Sandwiched between paddles on two familiar haunts, this past week was my first visit to Lost Lake/Knops Pond in Groton, MA, a Massachusetts Great Pond. The lake is described by Mass Fisheries and Wildlife: "This 204-acre impoundment is actually three ponds that were bound into one when water levels were raised by a dam." Two of those ponds were Knops Pond and Springy Pond. I chose to visit the lake on an early-morning weekday in the shoulder season when it would be less busy and I found it serene...
...pertain to nuisance aquatic plants that can be brought in from other waterways via boats and trailers. These invasive plants have plagued the lake in the past and are presently controlled with aquatic herbicides.
...and persuaded me to extend my paddle...as I had nowhere to go and all day to get there. Saw only 3 other boats over the course of the morning.
At the Egg Rock inscription it was noted that water levels are slowly being replenished...
...and a bald eagle watching over some ducks...
Not too far from where the eagle was perched was this large nest...
Speaking of bald eagles I was saddened to read this morning of noted wildlife photographer Maury Eldridge having passed away. Maury was a fellow paddler and he and I would occasionally encounter each other on the Sudbury River. He graciously shared incredible photographs he'd captured of eagles as well as locations of nests and the fate of eaglets. If I recall correctly the last time we talked he shared some photographs of the wayward Steller's Sea Eagle that showed up this past winter on the Maine coast. Rest in peace Maury.
After launching near the lake's north end I worked my way around the lake in a counter-clockwise direction and soon found the lake's outlet to Cow Pond which, in turn, flows into Cow Pond Brook leading to Massapoag Pond and eventually the Merrimack River.
...and where this blue heron had the place to itself...
The shores of the lake are mostly developed with a variety of cottages and year-round homes. My attention was drawn to some of the older cottages such as this one which has seen better days...
Probably the wildest part of the lake was the cove where Martin's Brook, a tributary, enters...
Grotonwoods Camp and Conference Center owns 247 acres along the lake and has its own beach...
At the narrowest part of the lake red and green buoys try to channel the boat traffic...
Saw this shoreside home that its owner could paddle right into (sweet!)...
Just as I was finishing my loop around the lake the sun emerged...
Earlier in the week, on Sunday, I got out on the Sudbury River and headed up to Fairhaven Bay...
On Thursday I paddled a sun-splashed Nashua River from Petapawag in Groton, MA...
Saw some early fall color...
On the Nashua a male wood duck in full regalia was seen...
The day was a beauty and this pine-needle covered spot proved perfect for taking lunch...
Sunday's trash...
Tuesday's trash which included my 1,000th nip bottle of the year...
Thursday's trash...
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