The Missing Beavers, The Dammed River

With botched plans for Easter Dinner because of an ill child, and after reading Lady Cyclist's great post on the ride on the freshet, I decided, late on Easter Sunday, to spend a few hours on the flooded confluence of the Coginchaug and the Mattabessett Rivers.

I decided to put in at the old Remington Rand plant, where a newly bulldozed field gave ready access to the flooded river.  A young man who was roaring around the plant roads, and through the aforementioned field asked me what I was doing.

"I'm going to put into the river right over there,"  I said.

"That's not allowed," he replied.  "My dad manages this place.  And he said that since it's Easter, it's okay."

I didn't really get the connection between Easter and kayaking the river, but I told him to tell his Dad, "thanks."

Putting in was remarkably easy, making me wonder why the city doesn't consider a boat launch here, and the freshet was as beautiful as described in the earlier posts.

I saw the beavers that Lady Cyclist missed, and my preconception about the size of beavers was smashed by what must have been an adult weighing in at 150 pounds.

Sadly, the collapsed ravine is as devastating as described.  The river's previous course will be blocked, and even when it finds a new course, that course will be littered with downed trees, and impenetrable branches, making it impossible to row.

Perhaps the city should be considering the possibility of flooding in Veteran's Park if the accidental dam in the river doesn't find a ready course, and creates an inadvertent ponding.