Lanark County, with all its maple trees, is a great area to go for a drive to see the fall colours. The Mill of Kintail Conservation Area with its trails along the Indian River is a good spot for a fall walk. But like so many other areas this year the colours were disappointing there as well. There were lots of yellows, but reds and oranges were few and far between.
There was some fungus on tree trunks, moss on tree stumps and a few helleborine seed pods to be seen
The shallow river usually reflects the colourful trees. The photo on the left shows the intense colours from a few years ago, the one the right is this year's pale-by-comparison
But the shallow river did provide photos ops for long exposures
The former mill at the Conservation Area was the home of Robert Tait McKenzie, a famous Canadian sculpture.
Today the mill is a museum hosting a collection of McKenzie work and also memorabilia of James Smith, the inventor of basketball. who was born very near Almonte. The background to the mill is described on the Conservation Area's website:
"The Mill of Kintail Museum displays the historical collections of Dr. R. Tait McKenzie, sculptor, surgeon, and pioneer in preventive and rehabilitative medicine; poet Ethel McKenzie, his life partner; and Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball and McKenzie’s life long friend.
"The museum is located in the former Woodside grist mill on the Indian River constructed in 1830 by John Baird. McKenzie purchased the mill in 1931 and converted it into a summer home and studio, naming it the Mill of Kintail. In 1952, the property was purchased by Major James Leys, an admirer of Dr. McKenzie who displayed McKenzie’s works and artifacts in a memorial museum he created on the property.
"Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) acquired the Mill of Kintail and the McKenzie collection in 1972. The Gatehouse that stores much of the collection and is used to conduct research was purchased by MVCA in 1986 and is also used for educational and conference purposes. The Naismith collection was loaned to the museum in 2010, and became part of the permanent collection in 2017."
Bedroom
LIving room
Studio
The Naismith puppet, left hand photo, is the work of Noreen Young. Noreen Young is an Ottawa born puppeteer who has lived in Almonte for many years. She had a long career in TV with her puppets, starting locally in Ottawa and then TVOntario and Disney Channel. (I even performed in one of her productions when I was VERY young.😊)
