July 1, 2010

It is not a bike race. It is a bike ride. It is not a foot race. It is a walk.

Cyclists take a break during the 2007 Discover Hartford Bicycle Tour that attracted more than 1,200 participants

Actually, organizers say it is: “an anti-sprawl, pro-fun, pro-sustainable-city, anti-pollution, anti-couch potato, pro-bicycle, pro-pedestrian event.”

The 2010 Discover Hartford Bicycle & Walking Tour, the third in recent years, will be held Saturday, September 11, starting and ending in Bushnell Park. The first one attracted more than 1,200 riders.

Sponsored by Bike Walk Connecticut, formerly the Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance, the tour is just that – a rolling tour of Hartford neighborhoods, historic sites, parks and riverfront. There is a 10-mile bicycle tour, a 25-mile bicycle tour and, new this year, a tour that includes a spur to the city’s Batterson Park, which will total about 40 miles.

Walkers will have a choice of two walks of about 1 mile or 1.5 mile each offered at two different times.

Check-in begins at 7 a.m., and the tour starts at 9:15 a.m. The registration fee varies: Under 18 years old, $15. Early bird registration, on or before August 9, is $25 for Bike Walk Connecticut members and $35 for non-members. From Aug. 10 to Sept. 9, registration is $30 for members, $40 for non-members. Anyone registering the day of the event pays $45.

Walking tour registration is $20 on or before Aug. 9, $25 after. On-line registration is available at www.hartfordbiketour.org. Printable mail-in forms also are available at the site. Brochures and forms will be available by mid-month at many Connecticut bicycle shops.

A tour t-shirt and route map are included with registration. Free snack bars and water will be available at stops along the routes. Crews also will be available at sites along the tour to assist cyclists with mechanical problems, though organizers suggest bringing your own materials for tire repair.

Visit www.hartfordbiketour.org for more information.

June 23, 2010

Bad news for vegetable gardeners and farmers. Late blight, a plant disease which spread rapidly throughout the Northeast last year and destroyed tomato and potato plants by the thousands, has been confirmed again this year in Connecticut.

Sharon M. Douglas, head of the Department of Plant Pathology and Ecology at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, said the blight was confirmed in recent days on tomato plants in New Haven County.

Late blight damage to a tomato

Gardeners tending plots in the Kolp Community Garden in Farmington also suspected the blight had reappeared, but a station scientist checked today and found no evidence of the pathogen.

Late blight is caused by a fungus-like organism that appears as olive-brown to black blotches on leaves and stems. Tomatoes develop brown or black lesions. Entire fields of tomatoes or potatoes can be rapidly infected and killed.

Because the potential for a widespread outbreak in Connecticut is again possible, Douglas said “all tomato and potato plants should be considered at risk.”

Farmers and gardeners must be aggressive in dealing with the blight, she said. Tomato and potato plants should be inspected often. Any plants with symptoms should be immediately removed and placed in a plastic bag to avoid spreading the blight. Affected plants should never be composted.

Avoid overhead watering, which can spread the blight, and stake and mulch plants if possible. Fungicide sprays also may be necessary, she said. Organic fungicides such as copper are one option.

Douglas said the massive outbreak last year was initiated by the sale of infected tomato transplants from chain stores throughout the Northeast. Once planted, a long period of wet, cool weather from May into July provided ideal conditions for the blight to flourish.

Because some infested plant material could overwinter, the potential for the disease to affect plants again this year was considered high.

Late blight is infamous as the pathogen associated with the Irish potato famine of the 19th Century.

An excellent fact sheet on late blight is available from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

June 21, 2010

At Litchfield, Ct.

Martha Weik called a few days ago. Martha is the woman I met atop Mohawk Mountain on a cool morning in late April. (See “Martha on the Mountain,” April 30) She had made a hiking stick that she wanted to give me. Could we meet? Of course. We met in Litchfield and talked for an hour over coffee, much longer than our first meeting two months ago.

A detail photo of the hiking staff made by Martha Weik

Martha, 82, talked about her family, what her children were doing in their careers, all the interests that keep her busy. I told her about my family, what my young adult kids were up to in their fledgling careers. We got to know each other better. There was almost no talk of politics; in fact, almost no talk of anything topical in the newsy sense. We talked a lot about place, about Connecticut, especially Connecticut over the decades. She is one of those people, a kindred spirit, who loves the history and traditions of the state, who is happy to recall long ago life and landscapes, as you might expect from someone who can trace her lineage to the Mayflower. Did I know where Swift’s Bridge used to be on the Housatonic River in Kent? Yes, I stopped there in my canoe twice, though the bridge was long gone when I went by. Well, she swam there as a child, when there still was a Swift’s Bridge. Did I remember what Deer Island on Bantam Lake used to be like, when the cows roamed there? No, I couldn’t remember the cows, but I remember a quieter Bantam Lake of many years ago. We talked of rivers, mountains, and trails. The hour flew by.

All the while my new walking stick rested against our table. She had taken 7 or 8 newly made hiking staffs from her car and given me a choice. Martha takes saplings, whittles them into shape and, using a wood-burning tool, decorates them, often with whimsical objects or creatures. The walking stick was, she said, a thank you for the words I had written about her. I picked the stick upon which she had etched “Connecticut,” along with images of a fox, a wildflower and the street-side clock that can be seen along Route 44 in Norfolk, one of Connecticut’s special places. Atop the stick Martha etched her initials, and the year. There were decorative touches top to bottom, and a rawhide strap on the handle. This was folk art meant to be used. Next hike it goes into service.

I told her I wanted to write something in this journal about my new walking stick. She wanted to be sure I knew she did not give me a stick to get publicity. I already knew Martha well enough – knew this in our first brief meeting, really – to know that publicity never entered her mind. She made me a walking stick because she is the Martha I met on the Mountain; an exemplar of the best New England traditions.