Sunday, September 23, 2012

Angry Bird on the Assabet

This was a very peaceful Sunday morning on the Assabet River, at least at the start, I should say.  I'd launched at Russell's Bridge on the Maynard/Stow line and began heading upriver.  After encountering a bunch of old beer cans, I came across the cockpit section from a very small aircraft.  Upon retrieving it, the miniature pilot fell out of the cockpit and was placed temporarily on my camera box...
The cockpit of his experimental aircraft is in the milk crate behind him.  Guess he wasn't able to radio his position before the crash.

At Sudbury Road (aka Whitman's Crossing) someone has improved access to the river while preventing erosion...
Looks like a lot of hard work went into the project.  I recall seeing a sign stating it was an Eagle Scout project.

At Fort Meadow Brook the box culvert that the brook passes through before reaching the Assabet has been blocked by beavers.  Therefore an ascent of the brook was not possible today.

Returning downriver, I heard quite a ruckus going on in the trees about a quater mile below Sudbury Road.  On closer inspection the source of the shrill cries was this small hawk...
 The object of his anger was this great horned owl who seemed to be saying "can you believe this guy?  And on a Sunday morning, no less."...
The hawk was obsessed and, after a display of spread wings and tail, he flew to a limb closer to the owl...
I'm thinking the small hawk might be an immature Coopers Hawk, but it's only a guess.

My crate full of trash posed on dry land...
There were 15 recyclable containers (11 redeemable) and 12 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as a balloon, fishing line, bobber, and the experimental aircraft.  YTD = 5678


6 comments:

Mike said...

Fishing that experimental pilot out of the drink, must have gotten you thinking along these lines... what are the top 5 most unusual items that you have fished out of the water? Curious minds want to know!

zebstriped said...

I was so disappointed to see I missed you by a day on this section of the Assabet! I paddled from the Ben Smith Dam to the Gleasondale Dam on on Saturday...and I don't know how I missed that cockpit/pilot bobbing in the water. Thanks again for what you do.

Al said...

Mike, I wish my memory was better, but the things that come to mind as memorable are : The fake foot sticking out of a pantleg (looked very real); the beer keg that had been out of circulation since the 1980s; the two television sets; the snow shovel (which I unfortunately get to use occasionally); and the message in a bottle with foreign currency and coral.
Of course, the saddest item encountered was the deceased body of a human being found at just about this time last year.

Al said...

Zebstriped, Sorry to have missed running into you on the Assabet.
I only came across the plane wreckage because a bobbing beer can drew me close to shore.
Did you get challenged by any of the many mute swans?

Mike said...

That's quite a collection of stuff you "rescued" from the waters! The "creepiest" item I ever fished out of a river during one of my paddles was "junior." http://www.durhamblogger.com/2012/07/tandem-paddle-on-eno-river.html

Al said...

Mike, I see what you mean about "junior". That must have given you pause, until realizing it wasn't what you feared. Gruesome, nonetheless!