How often do we pass an interesting building and wonder what it’s like inside? Sometimes such unrequited intrigue can go on for decades even when it’s a public place easy to enter.
I must have passed the Norfolk, Connecticut library on U.S. Route 44 hundreds of times on my way to an Appalachian Trail hike, a meal at Collin’s Diner in nearby Canaan or even a concert around the corner at Infinity Hall. But I was always on my way somewhere else and too busy to stop. A few weeks ago my longing was at last satisfied when I gave a Deep Travel book talk in the library at the invitation of Great Mountain Forest.
Recent downpours and rising temperatures melting a thick snowpack have swollen the Farmington River. When the wind is right, I can hear the water’s roar as it cascades over the Collinsville dam little more than a block from my home. But when the river is in flood, the increased volume of water is only part of its transformation.
I had the opportunity this week to visit Connecticut’s largest distiller. And yes, the free sample at the tour’s end was bracing. But it’s not what you think. Here in the “land of steady habits” it’s not some new fangled flavored vodka or artisanal whiskey that’s being made, but witch hazel, an all natural skin toner and remedy for burns, cuts, scrapes, bug bites and a variety of other maladies.
Witch hazel is a small tree or shrub growing in the understory of eastern American forests, but most profusely in Connecticut. Contrary to nature’s usual rules, it’s crinkly, star-like yellow flowers bloom in October and November and even well into winter when snow is on the ground. The brush is cut in colder months when the plants are dormant and begin growing back the following spring. Witch hazel can be harvested sustainably about every seven years.
