Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Assabet River - Whitman's Crossing to Gleasondale & Back

Trash patrolled the Assabet River starting at Whitman's Crossing (Sudbury Rd.) to the Route 62 bridge in Gleasondale this afternoon.  Heading upriver I passed the stonework where boats once unloaded passengers enroute to nearby Lake Boon.  A hundred years ago or so, this was a happening place with gents wearing dapper straw hats and ladies with their fancy parasols.  Not too busy a spot these days!
Conditions, however, were ideal for my purposes and this stretch of the Assabet is one of my favorites.
About half way to Gleasondale I came upon a tree bearing evidence of some critter's recent work under the moonlight .  Looks like this project will keep Mr. Beaver busy for several weeks...
Wildlife encountered today were the usual residents: red-winged blackbirds, eastern kingbirds, blue herons, mallards, a musquash, a red-tailed hawk, and numerous painted turtles.
After a brief respite just below the Route 62 bridge, I began the trip back downriver and approached this natural 'ford' in the river...
The distance between the stone banks is less than 20 feet.  Must have been a great spot for spearing fish.

Once back at Whitman's Crossing, the gang posed for a photo before saying their "goodbyes" to the river...

The count for the day was 65 pieces of trash and it broke down as follows: 26 recyclable containers (12 redeemable) and 39 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as an aluminum baseball bat, a soccer ball, a fishing rod/reel, a bicycle tire, plastic bags, and several nip bottles. YTD total stands at 2775.

Oddly, last week a bottle of Captain Morgan sought refuge onboard my ship and today a pint-sized bottle of Admiral Nelson strode my deck!  I felt a little bad for them reduced to sailing aboard my scow!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

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