Assabet River - Russell's Bridge to Ft. Meadow Brook & Back

With no ice cream being made today by my client, I was left to deal with another kind of ice.  The photo at left shows what greeted me after passing under Russell's Bridge on the Assabet River in Stow, this morning.  I had launched there at about 10 am and found ice extending for about 100 yards. Proceeding upriver would require utilizing my boat as an "icebreaker" and it peformed this task admirably.
Mute swans, mallards, a belted kingfisher, a mink, a blue heron, and a red-tailed hawk were seen while enroute to the site of my midday bivouac, where I enjoyed some lunch...

After lunch I continued upriver passing the humble abodes of beavers and musquashes.  This conical-shaped abode, however, looks to be the work of human hands and may serve as a duckblind...

I turned around at the spot where the Marlborough Branch of the B & M RR used to cross the river near Railroad Ave in Gleasondale Village.  On the way back downriver I decided to probe the area where Fort Meadow Brook enters the river and came upon this 'gateway'...


On the other side I was surprised to find a navigable channel leading into an extensive marsh. Following the brook's winding route for 1/4 of a mile, while listening to "Lark Ascending", brought me to this beaver dam and old railroad trestle...




There was no point in going up and over the beaver dam as the trestle, carrying the rails of the Central Mass Branch of the B & M RR, was completely clogged with debris.  Hoses and pipes had been installed to provide for the brook's passage.  The rail line was abandoned in the 1970s.  Just to the right of the trestle the ground beneath the rails had been washed away.  The area beyond the RR trestle is the large swamp/marsh that can be seen from Rt. 62 near Chestnut Street in Hudson.
Returning to the river I continued my trip downstream and came upon these bright red berries that, surprisingly, hadn't appealed to anyone's appetite...

Back at Russell's Bridge today's trash catch of 44 assembled on the small beach...

There were 26 recyclable containers (13 redeemable) and 18 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as the 5-gallon pail, a shoe, some plastic bags, nip bottles, etc.  My YTD total stands at 6206. 
Of the many songs I enjoyed listening to, while out on the water today, Gordon Lightfoot's "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" seemed the most appropriate for the last day of November!

My Trashpaddling Acquaintances

Sitting by my hot stove, this cold morning, and recalling all of the different creatures I've been priviledged to encounter while trashpaddling, I decided to compile a slideshow of my photographs.  A little music would be a nice addition but until I figure out how to do that, may I suggest "Rockport Sunday" as performed by Tom Rush. 
The gang can be viewed at this link.

Yeah, What He Said!

Today, while visiting Paddling.net, I came across the Northern Illinois Paddlers blog and its most recent post by BK Boat N Sled.  It describes what makes paddling such an enjoyable pastime better than anything I've ever seen.  Here is the link to the blog/post.

Concord River - Egg Rock to Buttricks Hill & Back

This morning's rain and cold temperatures gave way to some improvement just in time to allow this year's F.A.T. (Friday after Thanksgiving) Paddle to proceed.  I launched into the lower Sudbury River and paddled down to Egg Rock where the Sudbury joins with the Assabet to form the Concord River.  The North Bridge area was fairly busy as it seemed everyone was 'out and about' working-off yesterday's feasting.  A bit further downstream, this little mink was also 'out and about'...

Other wildlife seen in addition to the mink were numerous pairs of mallards and several blue herons.
Passing the landing at Great Meadows, I thought back to another F.A.T. Paddle several years ago where, at that very spot, a visiting friend's simple act of pulling a soda can from the river got me started on my trashpaddling adventures.
Near the base of Buttricks Hill I stopped for a 'mug up' of hot cocoa.  While sitting there, I saw that the sun was gaining the upper hand and would soon prove near-blinding during my return trip upriver.
By the time I reached Egg Rock, the sun had dropped behind Nashawtuc Hill...

At my takeout location, the day's catch posed in the last bit of daylight...

The total was 38 pieces of trash.  Of these 20 were recyclable containers (13 redeemable) and 18 were miscellaneous rubbish such as styrofoam cups, bait tubs, plastic bags, etc.  YTD total stands at 6162.

Sudbury River - Route 20 to the Power Lines and Back

This morning it was evident that a nice taste of Indian summer was in the offing and it seemed to me the perfect day to trash patrol the Sudbury River in Wayland.  A secondary goal would be trying to break through the blowdown above Heard Pond.  My boat was launched, at the recently  re-done boat ramp where Route 20 crosses the river, and I began paddling upriver into a warm breeze.  Temperatures would rise into the 60's during my patrol and there were occasional peeks of sunshine.
Trash was fairly plentiful along the way and this slowed my upriver progress more than had been anticipated.   Following a stop for lunch at the conservation area landing on river left, I headed past Indian Point till coming upon this tree demonstrating the advantages of being adaptable... 

Approaching the blowdown area, I came upon a large television set.  The good news is someone probably got a new flat-screen television.  The bad news is they weaseled-out of paying a disposal charge for their old set...

This piece of trash will have to wait for another day or perhaps a larger boat than mine.
Finally, I reached the blowdown that has blocked my upriver passage for more than a month...

 This time I came equipped with my hand-saw and after a few cuts, passage to the other side was possible...

Not overly spacious, but just enough room for me.
I continued my upriver patrol as far as the power lines (opening photo) and turned around for the trip downstream. 
Wildlife seen today were numerous ducks, several blue herons, one hawk, and a couple of hardy turtles.
Once back at the boat launch, the day's catch assembled alongside my boat's hull...

There were 93 pieces of trash and they brokedown as follows: 46 recyclable containers (13 redeemable) and 47 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as plastic bags, styrofoam cups, bait tubs, fishing line, tennis balls, empty spray paint cans, and a tackle box.  The tackle box may be the one someone notified me of having lost in this area.  My YTD total stands at 6124.
There were 2 unusual finds today.  One was an empty can of Sabotaz 80 paint for "graffiti artists".  This product is manufactured in Athens, Greece by Cosmoslac. 
The other unusual find was an empty 14 1/2 ounce bottle of Lydia E. Pinkham's Medicine.  A quick search on the web revealed that Lydia made her concoctions specifically for women starting around 1876 in Lynn, Massachusetts.  One of her slogans was "A Baby in Every Bottle".  The business ran into the 1960's.
With the "Beaver Moon" now upon us, I'm reminded that the next 3 full moons are the toughest with names like "Cold", "Wolf" and "Snow".

Update to Thoreau School's Outdoor Classroom Visit

Since visiting Thoreau School's outdoor classroom last Thursday, teacher Susan Erickson provided me with a link to the blog she and her students have created.   It is titled, appropriately enough, "Take Me To The River"  and includes journal entries written by students while spending time in their outdoor classroom.
Anyone wishing to see how the students are responding to this unique experience need only visit "Take Me To The River" and read some of their work.  I suspect Mr. Thoreau himself would be pleased!

Assabet River - Thoreau School's Outdoor Classroom

Today's trash patrol was a little different in that, at its conclusion, I was able to share the results with 4th grade teacher Susan Erickson and her students.  The setting for our rendezvous was the outdoor classroom that Susan played a pivotal role in creating.  It was nice to see the students writing in  their journals as I approached the site from upriver.  Reaching the riverbank, I threw my boat's painter up to the students and with some "heave", "ho" chanting, they helped pull it up onto the bank and into their unique classroom.  The day's catch was then unloaded and the students got to see a fairly typical haul gathered from patrolling a half mile section of the Assabet River.  Some of today's trash was recovered during an unscheduled portage necessitated by last night's windstorm having blown down a large tree across the river.  The blowdown is seen in the opening photo and is just a little upstream from Pine Street.  After completing the portage, I patrolled the river up to another, older blowdown near Westvale... 

I might have been able to paddle through a small opening on river right, but thanks to yesterday's heavy rains there was a good flow chugging through the very narrow opening.  Any attempt would have to be all or nothing as backing out would not be an option.  So, the section between here and Damondale will be left for another day. 
On the trip downriver to the Thoreau School my brakes got a good workout.
Back at the outdoor classroom, the students were aware that my year-to-date count was 5990, and I'm happy to report the 6,000 mark was surpassed.  Pictured below are the 41 refugees rounded up today...  

There were 16 recyclable containers (2 redeemable) and 25 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as plastic bags, pieces of styrofoam, a set of bicycle training wheels, and a soccer ball that escaped before being photographed.  My YTD total stands at 6031.
I appreciated the opportunity to share in the students outdoor classroom experience, and enjoyed trying to answer their many good questions about trashpaddling.  I left very inspired by their appreciation for the river running behind their school. Students and teacher are pictured leaving for their next class.