Sunday, September 10, 2017

A Little Nonacoicus

When paddling the Nashua River in Ayer this past Thursday I stopped where Nonacoicus Brook enters from the east.  On my previous visits to this spot, entering Nonqacoicus by boat wasn't possible due to debris blocking the passage beneath the MacPherson Road bridge.  However, thanks to an inch of rain the previous day, there appeared a small opening along the right side.  With a little work (pushing a few branches aside with my paddle) I was through and into the tributary with the Native American name said to have something to do with an earthen pot.  Just a hundred yards or so in from the river was a small knoll which might have made an ideal spot for a trading post...
 
The sun seemed to favor this particular cluster of Cardinal flowers...
 
 
I was able to explore the brook's first half mile until this recently modified beaver dam showing below West Main Street persuaded me to turn back...
 
While the Nonacoicus was free of any trash, the Nashua between the busy railroad bridge by Macpherson Rd...
...and the retired railroad bridge near the Squannacook's mouth...
...coughed up this bit of flotsam...
 
 



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