A Smoke Induced Twilight

 

Paddled under a strange looking sky yesterday morning on Lake Cochituate in Wayland, MA.

After launching at Cochituate State Park, just over the line in Natick, MA, I was paddling from the middle pond to the north pond when I saw this fireball-like sun in the sky above me (opening photo).  The meteorologists had told us that smoke from wildfires in Canada was going to be carried to our area via northwest winds and possibly envelop us.  Yesterday it did just that.  The smoke in the air could be seen, smelled, and even tasted.  Gave the surroundings in mid-morning a sepia look.

Paddled towards and thru the culvert under the Mass Pike...

...where I was reminded of the tread depth on my car's tires having been found to be OK the day before.

Passed though another culvert at Route 30...

...before reaching the north pond...

It looked like rain was imminent but things stayed dry.  It was hard to tell if skies were cloudy or just smokey.

Checked out the gatehouse where Cochituate's water was long ago conveyed to the city of Boston...

In years past I used to launch from this area but nowadays the entrance gate to the area is kept closed by DCR.  Fairly close to the old gatehouse is Lakeview Cemetery where I'd recently discovered that another ancestor of mine is buried.  Post-paddle I unsuccessfully searched the cemetery for a headstone not realizing that the photo on my phone was of a flush marker rather than a headstone.  I'll attribute my error to the wildfire smoke. Note: went back this morning and found the marker right where I'd been looking yesterday.  Thankfully, we're smoke-free so far today.  

Paddled over to the pond's east side where outfall presently leaves Cochituate via Cochituate Brook and flows to the Sudbury River in Saxonville, MA...

Looked across the pond towards Lakeview Cemetery before heading back to middle pond and the light at the end of the tunnel...

Trash wasn't as weird as the day was...

Watching for Mt. Feake on the Charles

 

Got out early on a spectacular morning this past Sunday launching into the Charles River from Woerd Ave in Waltham, MA.  The sun was just beginning to rise above the Waltham Watch factory.  I'd come to Waltham first for a paddle and secondly to locate an ancestor's final resting place in the nearby Mt. Feake Cemetery.  Oddly, post-paddle and several hours later, I located his gravestone in the cemetery and found that the view from the gravesite looked upon the same part of the Watch factory that I'd earlier snapped a photo of (above).  My ancestor and his younger brother had left Prince Edward Island, Canada and in the early 1900s were both living in Waltham. The younger brother found work at the Watch Factory while my ancestor worked as a carpenter. 

After launching I paddled the section of the Charles known as the Lakes District between the Moody Street Dam and Riverside.  In doing so I passed quite a few places with names I remembered hearing a lot when I was a kid: Mt. Feake Cemetery, Nuttings on the Charles, Grover Cronin Dept. store, the section of Waltham known as Roberts, where the "Buckle" factory was, the Roberts Paper Mill at Stony Brook, the "Castle" (now Brandeis University), and Norumbega Tower.  On the river's opposite shore were places like Forest Grove and Norumbega Park.  The biggest chunk of riverfront land is found at Mt. Feake Cemetery which was named for Robert Feake who, with his father-in-law, Governor John Winthrop, visited the area in 1632.  The cemetery dates back to 1857.

The view towards Roberts... 

 The view to where the "Castle" long stood and today is Brandeis University...

Just upstream of Norumbega Park major highway construction project is underway where routes 90 and 95 intersect...

...with most of the work occurring overhead...

Boaters are wise to stay in the marked channels...

The river widens out nicely in places...

Riverside wildlife included this cormorant...

...and a fellow fish catcher, this osprey (aka fish hawk)...

Trash, mostly found between Woerd Ave and Moody Street, included 35 "nip" bottles...

Somebody sure likes "Fireball Cinnamon Whisky".

Sun and Shade on the Sudbury

 

Got an early morning start yesterday on the Sudbury River in Wayland, MA.  There was plenty of water as a result of Tuesday's rainfall.  Wildlife seen were this white-tailed deer...

 This pair of osprey...

This healthy looking and curious coyote had found a shady spot to wile away the day...

Made it up to Stone's Bridge...

...where the river gets shallow.  It's said to be the spot where General Knox and his "Train of Artillery" crossed the river on their way to break the siege of Boston in early 1776...

The trip back downriver was under bright blue skies and saw temperatures rising through the 80's F...

Noticed what I believe to be Joe Pye Weed was now in blossom...

Tuesday's rain had apparently set some trash in motion moving it further downriver...

... and included a dozen "nip" bottles.  This brings my 2026 year to date "nips" total to 1250.  Last year at this time the count was 1062.

Merrimack Above the Rupture

 

Paddled the Merrimack River early Monday morning between Tyngsborough, MA and Wickasee Island under cloudy skies and more comfortable temperatures.  This section of the river kept me upriver from the area that's been all over the news this past week.  Approximately 27 miles downriver in Haverhill, MA the rupture of an underground sewage force main resulted in several million gallons per day of raw sewage being released into the Merrimack River between 6/25 and 7/2. While the pipe has been temporarily bypassed it will take several tide cycles before things get back to normal. 

Oddly enough and early in my paddle, I encountered this plastic disk which reminded me of a similar sewage release that happened 15 years ago.  This disk, along with an estimated 4 to 8 million other plastic disks and a large quantity of activated sludge, accidentally entered the Merrimack River from a wastewater treatment plant in Hooksett, NH. Upon entering the ocean at Newburyport the disks dispersed to many of the same beaches effected by the recent spill ...

Guess both of these incidents serve to remind us that much of our infrastructure is out of sight (and therefore out of mind), and that we all live downstream.

After passing under the Tyngsborough Bridge (opening photo) I paddled alongside the stone retaining wall built to protect the railroad tracks hugging the river's sweeping bend there...

...and came across this Mylar balloon version of our Stars and Stripes...

For awhile I was joined by this observer who never made a peep (despite my hoping to hear its unique call)...

Wickasee Island came into view....

Wickasee Island is said to have been a place of special importance to Pennacook sachem Wannalancet and his father Passaconway...

Legend has it that Wannalancet asked to be buried on the island but was instead buried on the river's west side within view of the island.

I usually approach this island from downstream, but with the North Chelmsford boat launch being out of service due to the Rourke Bridge construction project that wasn't possible.  

After rounding the island on its west side I returned upstream through the canal-like section to the island's east...

Trash included 5 Mylar balloons and 25 "nip" bottles...

Furthest From Winter

 

       

The waning Strawberry Moon...

...was still influencing wildlife yesterday morning as seen by the 8-point buck (opening photo).  Of course, it's also possible that the buck, like me, was just up earlier than usual due to it being so incredibly warm...79 degrees F. at 5 am.  The weather forecast was calling for temperatures to reach 100 degrees F. for a second day in a row which doesn't often happen around these parts.  Being a confirmed winter-hater, I wished the morning's warmth could've been captured it a bottle and saved for opening on some bitter cold winter day. 

At the boat launch another kayaker, David, was encountered...

...who was already on the river and hard at work pulling invasive water chestnut plants.

The Assabet River was serene...

...and kindly offered some shady spots here and there...

This year's Assabet River eagle is now fledged...

One of its parents stayed in the general area of the now vacant nest...

Hardly any trash.  In World Cup terms it was next to "nil"...

Strawberry Moon's Musketaquid Waters

 

Got in a couple of paddles during our recent Strawberry Moon cycle.  Both were on Musketaquid waters (Concord and Sudbury rivers).  An early Sunday morning paddle which transitioned from a cloudy/foggy start into a beautiful late morning...

An early start this morning followed a similar pattern though without Sunday's fog...

As is often the case during full moons, wildlife were out and about especially during the early and cloudy part of the morning.  I must admit this faux coyote had me fooled from a distance.  Suspect it gives the Canada geese pause...

White-tailed deer were out and about on both days and seen taking advantage of the low water levels to feed close to water's edge.  Two allowed me to take their pictures.

This other pair, seen today, seemed like besties...

This picture is out of focus but shows how in sync the two deer were...

The eagle nest looked to be empty...

...but a recently fledged eagle could be heard calling from a tree not too far from the nest...

An adult eagle later landed in a nearby tree...

 This morning an adult eagle was being harassed by smaller birds...

A great blue heron...

Saw this handsome and well-named wooden boat tied to the shore...

Not sure of its propulsion system.

Only interesting trash was this small medicine bottle that appeared to have been sealed with tar...

Here it is after a little TLC...

Otherwise not too much trash on Sunday...

...and only a little more this morning...