ellie . . . more grandchild news coming soon.