A Midwinter's Paddle

 

Got out on the Assabet River and Nashoba Brook in West Concord yesterday just a few days past the midpoint of meteorological winter.  Water levels were up as a result of our recent rainstorm (gauge at Maynard 3.4') and Nashoba and Fort Pond brooks combined in making a generous contribution from Warner's Pond (opening photo and below)...

Heading up Nashoba Brook brings a paddler alongside the stone wall supporting the bakery named for the brook.   What lies ahead beyond Commonwealth Ave (Warner's Pond outlet) is a mystery until you reach the bridge...

Back on the Assabet River the mid-day train to Boston had the blue, seemingly out-of-uniform, 1136 for its locomotive...

 
Open water was the rule for both the river and the brook.  Ice was confined mostly to the sloughs and slower moving stretches such as this bit above Route 2...

Places to land were found where the river's bank faced to the southwest...

Wildlife encountered included a pair of common goldeneye ducks...

...and this solitary hawk with a longish tail...

 

Trash included these few plastic vagabonds...

Hoping winter's second half goes by as fast!

2022's Veiled Entry

 

Went out on the waterways of Concord, MA yesterday to welcome the New Year and found familiar landmarks, such as Route 2 where it passes over the Sudbury River, shrouded in fog (photo above).

Along with the fog the New Year arrived with relatively warm temperatures in the 40s F. and little to no wind to speak of.  Maybe 2022 just wanted to pull down the shades and doze for awhile...can't say I blame it.  

The first trash encounter of 2022...

...a blue plastic bag containing 3 beer cans.  Another identical bag contained additional cans.

Further upriver this silver vessel emerged...

Looked as though it might have decorated a New Year's Eve party...

At the Old North Bridge visibility improved briefly...

...yet only a short distance further Monument Street was obscured...

Encountered several other boaters out on the water yesterday and all seemed to be enjoying the warmer than usual conditions.

With the fog and calm conditions I expected to encounter more wildlife than usual but that wasn't the case.  I did, however, encounter this regal-looking creature taking shelter in the nook of a riverside tree...

The first trash haul of 2022 had a "White Claw" theme...

...which is only fitting as we try to claw our way out of this pandemic.