This afternoon's trash patrol on the Assabet River in Stow was a tad on the blustery side. We finally got a taste of what other parts of the country have been experiencing this past week. After launching at Russell's Bridge on the Maynard/Stow townline, I hugged the shore to find some refuge from the wind. The closer one is to the shore, the more trash one will see. I think Confucius said that. The trash du jour was beer cans by the plenty.
It was nice to finally reach Whitman's Crossing, where after turning around, I had both the wind and current at my back.
On the trip downriver I encountered 2 mute swan couples and then this guy who was the 'odd man out'...
I felt kinda sorry for him after seeing him driven away by the others.
Other wildlife seen today were cormorants, a blue heron, another northern harrier (I think), and then this mysterious hawk...
I'm pretty sure he's not a red-tailed hawk, as he appeared to be just a little smaller and was missing the red tail.
As I approached Russell's Bridge and was exposed to more fetch for the wind to use, my boat and I were buffeted about enough that some paddle bracing was required. It was all I could do to hold onto the paddle and not lose my hat. On the downstream side of the bridge we all took shelter and everyone lined up for roll-call...
The recovered refugees numbered 60 and consisted of 48 recyclable containers (34 redeemable) and 12 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as an old traffic cone, some styrofoam chunks, and a few nip bottles. My YTD total stands at 5621. With such a high percentage of redeemable containers, I sense a trip seeking redemption in the not too distant future!
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