Saturday, May 7, 2016

Trashpaddling in the Blind

This jovial-looking fellow sits a short distance downstream of Rt. 495 and greets paddlers traveling down the Assabet River.  His intention seems to be guiding paddlers into the best of 4 possible pathways through an old dike/causeway type structure.  Yesterday, I passed him twice traveling first up and then down the river between Chapin Rd in Hudson and Bridge St. in Berlin.

I was fortunate to be out on the water during some of the week's brief moments of sunlight.

The Assabet River was as an ideal height with a good chug of current.  The shore was lined with turtles...
 ...this concerned woodchuck...
...and this plump little blue jay...

Many wood ducks were also encountered.


Once upstream of Rt. 495 where things usually quiet down, a large earth-moving project along Donald Lynch Blvd. was underway behind a row of pines...
   ...which kept noise levels on the high side.

The only other boat encountered reported good fishing...

On my return trip to Chapin Rd. something atop a large boulder caught my eye.  My binoculars confirmed it being worth checking out and here it is...
The first deer antler I've come across.

Back at the takeout the gathered-up trash assembled hullside...

I'm writing this post "in the blind" as for the first time in many years my trashpaddler blog is not accessible.  So, just like the astronauts in the movie "Gravity", this communication may never reach its intended audience.  This is Trashpaddler, "in the blind", signing out for now.  Peace...

2 comments:

Erik Eckilson said...

We read you Trash Paddler - Houston out...

Al said...

Roger that Erik, Thanks