Thursday, March 22, 2012

Back in the Paddle Again

Lucky for me, my 14 day moratorium on paddling ended yesterday allowing my boat and me to spend part of this incredibly summer-like day on the Assabet River.  It was also the first time using my recently re-tooled air intakes for boat propulsion, and they performed well though speeds were kept near idle in keeping with the chief mechanic's break-in recommendations.  After launching at Lowell Road, I decided to head upriver to "Moose Cove" and back.  The photo at left was taken upstream of Willow Island and, at this point, I was sensing my universe being back in the proper order. 
On the river's north bank, across from Willow Island, there were 2 traps possibly set to capture musquash or beavers...
...something you don't see too often.

Wildlife encountered were ducks (wood, mallard, and Muscovy), Canada geese, one great blue heron, one large snapping turtle, numerous painted turtles, frogs, and this belted kingfisher...
Two other paddlers were enjoying the river this morning...

At "Moose Cove", I enjoyed a lunch break before returning to Lowell Road.

My trash haul of 82 posed in the mid-day sunshine...
 There were 32 recyclable containers (3 redeemable) and 50 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as styrofoam, plastic bags, nip bottles, a tackle box, a sneaker, a sandal, a 5-gallon pail, some fish attractant meant to entice bass, and part of a plastic windmill.  YTD = 1136.

2 comments:

BERNIE said...

We can all breath easier thanks to your clean up efforts. Glad your air ways are as clear as the path you leave behind you!

Al said...

Thanks Bernie