Fairhaven Before the Rain

With showers in the afternoon forecast I decided to paddle first down the Sudbury River and then up from my starting point at the Lincoln Canoe Launch thus keeping myself closer to the take-out should a thunderstorm develop.  
Before reaching Fairhaven Bay (opening photo) the first trash encountered was a 3-fer...

Inside the plastic bag were 2 Styrofoam food trays of the take-out type.

Fairhaven Bay was fairly busy with a small flotilla of canoes entering the water near the old stone boathouse...

Downriver of the bay these kayakers were pulling water chestnut plants from the river...

A worthy effort to be sure!

After recovering some trash at Heaths Bridge (Sudbury Rd.), I turned around and began heading back upriver.
Paddling, now in a southerly direction, I began thinking of where a good upriver turnaround point might be and it occurred to me that Pantry Brook might be accessible with today's high water levels.  Upon reaching the sheet-piling barrier where the brook enters the river, I found just enough water to clear the obstruction and enter the Pantry Brook Wildlife Area.  Once in I paddled up to where the brook's channel becomes less clear and a large marsh area extends to the west...

As the first raindrops began to fall, I turned about and saw 2 white-tailed deer feeding at the water's edge.  One paused long enough for a photo...

Amazing to see how much lighter their coloring is in summer.

Also seen today were numerous blue herons, red-winged blackbirds, tree swallows, belted kingfishers, and eastern kingbirds.

The rain became steadier as I returned to Lincoln and my small haul of trash could find no shelter from it...

Today's group consisted of 12 recyclable containers (11 redeemable) and 7 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish (plastic and Styrofoam).  YTD = 3110