Thursday, November 19, 2015

An Open Brook

Ascended the Assabet River in Stow late this morning and was pleasantly surprised to find the box culvert to Fort Meadow Brook open for business once again.   When I last checked, back in early October, beavers had successfully closed the culvert causing the brook to back up to the abandoned Boston and Maine Railroad trestle and beyond.  After passing through the culvert I followed the brook upstream where it looked as though a considerable amount of water had recently been drained as a result of the culvert being opened.   My upstream progress stopped just below the trestle...
I've always liked paddling up this short section of Fort Meadow Brook and was glad to be able to visit it once again.  I don't think it sees many visitors other than duck hunters perhaps.  Not many signs of civilization except for this old truck wheel/tire combo...
 
After returning to the Assabet I resumed heading upriver and soon saw these signs...
...that I was entering the territory of the Mouthwash Drinkers.
 
Within this territory was this freshly built scent mound...
...which seems more than a little ironic.

On my way back to Sudbury Rd. I passed this beaver version of a tree-house...

Not too bad out on the water today.  Temps were in the 50s and the rain held off just as forecasters had predicted.

A fair amount of trash for a 3 mile stretch...

4 comments:

Unknown said...

My father used to play golf at Stow, and is buried beside the 18th green. Since I don't live back there anymore, it's great getting to see your adventures in areas I never knew about as a kid, minus all he trash. What camera do you use? I see postings of the Audubon society on FB, and they get to see some wonderful birds, that are not available here in San Diego. Great shot of the eagle.

Unknown said...

Do you think the trash is from homeless people? I remember sailing across the lower Mystic Lake, from my friends house at 75 Beverly Rd. and seeing all sorts of junk along the shore, and on the land. Kids back in the 50's used to park and party at night along the Mystic Valley Parkway, and really leave a mess. You would think, with all the ads on TV regarding trash, and polluting the water, it would have slowed down, but humans feel they can just leave what they brought, and someone else will pick it up.

Al said...

Hi Doug, Stow has several golf courses close to the Assabet River. Fair to say your father must have loved the sport.
My camera is a Canon PowerShot SX160 IS which seems to handle the motion of my boat fairly well.
What San Diego may lack in bird species it more than makes up for with its ideal climate (especially over the next few months).

Al said...

Doug, I don't think the trash I see in and along the rivers comes from any one group of people. I suspect some results from the following: trash containers placed near the river and left open to the elements (such as wind), some from folks fishing along the shore who don't understand the concept of "Carry In/Carry Out", some from teenagers engaged in under-age drinking and not wanting to get caught with the evidence, and lastly, some from folks who just don't give a hoot about the consequences of their littering.
Don't know if it will ever stop, but giving a monetary value to empty containers would go a long way in helping to minimize the problem IMHO.
How is it out your way in San Diego where folks spend much more time outside?