Cue the Mosquitos

Started my paddling week with an early Sunday morning paddle of the upper Concord River in Concord, MA.  The inscription at Egg Rock shows that water levels have dropped about half a foot since last week...

A deer was sighted sleeping-in...

Things were quiet at Concord's Old North Bridge...

On Wednesday, heading to the boat launch at the end of Still River Depot Road in Harvard, MA, I came across this freight train snoozing on the mainline...

At the nearby boat launch I had my first skirmish of the season with biting mosquitos, unique to this location.  Unlike the train the mosquitos were wide awake. Once afloat and free of the bugs I headed up the Nashua River...

Some three hours later after landing my boat and battling the mosquitos for a second time I found the train was waking up...

Soon things got loud and after several blasts of its horn the three diesel locomotives powered-up to get its more than 100-freight cars underway to Worcester, MA and beyond...

Wrapped up my paddling week on Friday morning with a paddle of the Sudbury River between Kellogg Street and Winter Street in Framingham.  On recent visits I'd encountered a boom across the river at Union Ave which blocked my upriver progress.

Upon reaching the main street bridge... 

...I noticed a stone stairway leading to the river from the Dexter Hemenway House...

According to a piece, Historic Home: Massachusetts, on the Historic New England Project blog "I'm told that when the home was a rectory, that there were many baptisms that took place in the river."  Last summer, close to this same location, 675,000 gallons of untreated sewage was accidentally released into the river.

After realizing that the boom had been removed I paddled alongside this wall of sheet-piling... 

...and eventually came within sight of Winter Street where the dam for Reservoir Number One is located...

On my trip back downriver I encountered a coyote who stalked me for a bit, and later this deer...

...that turned out to be a spike male...

..a side view...

The deer was concerned with my presence but held its ground and continued feeding.

Trash from the Concord River included a banister cap from someone's staircase...

Trash from the Nashua River included 82 "nip" bottles...

Trash from the Sudbury River included quite a few plastic bags...

On Monday I paid a visit to the building in Watertown, MA where the Treaty of Watertown was signed on July 19, 1776 (only 15 days after the Declaration of Independence)...

I'd only recently become aware of the treaty which according to The Historical Society of Watertown "...was the first treaty signed by the newly-formed United States of America with a foreign power".

The first line of the document reads: "A Treaty of Alliance and Friendship entered into and concluded by and between the Governors of the State of Massachusetts Bay, and the Delegates of the St. John's (Maliseet/Passamaquoddy) and Micmack (Mi'kmaq) Tribes of Indians".

The treaty helped in preventing the British from gaining control over the large area to the east and north of the Penobscot River (northeastern Maine and New Brunswick).  I came across mention of the treaty while reading about the Maliseet Exodus (Aukpaque, NB to Machias, ME) which took place in July 1777.

The Historical Society of Watertown's website has both the actual treaty and the notes recorded over the multi-day council.  Additionally, one can virtually (online 3D tour) visit the actual 2nd floor room where it took place.

Left Me Beachless

 

Wrapped up my paddling week on Thursday morning with a loop around the Merrimack's Wickasee Island (above photo).  I found high water levels throughout the week.  Places to make landfall were at a premium.  Most of the small sandy beaches were submerged.

Started off the week with a Sunday morning paddle on the Assabet River in Concord, MA...

...which included a short trip up Nashoba Brook to a blowdown at the Commonwealth Ave bridge...

The Assabet itself had several recent blow downs, including this one below Pine Street...

On Tuesday afternoon I found ideal paddling conditions on the Concord River from the Bedford, MA boat launch.  Paddled upstream into a refreshing and summery southwest breeze...

Thursday saw our first 90-degree F. day since last August and necessitated an early morning "beat the heat" paddle on the Merrimack River from Southwell Park in North Chelmsford, MA.  Circled Wickasee Island by paddling up the canal on the island's east side...

...where a Tercentenary sign gives a nod to Wannalancet who, long ago, resided here...

My most interesting wildlife encounter of the week was on the Assabet just below the Route 2 bridge where this odd little critter was swimming across the river...

I believe it's a star-nosed mole.  Hard to get a photo due to its erratic swimming style.  Clearest one I got was from behind as its swam away...

Trash for the week:

Sunday on the Assabet River...

Tuesday on the Concord River...

Thursday on the Merrimack River...

The Merrimack paddle got off to a trashy start right from the git-go when this floating and snagged plastic bag of trash was encountered within sight of the boat launch...