Saturday 27 November 2019--It's a cold clear morning, a dusting of snow on the grass, a thin layer of ice in the Rideau Canal channel. It's a good day to head for home. But first, I take a walk over the modern swing bridge to view the substantial ruin of a woolen mill, the last remnant of William Merrick's little milling empire here. Built in 1844, the mill was busy through WWII, then declined and closed in 1954. It's not clear to me why so much of the structure was left standing after demolition in 1976, but it's preserved now as a historic site.

I drive south to Brockville, on the bank of the St Lawrence, then along the Thousand Islands Parkway to the bridge to the US. Bridges, actually; there's a suspension bridge to Canadian Hill Island, and another from American Wellesley Island to the mainland. The short bridge between the two islands, crossing the border, passes almost unnocticed. The view from the suspension bridges is gorgeous; this is another region that would be worth exploring, another time. Just now I am intent on the long drive back to Springfield.