This afternoon, I trash patrolled the Concord River from Egg Rock to Ball's Hill and back. The weather was ideal and there were numerous canoes, kayaks, and fishing boats on the river. Water levels were just right, thanks to yesterday's thunderstorms. Construction has begun on the Monument Street bridge and two of the bridge's portals are closed to boat traffic.
Trash was plentiful. By the time I went under the North Bridge, I had a dozen empty containers. At Great Meadows landing the total had reached 26, including a large trash bag filled with coiled foam weatherstripping. Just upstream of Saw Mill Brook, I placed all trash below deck and continued downstream until a plastic water bottle caught my eye. It was near the left shore, close to the abandoned cabin where the river makes a 90 degree turn to the right. As I approached the shore, I saw what appeared to be a mink at the base of a tree. On closer inspection, I saw its rear feet were webbed and it had a small version of the destinctive black beavertail. My boat was right next to this little baby beaver, but he was sound asleep. At one point he did open his eyes and moved around a little. I snapped a few photos and moved on down the river.
My turnaround point was a little backwater cove across the river from Balls Hill. Returning upriver, I stopped to check the little beaver and found he was still there sleeping but had changed his position 180 degrees. Hopefully, he was OK, just tired.
Other wildlife observed were swallows, blue herons, Canada geese, painted turtles, and mallards.
By the time I reached the North Bridge, I had 38 empty containers. At the Calf Pasture, directly opposite Egg Rock, I recovered 22 empty beer cans that were on the shore. Total for the day was 60. YTD = 1297
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