Eleanor Buck Wolf Parcel - Hartford Dyke Walk
Saturday, January 20, 2008
Saturday,
January 20, dawned as chilly as predicited but a very
warm and convivial group of walkers gathered from as far
away as Avon, Bloomfield, East Windsor, and East Hartford
to walk in crunchy ice in the flood plain woods, drained
by receding high water. Along the edge of Folly Brook
the ice was thinned by the tide that had resumed its daily
ebb and flow as the January thaw and rain storm waters
drained away. The kingfisher chattered in the trees over
the open water of the brook, while far across the Cove,
ice fishermen dangled their lines,
Our
walk into the Trust's Wolf parcel led us across the ancient
channel of the Connecticut River that ran smack into the
shale ridge that now supports the Cove warehouse, was
deflected in a graceful arch or hook to the east, before
turning downstreem again on the "Naubuc" side
of the river. Around 1700 an ice jam blocked the main
channel and a new channel opened up, cutting through the
"hook," leaving behind the two coves. Hockenum
Meadow, once a fertile part of Wethersfield, became a
part of East Hartford and Glastonbury. A vestigal triangle
of Wethersfield territory remains on the East bank where
the Trust owns two slender parcels.
The
hardy souls who walked east along the Hartford dyke on
stage two of our walk straddled the line between 20th
Century industry and commerce and the the flood plain
forest. The movie theaters, the "water treatment
plant," the airport all receded from our view as
we descended the steep bank of the dyke, Following the
slightly raised and cleared path of the sewer outfall,
we walked out to the river where a pair of great blue
heron flew along the far bank.
As
the sun illuminating the east bank of the river began
to fade, the group turned and headed back to our cars
parked on Hartford Avenue..
Saturday,
January 20, dawned as chilly as predicited but a very
warm and convivial group of walkers gathered from as far
away as Avon, Bloomfield, East Windsor, and East Hartford
to walk in crunchy ice in the flood plain woods, drained
by receding high water. Along the edge of Folly Brook
the ice was thinned by the tide that had resumed its daily
ebb and flow as the January thaw and rain storm waters
drained away. The kingfisher chattered in the trees over
the open water of the brook, while far across the Cove,
ice fishermen dangled their lines,
Our
walk into the Trust's Wolf parcel led us across the ancient
channel of the Connecticut River that ran smack into the
shale ridge that now supports the Cove warehouse, was
deflected in a graceful arch or hook to the east, before
turning downstreem again on the "Naubuc" side
of the river. Around 1700 an ice jam blocked the main
channel and a new channel opened up, cutting through the
"hook," leaving behind the two coves. Hockenum
Meadow, once a fertile part of Wethersfield, became a
part of East Hartford and Glastonbury. A vestigal triangle
of Wethersfield territory remains on the East bank where
the Trust owns two slender parcels. 
The
hardy souls who walked east along the Hartford dyke on
stage two of our walk straddled the line between 20th
Century industry and commerce and the the flood plain
forest. The movie theaters, the "water treatment
plant," the airport all receded from our view as
we descended the steep bank of the dyke, Following the
slightly raised and cleared path of the sewer outfall,
we walked out to the river where a pair of great blue
heron flew along the far bank. 