Special Day for SuAsCo Watershed

Yesterday the organization OARS (for the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers) held its 29th Annual River Cleanup.  Between 9am and noon participants in 11 SuAsCo towns worked at cleaning up their respective town's river.

My town's contingent worked on cleaning up the Assabet above and below the Powdermill Dam leaving me to patrol the impoundment above the dam upstream towards the Maynard line (photo at left).

Weather conditions for this year's event were ideal for both the cleanup work and post-cleanup enjoyment of pizza provided by area pizza shops.  The Maynard and Acton contingents gathered at Tobin Park in Maynard...

 Some of what came out of the Assabet in Acton...

 

All 3 rivers looked spiffier this morning.

 



Chasing the Sun in Fairhaven Bay

Yesterday was another exceptional late summer day 'round these parts.  I'd paddled up the Sudbury River from Lowell Road to Fairhaven Bay when I saw the sun was unusually low on the far side of the bay.
As I approached, it rose up and drifted 10 yards to the east. (Perhaps I'd allowed myself to get a little dehydrated on this day with very little shade).  Just to be sure it was what I thought it was, I exited my boat and approached the shore where I managed to capture, not only the sun but, 3 nice ears of Indian corn...

Now I can keep the sun and corn in reserve 'til the upcoming winter's darkest days.  Definitely the most unusual Mylar balloon I've encountered to date.

Others were also out enjoying the Sudbury, as this well-populated pontoon boat attests...

This fine looking row boat also graced the lower Sudbury...

The recently elevated railroad bridge near the South Bridge Boathouse carried a commuter train...

...which brought to mind the missing railroad bridge that long ago carried the Reformatory Branch over the Sudbury River further downriver, closer to Egg Rock.  I often find myself trying to visualize the structure that carried trains across the Sudbury River for 48 years between 1879 and 1927.  Up until recently I'd been unsuccessful in finding any photos of this bridge online...until the other day when I stumbled upon this series of Reformatory Branch photographs taken by Charles Dee in the late 1920s.


The fourth photo shows 3 children standing on the bridge and the view, I believe, is looking from east to west (or towards Nashawtuc Hill).  It was on that side of the river that a few of the old wooden piers still protrude from the ground...

Aside from that there's little, other than the fence where the roadbed abruptly ends, to show a bridge once spanned the river here...

Two roadway bridges from the same era, Elm Street and Nashawtuc Road, sported new cautionary signs similar to one recently seen on the Charles River...

Rubbish encountered along the way...

Concord Looking Sharp

Yesterday's last job left me close to the Concord River and the Bedford Boat Launch.  The day was simply too beautiful not to get out on the water.  Once launched I headed upriver to Sawmill Brook encountering only one other boater (a kayaker) along the way . The photo at left was taken in that vicinity.

On my way back downriver I saw a pair of osprey in the same tree and managed to catch the slower of the two taking flight...

The Carlisle/Bedford bridge was looking sharp under the cloudless skies...

This bridge had twenty wooden piers back in Thoreau's day.

Trash was light and composed of stuff that had been in the river for awhile, such a the Kelly Balloon tire...

 
Googling the tire brought up advertisements from happier days in the 1920s (before it went bald).

Layin' Low on the Assabet

Recent rains have, for the most part, missed the SUASCO watershed leaving the inscription at Egg Rock to remain high and dry.

I approached the Assabet River early this morning from the lower Sudbury, and recovered some fishing related trash at the spot where the Reformatory Branch of the B & M Railroad long ago crossed the river (Sudbury).  However, the shore-fishing areas closer to the Calf Pasture were much cleaner than the last time I passed by.  This recently installed sign may be an indication that the area is receiving more frequent visits from local authorities...

Despite the very shallow conditions I managed to ascend the Assabet up to Nashoba Brook where I found the brook too shallow to enter...

Along the way I encountered this party of 3 white-tailed deer...

...chillin' alongside the river.

Ended up with more trash than I would've expected...

Summer in Overdrive

The day after Labor Day and our great summer weather just kept rolling along.  Following an epic holiday weekend it was back to work and school for most folks.  The drive to my last job of the day brought me through Natick Center where my car's thermometer displayed 97 degrees Fahrenheit.  Finishing the job around 4:30 pm left me with two choices: drive home through commuter traffic, or get in a late day paddle on the nearby Charles River. 
Ten minutes later I was at Redwing Bay at the Dover/Needham line and launching my boat upstream from the Cochrane Dam.  Not another soul at the boat launch.  Once on the water I breathed a sigh of relief as the heat of the day began to dissipate.

The tranquility of the river was shared with this molting mute swan...

...and this large hawk in the mouth of Trout Brook...

Wondered how long it's been since a train rumbled across this old wooden trestle...

At the Central Street Bridge a yellow and red color board advises boaters of hazards at higher water levels...

Another hazard, less expected to be encountered...

The sun finally dropped below the trees...

I'm thinking Mother Nature is trying to make amends for what she inflicted on us last February and I salute her for extending the season of warmth.  A few more days like this and I'll be willing to let bygones be bygones.

Trash encountered in this section of the Charles didn't amount to much...

A Little Merrimaction

Another first Saturday of the month and another trash patrol by Denise Hurt and the New Hampshire Appalachian Mountain Club Paddlers.

A colorful fleet consisting of 12 kayaks and 2 canoes disembarked from the Greeley Park boat launch on the Merrimack River in Nashua, NH.  The conditions this morning were splendid and being out on the river was splendiferous. 

Our goal was to recover any trash found along its banks, and to that end one contingent went downstream while the other went up.

After 3 hours we rendezvoused back at the boat launch and combined our mostly full crates of refuse...

...before beginning the especially fun process of sorting out the recyclables from the rubbish...

We ended up with a count of 125 recyclable containers, and 417 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish which included 2 inflatable rafts, a wheel/tire, an easy chair, various automotive parts, a broken mirror, and a propane tank.

One more patrol in this year's series and the word on the water is it'll be on the Nashua in Pepperell.

Day's Start on the Concord

In an effort to beat the heat this morning I drove to the Bedford Boat Launch arriving there just before sunrise.  Work crews were preparing the adjacent Route 225 roadway for a fresh layer of hot-top...a tough job on what would become a hot day. 

The Bedford/Carlisle bridge (at left) was shrouded in fog that got denser as I paddled further downstream...

Accompanied by a rhythmic beat a passing rower emerged briefly from the fog...

A beaver still out and about...

The sun then cleared the trees and got to work...

...in trying to awaken this immature black-crowned night heron...

And was successful, though only briefly...

A local beach was already staked out...

I'd be hard-pressed to find a more peaceful and serene setting to experience the day's start.

With water levels remaining low, trash was found near the receding shoreline...