Encountered the above pictured plastic toy whale while paddling on the Nashua River from Petapawag in Groton, MA this past Wednesday. It was nestled-in with a lot of other flotsam (including a "Dam Ahead" buoy) just upstream of this highway bridge...
The toy bears the marking "Sanitoy Inc, Fitchburg MA" and looks to have been in the river for a very long time. Any paint was long gone and my guess is it dates from the 1950s or 60s. If so, the whale may have been a pioneer in plastic items entering the river. The company Sanitoy was located about 30 river miles above Petapawag alongside the river's North Branch near River Street in Fitchburg. I'm thinking it possibly came downriver as a result of last summer's flooding event in the Leominster/Fitchburg area.
The trash found amidst the many tree limbs stuck up against the bridge...
...included 65 "nip" bottles.
Otherwise the river was looking its usual piney self...
...skies were on the moody side with a light rain arriving as I left the river...
This tall pine tree housing a large nest looks to be less than healthy...
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