Tuesday, January 31, 2012

A Fond Farewell to a Strange January

Fondly saying "goodbye" to the month of January is not something I've often done over the course of my lifetime but, today, Mrs. Trashpaddler and I did just that.  In fact, as far as we're concerned, this type of January is more than welcome to return in the future.  As Jed Clampett would say "y'all come back now, ya hear".
We wrapped up the month by walking through our local conservation area, Pratt's Brook, this afternoon.  Pictured at left is a tributary, Tenney Brook.
About midway through our walk, an eagle-eyed Mrs. Trashpaddler spotted this barred owl...
The owl was actually being harrassed by a small bird.

Further along the trail, we came upon this deceased garter snake that shouldn't have been out and about at this time of year...


Surprisingly, we encountered a fair amount of trash on our walk with about half coming from within the conservation area...
There were 15 recyclable containers (12 redeemable) and 5 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish. 
YTD = 469   The points keep coming ahead of the Superbowl!

4 comments:

BERNIE said...

Nice shot of the owl! I did not see any snakes or an owl on my last walk this week, but did pick up 1 1/2 Green Up Bags of littered trash (39 gal. size bags)in just two blocks of my neighborhood-that should not be there this time of year-or any other.
Thank You for taking us along on your hikes as well as paddling trips.
Bernie

Al said...

Bernie, You're welcome. The one and a half of those big 39-gallon bags that you recovered sure is a lot of litter and points scored in just a few blocks! Nice work!

Harry said...

Bernie beat me to it. I'll add my thanks too. It's so nice stopping in and seeing parts of New England that I never have seen before, and knowing that someone's out there trying to clean them up and make a difference. Happy February!

Al said...

Harry, You're welcome. I enjoy reading your accounts of similar work done on the shorelines of Maine! Thanks for your efforts.