Run Salmon Run
For years since I moved to Hamilton, I've heard you could go to the Red Hill Creek in the Autumn and see salmon spawning. Yesterday I finally saw some.
Unfortunately it is a lot easier to take a picture of a dead salmon than a live one.
This is a wonderful photo of salmon in the Red Hill taken by Michael Hunter.
Another Michael Hunter image in the Red Hill, from 2015
From this article about the salmon run in the GTHA:
“Early September to Late October (Early November), when temperatures are between 3°C to 18°C, Chinook Salmon, Atlantic Salmon, and Coho Salmon migrate upstream from Ontario’s Great Lakes to lay their eggs in the shallows before winter settles in…
“Chinook salmon from Lake Ontario swim up Red Hill Creek in Fall. So if you are following the creek (Red Hill Valley Recreational Trail) which flows from Albion Falls into Hamilton Harbour at Windermere through Kings Forest (Kings Forest Golf Course, Behind Rosedale Park), there is a high chance that you can see this Fall phenomenon.”
The salmon were beautiful to watch, and at the same time, there was a poignancy, knowing how close they were to the end of the line.
This time of year one hears a lot about how beautifully the trees should us how to let go. Indeed, they are gorgeous as they do so.
I see your tired and empty eyes and the pain of a life that’s broken
Little darling though everybody tries, no the door it will never open
Let her go, let her go
Set her free and let her go
Her mother whispers soft and low
Just set her free and let her go
All the beauty, visual, musical, does not make letting go one tiny bit easier.
They do help with the grieving.