After hours of editing work at the computer yesterday, I needed to get up from the desk and out for some fresh air. Several friends and news channels were talking about the massive ice floes on the Connecticut River and the images were incredible. I grabbed my camera and drove down to what I thought would be a good reference spot…the Chester Ferry dock. This is what I found before reaching the river…
The road to the ferry dock was flooded. We’ve had extreme cold temps lately and that big, long, rolling river actually froze in places. Then we experienced milder temps and rain, which melted the snow and some of the ice, hence flood. Up and down the river, docks are under water. Some residents have had to evacuate their homes, others have been stranded in place, waiting for the water to recede.
A little info about the CT River – It’s the longest river in the New England region of the United States and is approximately 406 miles long. It runs through four US states, rising at the border with Quebec, Canada and emptying into Long Island Sound here in CT.
I gave the Jeep a job to do- drove her through that mess to see if I could get closer to water’s edge. On the other side of the flooded section of road stood a lovely couple who live on a beautiful panoramic rise above the river. The gentleman waved me through the best angle to proceed and I stopped to thank him. Noting my camera and that monstrous lens, they invited me up to take advantage of their view, and oh what a view they have. Bald eagles are regular visitors, can you imagine…
For me, our interaction amounted to much more than access to a stunning panorama. I’ve been letting world news drag me down, been feeling disheartened by the evidence of lack of empathy and the assault on humanity I see in some of our society’s response to 45’s behaviors. I took a few shots with my camera and was invited inside their home, where we talked about gardens, wildlife, wonderful books of which they have authored, good bread baking and home making. Such good and kind and generous people.. our brief encounter was soul soothing, life affirming, a huge comfort. A friend of mind calls this kind of exchange a God wink.
Indeed, this is their view across the river. For more information on Gillette Castle State Park, click HERE.
Docks and wetlands under water ….
Now, from where we were at this vantage point, the water was flowing freely without much ice. Just up river at the East Haddam Bridge, however, there is what they call an Ice Jam. The photo below was taken yesterday by another photographer ….
Ice jams occur when ice covered rivers warm up after a rain and/or snowmelt. They rise quickly and the ice breaks up in big chunks. A jam occurs where the river narrow or goes under a bridge – in this case, the East Haddam Bridge. The ice chunks accumulate and clog. This is not a frequent occurence, and in my 30-plus years in CT I don’t remember it happening before. The Coast Guard is in the process of trying to break through it to get the flow going…
After our visit I left their oasis with a lighter heart and a delicious loaf of bread. I headed up river to the bridge to see what I could see…
Just under the bridge you can see the clog line. The Goodspeed Opera House is on the right.
The blue hues in the ice make it look like gemstone, or an iguana! Fun fact (googled) – Ice only appears blue when it is sufficiently consolidated that bubbles do not interfere with the passage of light. Without the scattering effect of air bubbles, light can penetrate ice undisturbed. In ice, the absorption of light at the red end of the spectrum is six times greater than at the blue end. Thus the deeper light energy travels, the more photons from the red end of the spectrum it loses along the way. Basically, as the air bubbles are squeezed out, the ice becomes denser and bubbles are replaced by more ice crystals. This, along with other optical tricks mentioned above, makes the ice appear blue or turquoise.
Finally I stopped another mile up river at a favorite riverfront marina and dining spot.. the Blue Oar. This area is above the bridge and as of yesterday the jammed ice floe is up in the parking lot and around the seating area. Crazy.
