Friday, August 28, 2020

This Buck Stopped Here

 ...alongside the Sudbury River in Wayland, MA yesterday.  Furthermore, he stood his ground...

...not moving an inch, antlers encased in velvet.

I'd launched from Route 20 after finding access to River Road closed due to emergency repairs being made to the Route 27 bridge...

Heading back upriver saw considerable areas of shallow water, especially from Wayland High School up into Framingham.  Just how low the water was can be seen by this engine block...
...and this what appears to be literally "the bottom of the barrel" with the staves still attached to the barrel-head...

In this same area I came across these two old bottles...
...which were in relatively good condition considering their age.  Both later cleaned-up well...


The Kriger Farms milk bottle has an embossed address of 90 Second Street in Sherborn, MA.  In trying to date the bottle I was surprised to find no such address in Sherborn nor any mention of such a farm.  I believe it was part of a 565-acre parcel Sherborn annexed to Framingham in 1925.  If so, this helps to date the bottle to a time prior to 1925 when Second Street was in Sherborn rather than Framingham as it is today.  The other bottle bears no markings but has side-straps.  

Trash found along the way...

The haul has that long-in-the-water patina which is very similar to today's trash haul out of the Assabet River...


The Assabet had plenty of depth, thanks to the Ben Smith Dam, but also an abundance of duckweed...
...and riverside blossoms...






Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Mattakeesett Waters

Paid my first visit to the tidal North River in my home state of Massachusetts yesterday.  Thanks to helpful information on the North and South Rivers Watershed Association's website, as well as the Wild Turkey Paddlers website,  I was able to find an ideal place to launch and get accurate times regarding the delay in high tide occurring further upriver.  Arrived at the Pembroke Town Forest at sunrise and shortly thereafter was on the river. The boat launch is near the site of the long-gone Brick Kiln Shipyard where it's said over 121 vessels were built between 1730 and 1848.  The sun was getting to work on clearing things up after the previous day's thunderstorms...


Followed the tide's flow upriver past signs commemorating the many historic shipyards...



...that formerly flourished here.

The river got narrow and  shallow just before passing through the stone bridge under Washington Street...


A bit further along was the more modern Columbia Bridge...


Just above this bridge 2 river otters caught me by surprise...and before I could get my camera out they were submerged.

Paddling on, it wasn't long before the river's confluence with Herring Brook and the Indian Head River came into view...


The sign proved helpful in directing me to the Hanover Canoe Launch on the Indian Head River...



I was hoping to paddle the remaining distance to Luddam's Ford but obstacles in the form of fallen trees persuaded me to check out the location on my drive home. At that time I came across this historic plaque at the center of the Luddam's Ford Bridge which concisely tells the story...


The site was given this name by governor John Winthrop in 1632 in honor of his guide, James Luddam, who'd carried Winthrop across the river on his back.  Luddam was guiding the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony on a journey by foot from Weymouth to Plymouth where Winthrop would meet with Governor William Bradford of the Plymouth Colony for several days.  Luddam provided Winthrop the same piggy-back ride on the return trip.  The basic story is told on the plaque under the word "Hanover".  Under the word "Pembroke" is mention of the anchors for the warship Constitution having been made here at the Curtis Anchor Forge in 1797.   The forge was one of many industries to use the area adjacent to the dam.  Today all of the old mills and forges are long gone as can be seen in this pastoral view of the river above the dam...


Herring trying to reach their spawning grounds in the many herring ponds further upstream would need to enter and navigate the fish ladder here...

If I understand correctly, most of the area I paddled was known to Native Americans as Mattakeesett.  The area of the herring ponds much further upstream was called by them Namassakeesett which may have meant something along the lines of "plenty of fish for all".

As for the Indian Head River's name I could not find any explanation.  Perhaps it has something to do with the shape of Indian Head Pond as it appears on a map?

My paddle back down the Indian Head River got underway as the tide was beginning to ebb...


At the confluence with the North River there was still enough slack water for a short trip up Herring Brook...


...which along with the North River is part of the Wampanoag Canoe Passage...a 70-mile paddling/portaging route connecting the North River on Massachusetts Bay with Taunton River and subsequently Narragansett Bay.  Details about the Wampanoag Canoe Passage can be found here

Once back on the North River I got a little worried upon seeing a pair of black helicopters overhead...

...and was relieved when they didn't hover above me.

This small bit of trash was encountered along the way...

Glad to have experienced a little of the North and Indian Head rivers.  Hope to check out the lower section of the North River on a future paddle.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Sudbury River's Sunny Side

 

Got another early morning start yesterday into the Sudbury River at the Lincoln Canoe Launch.  This allowed me to reach Fairhaven Bay just as the sun was clearing the treetops...

Upon reaching the Conantum neighborhood in Concord, MA there were plenty of deer feeding alongside the river...




Flowers were also basking in the morning sun...


Birds included this green heron...

...this killdeer...


...and this very vocal immature bald eagle...

The young eagle was near the SE end of Fairhaven Bay and has me wondering if the might be a nest in the Mount Misery area of Lincoln.

Trash was very light...

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Concord River Awakens

 


Got to watch the Concord River come to life early this morning on my way down to Talbot Mill in Billerica, MA.

Bald eagles were seen just below Rt. 4...
...and just above Rt. 3A...

Deer were also visiting the river's edge...

Below the Fordway Bar immature night-herons was seen.  Believe it's an immature black-crowned night-heron...

Then there was this odd couple...

The Talbot Mill bell tower...

Several of the mill-related buildings were undergoing construction or possibly deconstruction work.

In the area of the Route 3A bridge were these signs...
...leaving me to wonder what the reason is for saying "no to condos".

The rounded up trash...


Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Nashua River's Many Faces

Launched into the Nashua River at Ice House Dam in Ayer, MA yesterday and was surprised, to see water flowing over the dam...

...especially considering our drought conditions of late.

Compare the view above with how the dam looked back on June 17 when there was hardly a bucket-full spilling over...


Headed upriver from the dam and checked out a few of the many sloughs.  In one slough were these tiny yellow flowers...

...which I later learned may be bladderwort...a plant that rivals the pitcher plant in the ability to devour aquatic organisms swimming below the surface.

Back out the river a floating face looked skyward...

A mannequin head...with a story to tell I'm sure.

A balloon also looked to the sky...

The Nashua was a fine place to spend an August morning...

Eventually it was back to the falls where this sign makes a simple and reasonable request...


A fair amount of trash was encountered...