Flotsam Fest on the Assabet

On this bright and sunny Saint Patrick's Day I paddled the Assabet River downstream from Cox Street in Hudson.  Thanks to all the recent snowmelt the water level was fairly high and the flow was swift.  Present and accounted for were wood ducks, Canada geese, red-winged blackbirds, and a red-tailed hawk.   Tree swallows were also seen for the first time this season.

Of course along with the high water level came an abundance of trashy flotsam.  After traveling only a mile or so downriver, my boat was full to the gills.  Therefore, most of what can be seen in this photo...

..was left for another patrol.

Once back at Cox Street, the rounded-up miscreants "spread out" in the sunshine...

There were 105 recyclable containers (8 redeemable) and 101 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as styrofoam, plastic bags, etc.  The green plastic basin contains 42 nip bottles.  YTD = 850.

This stretch of the Assabet always seems to yield a large amount of trash.
 

Harbingers on the Assabet

For my first daylight saving time paddle of 2013 I ascended the Assabet River from Egg Rock to West Concord.  The photo at left, taken upon my return to Egg Rock, shows the Calf Pasture in the distance with Egg Rock on the near right.  This afternoon's abundant sunshine and blue sky was greatly appreciated by this paddler.
 
My goal for today was to confirm the presence of my favorite harbinger of spring: the red-winged blackbird.  After launching into the lower Sudbury River I paddled down to Egg Rock and soon heard and saw the object of my quest...

Up the river a little further was another favorite harbinger, the eastern bluebird...

However, the most numerous birds on this day were robins.  They were everywhere.

Unfortunately, trash was also encountered in good numbers.  This floating trash bag was half full with what looked like someone's household rubbish...

Water levels have dropped slightly as can be seen at the Egg Rock inscription...

However, I suspect they'll soon be rising.

Today's trash haul soaked up some sun while my boat's brakes cooled down...

 

 

There were 47 recyclable containers (7 redeemable) and 61 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish including 18 nip bottles, a balloon, an empty can of spray paint, and a small propane cylinder.  YTD = 644

 

While listening to tunes on my shuffle today, two songs in particular stood out from the rest:

 

Blue Wing by the Tom Russell Band with the lyrics "....it's dark in here, can't see the sky, but I look at this blue wing and I close my eyes, and I fly away, beyond these walls, up above the clouds, where the rain don't fall, on a poor man's dream...."

 

Starboard by Nels Andrews with the lyrics  "...follow the silver fish upstream, then wakeup portside of a starboard dream....".



Spring's Wrong Turn

My boat was only taking a brief respite on my deck when our spring suffered a major setback! 
Awaking to a bigger snow event than expected yesterday morning, I headed out early for my pre-dawn commute to work on Cape Ann.  It was a strange journey that included seeing the headlights of several vehicles pointing to places where no vehicle is meant to go.  It left me to wonder why some folks just cannot bring themselves to slowdown a bit.

After finally arriving on Cape Ann, I found a storm of a whole other nature: wild, wind-driven snow, and an ocean that had reclaimed quite a bit of terra firma.  The wind-chopped salt water was lapping at the pavement on the causeway in Essex.  After crossing it, I briefly lost my momentum while refueling, and received a helpful and much appreciated push from a Town of Essex policeman to get moving again.
Heading into Gloucester on Rt. 133 found the Annisquam River up and over its banks.
While I had my camera with me, I didn't get any photos for lack of plowed-out places to park, and very poor visibility in "white-out" conditions.
My mid-morning drive home on the upper reaches of Rt. 128 could best be described using the words of another motorist: "Felt like I was driving through Franconia Notch".
Once safely home, I measured 11.5" of white stuff on my boat's upturned hull.
As Old Man Winter exited to the east (probably laughing like hell) he left this colorful sunset in his wake...

The resulting snow melt, if combined with any significant rainfall, may well exceed what our already swollen rivers are capable of handling.

Sure Sign of Spring on the Assabet

Taking advantage of, possibly, the best weather of the week, I spent this afternoon paddling on the Assabet River in Stow.  In doing so I was rewarded with the unmistakable sound of spring: the calls of red-winged blackbirds.  Today's blackbirds, however, chose to be heard and not seen.  I never actually figured out where they were hiding, but nonetheless greatly enjoyed the long-absent sound.

Wood ducks, mallards, Canada geese, and a few red-tailed hawks were also seen on the river.

The portal to Fort Meadow Brook was just a little too small for me to fit through so I continued upriver to the narrow funnel downstream of Gleasondale...

With a swollen Assabet squeezing through the narrow opening at a pretty good clip, I decided against trying to paddle upstream.  Helping to make that decision was the good sized tree rocking in the current just downstream of the funnel...

Avoiding that obstacle would require some quick evasive measures by any paddler.
So, here I turned around and headed back to the takeout at Sudbury Road.

Similar to Sunday, the high river levels resulted in a bounty of floating trash...

My catch included 46 recyclable containers (3 redeemable) and 75 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish  32 of which were nip bottles.  YTD = 536


Fairhaven Bay - Open or Closed?

Boat # 1 awoke from hibernation yesterday and was chomping at the bit this morning, anxious to be afloat.  So, we decided to paddle up the Sudbury River to Fairhaven Bay and find out if the bay was still iced in.

The photo at left shows a few bits of blue sky that briefly appeared between bouts of snow flurries and rain showers.  It also shows a full milk crate resulting from a bumper crop of trash that floated out from the shrubbery and gave my brakes a good workout.

The past week's rainstorm and snow melt resulted in much higher water levels, as the Egg Rock inscription shows...

Not much text showing.

Boats usually resting on solid ground were now left to deal with the rising levels as best they could...

Finally reaching Fairhaven Bay, I found the bay still iced over and there would be no hot cocoa break on a wintry looking Brooke Island...

 

Enroute to the bay, the following wildlife were seen: mallards, Canada geese, a northern harrier, a red-tailed hawk, and common mergansers.

 



Back at the takeout, my day's catch chilled-out...

 

 

There were 57 recyclable containers (43 redeemable) and 43 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish including a 1-gallon plastic jug with about a half-quart of oil in it, bait tubs, plastic bags, a balloon, and 2 empty cans of spray paint.  YTD = 415



We're Heading Into Spring

I asked them where they were headed...

and they responded "we're heading into spring". 


Very early this morning these three white-tailed deer provided me the opportunity to tryout my new Canon PowerShot SX160 IS camera (in a terrestrial setting).  It has 3 times the optical zoom of my older PowerShot A590 IS.

Saving the Streak

With my streak of 71 consecutive months paddling Massachusett's waterways in serious jeopardy, I decided to do whatever it might take to keep it alive.  So with the necessary cold-weather paddling gear donned, my boat and I slid into the Sudbury River from a snow covered shore. 
The weather conditions could best be described by the first lines of text on the memorial marker for George Bradford Bartlett...

"By the ancient hemlocks grim and gray, our boat drifts slowly on its way"  The marker is located under the 'Leaning Hemlocks' on the Assabet River.

Prior to visiting that spot on the Assabet, I'd paddled down the Concord River from Egg Rock to Davis Hill and been pleasantly surprised by the large numbers of eastern bluebirds encountered.  Capturing their beautiful shade of blue with my camera proved difficult as they wouldn't stay still very long.  Eventually I caught this one lingering...

... and this one taking flight...

At one point I had a blue jay and bluebird in the same frame but was unable to click fast enough.

A small mink played peek a boo from the base of this tree...

Near Davis Hill this beaver lodge had a very wintry look...

The opening photo was taken near this spot and shows the view looking downriver towards Rt. 225.  At some point before the bridge open-water gives way to ice.

Mallards congregated on Concord's Mill Brook...

Other ducks seen today were hooded mergansers and wood ducks.

A small haul of trash was recovered along the way...

There were 11 recyclable containers (4 redeemable) and 10 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish. 
YTD = 315
  
After dipping my paddle into the waters of the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers today my streak has been extended to a 72nd month.