Saturday, May 30, 2009

Assabet River - Egg Rock to Concord Jct. & Back


Today's trash patrol on the lower Assabet River was conducted at a slow and deliberate pace so it was only fitting that numerous turtles were encountered. After launching near Egg Rock I moved rather quickly, at first, to leave behind a cloud of crazed mosquitoes that had found me quite to their liking. Once the little blood-suckers had been left behind I began to slowly paddle upstream on the Assabet River. Just past the Leaning Hemlocks I encountered two powerboats carrying a group of fishermen that inquired as to the name of the river they were fishing in. Reaching the haunts of the sometimes headless faux coyote, I found that in addition to retaining his head, he has also managed to attract a faux mate...

With lower water levels, Dodge Rock is now worthy of its name...

At Willow Island a third faux coyote stood watch over the island's upstream end...

Immediately across the river, some real wildlife consisting of a great blue heron, Canada geese and 3 deer had clustered at a safe distance from the coyote...

The heron took flight leaving the doe to wonder what I was...

Just before reaching Spencer Brook I noticed this wheel and tire on the river's west bank...

Unfortunately, it's a little too big/heavy for my boat to handle.
Trash today was predominately plastic bags and plastic sheets. At the mouth of Nashoba Brook, I came upon a large sheet of material similar to silt fence. The sheet was approximately 12 feet long by 5 feet wide. May have come from last year's dam rebuilding project. In the same area was another sheet of blue tarp about 3 feet by 2 feet. These two sheets were rolled up and stored above deck as far aft as possible. A plastic 5-gallon Poland Springs jug was also stored topside on the rear deck. In addition to the plastic sheets were plastic/glass beer, soda and water bottles. One neat find today was a small glass cream bottle with Punkatasset Farm, Concord embossed on it. Too bad it was chipped and had a small hole...

Punkatasset is a Native American word and the hill above where the farm was located is Punkatasset Hill. Today the farm is known as Hutchins Farm and its history can be found at this link
Getting back to turtles, near Nashoba Brook I came upon this fairly large snapper...

Turtle measured about a foot from head to tail. A short distance away, another snapper of similar size had pushed up a small hill of mud...

Other critters seen today were a woodchuck, an osprey, a turkey vulture, tree swallows, mallards, muscovy ducks, and numerous dragonflies. Woodpeckers were heard but not seen.
On the trip back downriver, it was nice to see a few other boats (canoes) on the river, though the majority of boats seem to stay on the Sudbury and Concord Rivers.
At my takeout location my count for the day was 71 pieces of trash...

Of these 23 were recyclable (12 redeemable) and 48 were misc. rubbish such as plastic bags, styrofoam, etc. My YTD total stands at 2034.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Assabet River-Ben Smith Dam to Gleasondale Dam


Today I felt priviledged to spend my late morning and early afternoon paddling the waters of the Assabet River between Ben Smith's Dam in Maynard to Gleasondale Dam in Stow. As a trash patrol it was pretty much a bust for this 5.3-mile section of river yielded only 17 pieces of trash and 6 of those were submerged. A tip of my hat to those responsible for keeping such a long stretch of river so free of trash!
After launching at Icehouse Landing near the Maynard DPW yard, I headed upriver passing under the White Pond Road and Sudbury Road bridges. For much of the trip, the Assabet River Rail Trail ran parallel to the river's course. Originally, this railbed carried the rails and trains of the Boston & Maine Railroad between South Acton and Marlboro. The Maynard to Hudson section was abandoned in 1941. At the two locations where the railroad crossed over the river, the bridges are long gone.
Near where the outlet from Lake Boone enters the river, I came upon this yellow flag in bloom...

Red-winged blackbirds were everywhere and some stayed quite close to their nest sites...

I paddled past several duck blinds though none were manned today. Painted turtles were sunning themselves atop nearly every rock or log and their much larger cousins, the snappers, lurked in the shallows. In one very winding and narrow stretch I came upon 3 small musquashes playing near the entrance to their cozy home...

Reaching Gleasondale I passed under the Route 62 bridge and paddled alongside the mill building towards the dam...

Pushing upriver just a little further allowed me this glimpse of the dam structure...

This marked the end of the road, so to speak, and a good spot to turnaround and begin the trip back to Maynard.
While there were no ultralight aircraft taking-off or landing at the small airfield in Stow as I passed by, I did spot this great blue heron getting itself airborne...

Other wildlife spotted today were mute swans, cardinals, a baltimore oriole, an eastern kingbird, a turkey vulture, and a couple of ducks. Oddly, there were no Canada geese seen today.
Arriving back at Icehouse Landing, it didn't take long to unload today's modest trash haul...

My count for the day was 17 pieces of trash. Of these, 9 were recyclable (6 redeemable) and 8 were misc. rubbish such as styrofoam, plastic etc. My YTD total stands at 1963.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Sudbury River - Rt. 62 to Weir Hill and Back


Early this morning I launched my kayak into the Sudbury River and was in the process of deciding whether to head downstream or upstream when this beaver swam across my bow and seemed to say, "follow me", so upstream we went...

A little ways before Heath's Bridge I came across this recently arrived eastern kingbird...

The kingbird was hovering similar to a hummingbird while feeding on flies...

In addition to the kingbird, the usual species were present this morning in abundant numbers: red-winged blackbirds, great blue herons, tree swallows, Canada geese with goslings, and these two little ducklings?...

Most of my trash recovery took place at Heath's Bridge where the usual stuff had been left by shore fishermen: bait tubs, fishing line, beer/soda cans & bottles...

Encountered two shore fishermen there and they pitched in to help cleanup the area.
The sun began to lose ground to clouds and by the time I arrived at Lee's Bridge a steel-grey sky hung over the lush greenery framed in the bridge's archway...

Between Pantry Brook and Weir Hill I espied this deer in the distance...

After snapping the very distant photo, I paddled over to the deer's location but found no sign of the deer. So, I put away the camera and was taking a sip of water when out of the grass sprang the deer, bounding along the shore with white tail raised high. Oh well, maybe next time I'll be a little more patient!
Upon reaching Weir Hill, I turned around and began the always pleasant trip downriver noting that there seems to be even more blue herons than last year. Where previously they were spaced about a half-mile apart, this year the spacing seems to be more like a quarter-mile. Their probably going to need a 'Moe' heron to tell them all to "SPREAD OUT!" Until then, the red-winged blackbirds are doing a good job of reminding them when they're too close to blackbird nests.
Arriving at my takeout location my trash count for the day was 67 (58 from Heath's Bridge). Of these 29 were recyclable (20 redeemable) and 38 were miscellaneous rubbish such as styrofoam, plastic bags, cardboard etc. My YTD total stands at 1946.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Lake Cochituate - Upper, Middle, & Lower Sections


After paddling so much lately on narrow river waters, today's sunny skies and light winds provided a nice opportunity to follow Moe Howard's advice and "spread out!" on the comparatively wide waters of Lake Cochituate. I launched into the Upper Lake at the DCR cartop boat launch off of Route 30 and after checking out the lake's upper area, stopped for lunch in this cove leading to the lake's outlet Cochituate Brook...

This is the structure controlling the outlet and a lower, secondary structure can be seen in the distance...

From here the brook travels a relatively short distance to the point where it enters the Sudbury River in Saxonville.
Leaving the cove I noticed this cormorant perched rather high in a tree...

I paddled through the tunnels under first Route 30 and then US 90 into the Middle Lake and, after slipping through the keyhole arch, into the Lower Lake. Before paddling under Route 9, I stopped to admire Boston Scientific's man-made waterfall...

At the small island in the upper part of the Lower Lake, I turned around, after seeing yet another tree perched cormorant and a red-tailed hawk.
Leaving Lower Lake I again passed through the keyhole...

Passing from Middle Lake to Upper Lake, I passed under US 90...

Reaching my takeout location I had recovered 33 pieces of trash. Of these 18 were recyclable (7 redeemable) and 15 were rubbish...

My YTD total stands at 1879.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Blackstone River - Fisherville to River Bend Farm


Yesterday, while participating in the Blackstone River Watershed Association's 33rd Annual Canoe & Kayak Race, my kayak and I, along with many other kayak & canoe enthusiasts, negotiated the many twists and turns of the Blackstone (aka Khetetuk or Nipmuc) River.
The tribe began gathering across from the site of the former Fisherville Mill under a sunny May sky between 9 and 11am. Shortly after being divided into like groupings, we were released into the river's flow. Under my boat's deck bungee was one piece of flotsam, an orphaned plastic water bottle, that came along for the 12-mile journey from Fisherville in South Grafton to River Bend Farm in Uxbridge, thus qualifying this as a most modest of 'trash patrols'. Any further thoughts of trash recovery were quickly put on hold once the race started as each participant's full attention was required for the matter at hand: getting their boat around and through the next bend without ending up wedged under a tree limb, pinned sideways against a strainer, or temporarily aground on a gravel bed. Also thrown into the mix were 4 portages, just to keep things interesting. Despite these challenges, this event was a blast! Sort of like an amusement park ride that lasts more than 2 hours!
The last mile of the race was on a very well preserved section of the Blackstone Canal. The canal once earned the Blackstone the title, "America's hardest working river".
The organizers do a very thorough job and all of their efforts and preparations resulted in a true celebration of the Blackstone River. Every river should be so fortunate! To visit their website click here

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Paddling the Khetetuk River (aka Blackstone River)


Late this morning I left the SUASCO watershed and headed west and south into the heart of Nipmuc country. My destination was Plummer's Landing where the Khetetuk flows by on its way from Worcester to Providence, RI...
Upon launching my kayak, I found the river to be running fairly quickly and therefore decided to first head upriver towards Riverdale. Just before reaching a small islet where the river splits, I watched two deer wade across the river from west to east. I would like to have taken a photo but the swift current wouldn't allow me to free my hands from the paddle. Landed on the islet for a short lunch break...

Back on the water, I headed river left and soon came to what looked like a tunnel...

Approaching closer it became apparent that this was the outlet of the mill's spillway and I could hear water rushing into the dark depths of the structure...

Returned to the split and then headed upstream on river right. This soon brought me to the actual dam at Riverdale...

Turned around here and quickly found myself passing under the Church Street Bridge just upstream from Plummer's Landing...

This Saturday, many canoe and kayak paddlers will be paddling this same stretch while participating in the Blackstone River Watershed Association's 33rd Annual Canoe/Kayak Race. Hopefully, my scouting out this section will help me avoid at least a few of the more obvious pitfalls. More info on Saturday's event can be found here
Reaching the landing, I continued downriver for about a mile round numerous bends where quick decisions were required in order to stay afloat rather than run aground on sand and gravel bars. The trip back upriver provided some challenges at these same areas. If I picked the wrong line I ended up paddling more gravel than water and forward progress would grind to a halt!
Trash was spotty and most of it was found behind snags. One interesting item was a Heineken 'beertender' mini-keg. The 5-liter once pressurized container carried a whopping 5-cent deposit! My trash count for the trip was 26 pieces. Of these 15 were recyclables (4 redeemable) and 11 misc. rubbish such as styrofoam, plastic bags, and a kite...

My YTD total stands at 1846.
On my way home I passed this testament to the people that once inhabited this region...

Monday, May 11, 2009

Sudbury River - Little Farms to Indian Pt. & Back


Trash patrolled the Sudbury River between Little Farms and Indian Point today and as this photo shows, conditions were ideal. After launching, I headed downstream hanging a right almost immediately to check out the remains of the river's original oxbow. About a half mile into this mile-long and cut-off section of river, I came upon a beaver dam that stretched across the channel. Rather than portage, I turned around and headed back to the main river and continued downstream. At the stone boundary marker, I stopped and confirmed that the stone's third side has an 'F' for Framingham...

This solves the mystery mentioned in my last post concerning this stone. Each of the 3 towns that join at this spot has a side of the crude granite marker and paint the year of their last verification?
As I approached the Allen Morgan Avian Study Area, I saw a deer feeding from pulled down tree branches. Recovered quite a few pieces of flotsam from snags in this area and then proceeding downstream again, came upon these large pieces of polyethylene at a bend in the river...

Once they were rolled up, they nearly filled a 30-gallon trash bag and were stowed below deck.
At Indian Point, near Heard Pond, I stopped for lunch and while eating, thought about historical accounts that mention large annual summer encampments of up to 5,000 Nipmucks living in "beehive huts" along the shores of Heard Pond....

These accounts were mentioned in Matthew Eisenson's "Sudbury River Canoe Guide". Looking out upon Heard Pond from Indian Point today, I saw no beehive huts, only mute swans, great blue herons, wood ducks, and numerous birds.
Heading back upriver I came upon this impressive wall of roots...

Just a little further upstream was this computer monitor that somehow found its way into this otherwise pristine section of river...

The monitor along with 3 tires had to be left behind until their ultimate recovery by someone with a bigger boat.
As I passed the spot where the sheets of plastic were earlier recovered, I saw that a family of Canada geese had claimed the location for their own...

I arrived at my takeout location with 42 pieces of trash. Of these 27 were recyclable containers (5 redeemable). The other 15 were miscellaneous rubbish including the sheets of poly...

My YTD total stands at 1820.