November Blues

The thought of November at our latitude in the Northern Hemisphere conjures images of short and gloomy days, cold north winds, mixed precipitation with rain and snow, and a predominantly greyscale landscape. 

This year we have enjoyed many days of high pressure with blue skies and sunshine. The sun follows a low arc in the sky between dawn and dusk making long shadows and creating interesting light contrasts for photographs. 

My parents moved us from Toronto to this region in December 1969. At the time it was predominantly a manufacturing region with factories that made goods from buttons to tires. There were factories that produced shirts, towels, bedding, shoes, cookies and bread and manufacturers sold surplus items and seconds at outlet stores. 

Mom was always on the prowl for bargains and would buy fabric ends to make clothes for us. She shopped for discount food and shoes at the outlets.

The first picture is of a local manufacturing site that has been renovated into condominiums, office space and restaurants while maintaining an industrial look. The region is now a technology hub as well as a post-secondary education centre with many old factories being repurposed.

The pedestrian bridge on the left crosses the Grand River in the old town of Galt, not incorporated into the city of Cambridge. Galt has maintained its heritage buildings, many of them made of limestone. 

There was a severe flood of the Grand River in Galt in May of 1974.  I was a student in Hamilton at the time and took the intercity bus home on a Friday afternoon for the weekend. The bus had to turn back at Galt as the river had overflowed and the water was chest-deep around the bus terminal. Since then, flood control walls have been built along this section of the river and a new dam was built upstream to control seasonal flooding. This picture was taken from the pedestrian bridge.

Galt is very picturesque and has been used for movie sets including multiple episodes of the TV series Murdoch Mysteries. The series is set in Toronto in the early 20th century. It is one show Grandma D. would have loved as it features places she was familiar with as a young adult. 

We are taking the dog for walks in the woods again now that the colder weather has helped control the ticks that have become an increasing nuisance each summer in recent years. We have to be vigilant in natural areas now for ticks that attach to humans and animals. 

The fine weather has been perfect for me to continue commuting to work on my bicycle and I have exceeded my mileage goal for the season. The last picture is along the trail that leads to the hospital. The bare trees, blue skies and water look beautiful in the afternoon sun. The colour of the month is blue which is appreciated even more as we anticipate the inevitable arrival of grey and white winter weather.