Catsbane Brook

I often talk about grand locations, tall mountains, restless ocean shores, or classically appointed New England villages.  Certainly, New England offers an abundance of such attractions, but I live in a quieter slice of the region and I revel in the simple beauty of our “Currier and Ives” corner of New Hampshire and Vermont.     

Meandering Catsbane

The Monadnock region in southwestern New Hampshire and also the southeastern part of Vermont are my prime photographic territories.  It is a country of rolling hills, with sweet little villages nestled in its hollows, and featuring classic farms, looking and working much as they did 150 years ago.  We glory in Mount Monadnock, our one big mountain, but as the archetypal “Mountain that Stands Alone”, Mt Monadnock does not dominate the countryside.  Rather, it contrasts and compliments the surrounding hills and fields.  

Catsbane Falls and Cascades

Gently flowing brooks punctuated by cascades and waterfalls are another feature of our region.  Spring is a great time to enjoy the flowing water and, since my second annual Spring Waterfall Workshop is coming up in a couple of weeks, I thought this would be an appropriate time to celebrate one lovely little brook in my home town of Chesterfield New Hampshire, the Catsbane Brook

Catsbane Brook winds its way through Chesterfield, meandering north and finally emptying into the Connecticut River in West Chesterfield.  It stretches though most of the town and is the longest brook within Chesterfield’s borders, but what is a Catsbane?

Catsbane Brook, What’s in a Name

 I have searched for a good definition of “Catsbane” and have found that it is a colloquial name for a variety of Orchid that may be especially toxic to felines, but why was this brook named after a poisonous flower?  A good question and, for an answer, I went to Audrey and Neil at the Chesterfield Historical Society.  These wonderful ladies possess a wealth of knowledge about our town, and very quickly, they were able to direct me to Oran Randall’s History of Chesterfield, published in 1882.  On page eleven I found a story from the town’s early history, in which two scouts rested along the brook for lunch.  When one lingered a bit too long to drink the water, his companion wished that the water was poisonous Catsbane, or perhaps “Rats-Bane” (Arsenic). Possibly just a dusty old folk-lore, but whether or not this story is true, it makes a nice tale.  You can read the story and decide for yourself.

Finding the Source

Beaver Pond , Catsbane Origin

My first goal was to find the point of origin of Brook.  Over its course, several streams contribute to the Catsbane’s flow, but its most notable origin is from a large beaver pond in the south of town. 

Beaver Dam

Beaver Dam Spring

The pond features an impressive system of well-maintained dams and the brook begins its travels as a modest stream, trickling under the logs. This week I explored the course of the brook and supplemented the many photographs that I have taken of the Catsbane over the years.

Hubbard Falls and Town Brook 

Hubbard Falls

Of the many contributors to the Catsbane’s flow, Hubbard Brook is likely the most significant.  My experience with the Hubbard Brook has primarily been of its dramatic waterfalls found before it crosses the Gulf Road and mingles in a substantial wetland.  With the addition of the waters of Town Brook, the brook eventually becomes the Catsbane before it crosses under Route Nine and flows into West Chesterfield.

Town Brook

Town Brook to the Catsbane

Through West Chesterfield

Pond Brook Falls

West Chesterfield is one of the villages making up the town of Chesterfield and it is here that the Catsbane Brook shows its most dramatic faces.  The Catsbane’s journey through West Chesterfield is marked by frequent waterfalls and cascades.  Early on, the brook is joined by Pond Brook with a lovely little waterfall.  

A number of other waterfalls can be found as the Catsbane drops though West Chesterfield’s little village, but the most dramatic no longer exists.  What I called the Catsbane’s “Little Niagara”Falls was formed as the brook passed over an old mill dam, but sadly, in the last couple of years, the dam has been by-passed.  For now there remains only a powerful jet of water feeding cascades, but I won’t object if some trees washed downstream to block the sluice way.

The Catsbane "Little Niagara"

Sluice Under the Dam

The Catsbane finishes it course meandering through flats to a broad opening into the Connecticut River.

Catsbane into the Connecticut River

For years I have enjoyed photographing the Catsbane’s beautiful features, but it was instructive to follow the water from its modest origins to the dramatic flow at it terminus.  It made me appreciate that towns throughout New England are cut by intricate webs of water, which generally go unnoticed, but are critical to the health of the ecosystem.  Take some time to explore the patterns of water in your own community, and maybe even take a picture or two.

Jeffrey Newcomer

www.partridgebrookreflections.com

Lemon Aid for Photographers

 This weekend has been a workshop for bad weather photography

There should be no surprise that we are experiencing miserable weather this holiday weekend. This is New England and terrible weather is the population's curse and photographer's treat, but this weekend has been depressing even for those of us trying to keep the damp from our cameras. Fellow New England Photography Guild member Jim Block is even dealing with snow on the Lilacs. Crummy days are always good for getting caught up in the studio. With a show at Keene's Prime Roast Cafe and the Keene Art Walk all coming up next week, I have plenty to do, but I had to get out to try to see what I could do with, and in spite of, the weather.

Hubbard Brook Falls
Spring rains are always an obvious invitation to shoot our many waterfalls. In a few weeks the summer droughts will dry many of the

Hubbard Brook Falls

best cascades, so my first trip was to falling water. I was trying to decide where to go when I received a call from a photographer in Laconia New Hampshire asking about a image of the falls on Hubbard Brook in Chesterfield, New Hampshire. It is challenging to get to, and not freely open to the public, but it is a lovely spot when the water is high. The call made my decision and Nellie and I headed out. The falls on Hubbard Brook are actually a series of cascades and higher drops. The hike into the ravine involved bushwhacking down steep embankments, made trickier by the soaked ground, but as usual it was worth the terror. As I worked my way down along the brook, two things occurred to me. First the cold weather had swept the black flies from the forest. Second, if slipped, Nellie would be of no practical value in getting help, and I had no cell reception in the depths of the ravine. Through much care and considerable butt bouncing I made it down and out alive.

Sound of Thunder
The light was gone, but I still had one more capture to make. The night was fractured by a series of dramatic thunderstorms and I was able to record about 40 minutes of the action on my Zoom H2n field recorder. I have started to collect natural sounds as background for my slide shows. Check out the pasture melodies on my web site front page and the thunder storm on my Summer slide show. 

To the Dump
On Saturday I was able to excite Nellie with one of the few phrases she actually understands, "Want to go to Dump?" Dump, Walk and

Pasture Corner, Roads End Farm

Dinner, that's about it. The weather remained cold damp and blustery, but we still made our regular circle through Roads End Farm. The horses were way off in the back pasture, but the rain had freshened the spring leaves along the fields. By afternoon I had to get out of the house and went into Keene to plant myself with a cup of coffee at Brewbackers Cafe. Brewbackers is usually bustling, but for some reason I find it the perfect place to write. I settle in with my iPad and my own music selection and can usually get more done in an hour than in an afternoon with the distractions at home. 


Infrared in the Rain

Central Square Gazebo

 
 
As the afternoon progress the sky grew darker, but I had a plan and I had my Infrared camera. The great thing about infrared photography is that the images are not much affected by extremes of weather. Bright, impossibly contrasty, midday light ignites the infrared spectrum. The leaves shine and the sky stays black as ink. At the other end, dull flat light still comes through with good contrast between bright foliage and dark trunks and structures. I ended up spending time shooting around Keene's iconic Central Square. I have photographed the square countless time before, but Infrared provides a whole new perspective. 


Ladies Wildwood

Wildwood Depths

I was loosing light but there was one other place that I thought might do well with the soft light. Ladies Wildwood Park is a surprising treasure in the middle of Keene. In 1890 the park was created to protect a stately grove of trees from development. The original grove was leveled in the 1938 Hurricane, but it has been replace by ranks of tall White and Red Pines.

Infrared Park

The park is small but in the right spots you can feel enveloped by the forest. The challenged is to find the angles to look through the pines without catching glimpses of the surrounding houses and roads. The flat light was great to capture the brooding mood of the pines on a carpet of nearly iridescent green. Infrared also worked well, contrasting the bright ground cover with the towering dark pillars. Light gone. Time to go home. 







Remembering 

Today Nellie and I visited the flag bedecked Spofford Cemetery. Nellie wandered respectfully among the stones and then honored the fallen by doing her business off in the woods. I grabbed a couple of flower images in the soft light, but then disaster struck. The sun actually broke through.

 

Disappointing. Nothing to do but go home, edit images and write this article. My only consolation is that, this is New England, and the good weather can't last forever.

Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com