Sudbury/Concord Patrol - Fairhaven Bay to Ball's Hill

This morning's sunrise trash patrol of the Sudbury River was a little different than usual. I was fortunate to have the company of my daughter paddling alongside for the trip up to Fairhaven Bay and return. This was her first time seeing Fairhaven and an osprey made a flyover appearance to honor the occasion. We also saw a few cardinal flowers in the Conantum area and numerous great blue herons.
Returning from Fairhaven Bay, we picked up 10 pieces of trash. One unusual find was a can of coconut juice (product of Thailand). Heather came across 2 plastic containers tied to long pieces of monofilament fishing line. We ended up recovering 3 of these crude fishing reels.
Later in the morning, I returned solo and patrolled the remainder of the Sudbury to Egg Rock, then down the Concord River to Ball's Hill and return. On this stretch, I picked up another 24 empty containers. The river was bustling with canoes, kayaks, and some fishermen's power boats thrown in for good measure. Water levels were high enough to allow plenty of room for everyone.
At my takeout location, I encountered a longtime river paddler from Concord. Larry introduced himself and shared with me some of the unique canoe designs he has developed over the years. Many of his boats have been donated to the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, NY. Larry was involved with some of the first fiberglass canoe designs.
Driving away from the launch, I could see the clouds building in elevation which has been a recurring theme this summer. My total empty container count for the day was 34 bringing my YTD to 1494.