Canadian Gardening: The Gnomes Visit the Nation's Capital, 1 by ViolaAnn

ViolaAnn wrote:
While it's late in October, we still have a bit of colour in the trees. This is overlooking part of the Rideau Canal. The Rideau Canal was built between Lake Ontario in Kingston and the Ottawa River to provide an alternative route to the Gulf of St. Lawrence following the War of 1812 when the American invaded Canada a few times. Much of the St. Lawrence River forms the boundary between Canada and the US.

The Canal has never been used as a military route, however, but it's fair to say that Ottawa would not be much more than a lumber town if it had not been built because until it was built, most of the development was on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. Today it is used primarily for tourism. And in the winter, 8 km of it are groomed for ice skating making it the longest skating rink in the world.

Here are the lads having their first look at the Canal from the Arboretum.