Rockport Gunkholing

On this spectacular July the Fourth, Mrs. Trashpaddler and I visited the coastal village of Rockport and paddled its rocky shores.  As the photo at left shows, the harbor was a little busier than usual.  Many of the sailboats were festooned with nautical flags.  The best boatname of the day was on this humble craft...

Once away from the confines of the harbor, we made landfall at one of our favorite coves...

With the right tide conditions, like we had today, this makes a nice spot for a swim and picnic.
Back onboard our boats we ventured out into Sandy Bay...

On our trip back to our launch site, we came across this young harbor seal at Bearskin Neck...

Not sure if it was injured or perhaps just taking a mid-day nap in preparation for the festivities scheduled for later in the day.
Trash recovered today consisted of only 1 empty bud bottle and 1 empty coke bottle.  Not worthy of a photograph.  However, this pile of old pallets assembled by the town's DPW was certainly worth a photo...

Rockport's July 4th tradition is for a late day parade to terminate near this pile and then once darkness has settled in, the Fire Dept. will put the flame to it for a grand bonfire.  Each year there is a different structure on the top of the pile.  Some years it's a small wooden boat.  This year it looks a bit like a privy.

Ipswich River - Topsfield

This afternoon, upon finishing a work assignment near the Ipswich River, I decided to experience paddling some of its water's for my first time. 
The plan was to launch into the river at Rt. 97 in Topsfield and paddle downstream into the Ipswich Wildlife Sanctuary.  The photo at left is the Route 97 bridge and was taken on my return trip upriver.
Not too far from the launch site, I paddled into an old canal bed that stretched straight as an arrow for several thousand feet in an easterly direction.  The left bank had the look of a tow-path.
Returning to the Ipswich proper, it is narrow and winding with numerous downed trees partially blocking the channel .  Paddling around one of the many sharp bends, I came upon this musquash making a hurried dash to the water with a mouthful of grass... 

 After passing by Perkins Island this Great Egret was taking in the view from up high...

There were many clumps of these "forget-me-nots" in bloom...

 The river brought me to this landing maintained by Mass Audubon...

The sign advised non-members to paddle about a 1/2 mile further to Colt Island so I paddled about that distance to a point about 1/4 mile past TH 42.  At that point, my path was blocked by some fallen limbs, so I turned around and began paddling back upstream to my starting point.  On the return trip 2 kayaks and 3 canoes were encountered.
Trash had been recovered at the launch site and in the area of a sandbar frequented by shore fishermen.
The haul for the trip was 42 pieces of trash...

The breakdown: 19 recyclable containers (8 redeemable) and 23 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as styrofoam, plastic bags, cardboard packaging, etc.  YTD total stands at 3406.

Speaking of Mishoons

By visiting this link one can get a a look at how native people traveled between present day Cape Cod and the island of Martha's Vineyard, before the arrival of Europeans.    

Quinsigamond's Outlet

This morning, after work, I traveled into the heart of Nipnet, the ancestral home of the Nipmuck people and paddled close to the area once known as Hassanamessitt.  
In 1654 an Indian praying village was established by that name and most historical accounts have the site being chosen by John Eliot and Daniel Gookin, English missionarys to the Indians.  However, according to the book Manitou by James W. Mavor, Jr. and Byron E. Dix, Gookin reported the location of Hassanamessitt was chosen by Nipmuck powwows or shamans.  Mavor and Dix speculate the area would have had much spiritual significance to the Nipmuck because five rivers start their journeys to the sea from within a radius of about 12 miles.  Examining a map confirms that the Assabet, Blackstone, Charles, Nashua, and Sudbury rivers can all be accessed from within this radius. 
I decided to launch into lower Lake Quinsigamond at Oak Island in Shrewsbury and see how far south I could go towards Hassanamessitt.
It didn't take long to paddle from Oak Island to this embankment and small dam where it appears the Quinsigamond River begins its 5-mile journey to its confluence with the Blackstone River in Grafton....

This photo of the dam was taken after I'd portaged and was looking back upstream.  The portage was a very short and easy one.  Just below the dam I passed under Creeper Hill Rd. and then under this old but still active Boston and Albany Railroad bridge...

Again the photo is looking back upstream.
The river grew quite narrow in between the railroad bridge and Hovey Pond (some maps show it as Flint Pond).  The opening photo shows this narrow stretch of river.  Reaching the end of Hovey Pond I came to this dam and spillway...

Here the river takes a pretty good drop and there do not appear to be any easy portaging options.  Therefore I turned around and began heading back to Oak Island.  This was the view looking upriver from the Hovey Pond dam...

I'm quite sure this rock was seen by Nipmuck paddlers as they went by in their mishoons or dugout canoes...

It is said that everything in the Native American world possesses Manitou or spiritual qualities.  My guess would be this rock has more than most!
Two red-tailed hawks soared above Hovey Pond,  Also seen today were mute swans, a cormorant, an eastern kingbird, numerous red-winged blackbirds, a good sized snapping turtle, and many small fish darting all around my boat.  The river bottom in many places was carpeted with juniper-like plants.  Aquatic flowers in bloom were white and yellow lilies and pickerelweeds.
Trash, possessing very little Manitou, was recovered along the way...

Most of it was located where folks have access to the water, such as boat ramps and areas near bridges where they fish from shore.  The usual suspects were rounded up.  There were 31 recyclable containers (9 redeemable) and 27 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as styrofoam, bait tubs, plastic bags, etc. 

Total today was 58.

 YTD total stands at 3364.

Sudbury River - Little Farms Rd. to Danforth St. and Back

Despite yesterday's thunderstorms, water levels were found to be low on the Sudbury River today.  At left is the view looking upriver at the Little Farms riffle in Framingham.  Rather than launch on the upstream side, I decided to get in a little practice lining my boat.  It was actually an enjoyable experience to wade through the riffle while towing my boat upstream by its painter.
Once back onboard and settled in amidships, I trash patrolled the river up to the Danforth Street bridge...

Plenty of shady spots were found on this stretch of river and aside from the noise of an excavator working where the MWRA aqueduct passes under the river, it was quite a peaceful place to spend a few hours.
The lion's share of today's trash was plastic bags found hanging like ghostly apparitions from numerous tree branches.  When the March floodwaters receded, the bags were left behind.  Also hanging from limbs overhead were an automotive inner tube and a child's stuffed serpent.  Combining these items with some beer/soda cans, water bottles, and a traffic cone made for an eclectic assemblage on the oxbow sandbar...

Today's count was 95 pieces of trash.  Of these, 26 were recyclable containers (5 redeemable) and 69 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish.  YTD total stands at 3306.

Sudbury River - River Road to Lee's Bridge & Back

Today's trash patrol of the Sudbury River between River Rd. in Wayland and Lee's Bridge at Rt. 117 in Lincoln was an easy one as there was very little trash in the water.  It was nice for a change to have only white water lilies and violet pickerel weed blossoms catch my eye instead of bottles and cans.
The usual gang of wildlife were on hand: belted kingfisher, eastern kingbirds, red-winged blackbirds, tree swallows, a red-tailed hawk, and numerous great blue herons such as the one below who'd just caught a fish...

 My boat wasn't the only one working the river today.  This rig was rounding up water chestnut plants...

 Once full, the plants were transferred into a dump truck at Sherman's Bridge...

 No dump truck was necessary for my paltry catch...

However, it was a lucky number 7 and nice that it was all I could find in a 5-mile section of river.  The lot of it was found on the ground below where one shorefisherman had been perched just downstream of the Route 27 bridge.
My YTD total stands at 3211.

The Cochituate Ponds in Wayland & Natick

Sure was a nice day for our summer solstice!  When the sun climbed to its highest noontime elevation of the year, I was fortunate enough to be afloat on the waters of Cochituate's North, Middle, and South ponds.
Having launched into the North Pond, I paddled over to a small island where it appeared someone attempted to build a very humble abode.  Messages concerning freedom were painted on the crude rafters.  From there I entered the secluded cove that leads into the spot where Cochituate Brook begins (pictured at left).  At the end of the cove there is a 2-step drop for water falling into the brook...

 These two cormorants had taken to the trees for the occasion of the solstice...

The passageway into Nipmuc country?  Actually it is a passageway under a railroad line which used to terminate in Saxonville...

Before passing under the busy Mass Pike, I had to wait for this cavalcade of geese to clear the tunnel... 

 Today's trash haul alongside my boat's hull...

It was a 'Larry Bird' total of 33 pieces.  The breakdown: 13 recyclable (7 redeemable) and 20 pieces of rubbish such as bait tubs, plastic bags, a soccer ball, etc.  YTD total stands at 3204.