Sudbury River - Rt. 62 to Lee's Bridge and Back

Trash patrolled the Sudbury River this morning between Rt. 62 in Concord and Lee's Bridge. The sun was shining when I began my trip upriver at 8 am, but soon disappeared as a front passed through the area. Winds were lively out of the northwest. Trash was encountered at Clamshell Bank, Heath's Bridge, and just downstream of Lee's Bridge which became my turnaround location...

Upon reaching the bridge, I stopped at the Lee's Bridge Bistro, grabbed one of the few remaining free seats, and enjoyed a hot cocoa...

On the trip back downriver I stopped to marvel at this beaver lodge that's close to becoming a tree house...

The sun came out to stay as I was crossing Fairhaven Bay, in which five fishing boats worked the waters. Between Martha's Point and Heath's Bridge I came upon a beaver sunning himself on his lodge's front stoop. As I reached for my camera, he slipped into the water, but then surprised me by slowly swimming round my boat rather than the usual tailslap before disappearing...

Other wildlife seen today were red-winged blackbirds, mallards, Canada geese, tree swallows, great blue herons, and the first turkey vulture of the season.
I reached my takeout location with 38 pieces of trash...

Of these 28 were plastic bags and non-reclable material. Ten were recyclable (8 redeemable). Note the pint bottle of Wild Turkey in honor the turkey vulture I'm sure. YTD count stands at 901.

Assabet River - Cox St. Hudson to Orchard Hill in Stow

This morning I returned to the Assabet River in Hudson and Stow to followup on last Saturday's initial trash patrol on this stretch of river. I launched at the Cox Street bridge and my plan was to paddle downriver to the series of snags near Orchard Hill that were still holding a large amount of trash. Not even half way to the snags, I needed to stop and stow 56 pieces of trash below deck. From there to the snags saw another 25 or so pieces accumulate above deck. The most egregious of these was a plastic 1-quart container of motor oil that was actually full of motor oil. Also there were two large sheets of styrofoam packing material that required cutting into about 12 pieces to fit onboard.
Finally reaching the snags, I paddled past the first and under the second after cutting some branches. At the third I found my path firmly blocked so I paddled into a small opening in the marsh and exited from my boat onto the tussocks. This allowed me to get a better look at the barrier...

Finding it fairly easy to walk on the tussocks, I decided to portage around the barrier and explore more of the river. Almost immediately after starting downstream again, I encountered several eastern bluebirds and a pair of wood ducks. Mallards, red-tailed hawks, a musquash, and red-winged blackbirds were also seen today. The views of Orchard Hill were impressive and this beaver lodge had been located at a choice spot...

Around the next bend Orchard Hill Farm came into view...

Arriving at Gleasondale Village I rounded a last bend and came upon the dam and the old mill building that it served. Notice that there are no warning signs to indicate the waterfall...

After turning around and beginning my trip back upriver, I found myself being scutinized by this large horse...

At the point where I did a reverse of my earlier portage I found my ship's hold was full to the gills with trash. Looking upon the numerous rafts of floating trash still remaining, I was reminded of Chief Brodie telling Quint "We're gonna need a bigger boat".
I worked the large snag again and noted that it is actually the result of someone having built a crude bridge of plywood at this spot...

Shortly my bungees were straining once again to hold as much as they could on the way back to Cox Street. The unloaded bounty...

The trash count for the day was 175. Of these 50 were plastic bags and styrofoam cups; 119 plastic, glass, or aluminum bottles/cans; and the earlier mentioned motor oil and styrofoam packing sheets. My YTD total stands at 863.
I believe my last two hauls demonstrate very clearly that our 1983 issued Bottle Bill is no longer effective and needs to be updated.

Assabet River - Rt. 62 Hudson to Orchard Hill In Stow

Today I trash patrolled a section of the Assabet River that I'd never paddled before. Using Ron McAdow's book The Concord, Sudbury, and Assabet Rivers as my guide, I launched into the Assabet River at Cox Street in Hudson and paddled upstream. The air was filled with birdsong and the tapping of woodpeckers. A small mink that I encountered stared me down for about a minute before he slipped beneath the surface. I turned around where Main Street presently, and two railroads formerly, crossed the river. Construction of a new bridge is ongoing and when finished it will carry bicyclists across the river on the Assabet River Rail Trail. I returned to Cox Street and stowed 57 pieces of trash below deck before heading downstream towards Stow and the drumlin Orchard Hill. Trash was plentiful at every snag and there were many snags. As I approached Orchard Hill the river turned to the left to begin its wide sweep around the 300 foot high drumlin....

Shortly after the left turn, I came upon this snag and the large amount of trash it had captured...

Following about 20 minutes of work it looked a little better, but there was still ample trash left for another day's patrol...

Just downriver from this worksite, the river was blocked by downed trees in two locations...

After turning around I headed upstream towards the west-facing side of the hill...

Arriving back at Cox Street the bungees on my deck were stretched to the max...

Lastly, here's the lot of them after being transferred from the deck of my boat to the deck of my home. I think they're smiling...

Today's haul was 142 pieces of trash. Of these, 66 were recyclable and another 23 were both recyclable and redeemable. My YTD total stands at 688.
This section of river could easily provide for another 2 or 3 trash patrols.

Impromptu Terrestrial Patrol with U.S. Gov. Support

As I return from work each day I turn off of Route 27 after crossing the Sudbury River and head up Water Row past the Haynes Garrison House in Sudbury. Lately, I've been noting the amount of roadside litter becoming more and more evident as the early March flood waters recede back from the road's edge. Well today, for no apparent reason, the words of boxer Roberto Duran sprang forth..."No Mas!".
Knowing full well that in my car's trunk I had all the fixins for a trash patrol, I parked by the garrison house and walked back towards Route 27 on the river side of the road. It was easy pickens and by the time I had walked about 100 yards to where the wooden guardrails are, my 30-gallon trash bag was full of beer cans, beer bottles, miscellaneous trash and some poor car's missing wheelcover. I had just turned around and begun heading back towards my car when a U.S. Fish and Wildlife pick-up truck pulled along side and the driver said "I'm taking a load of trash to our dumpster. If you'd like, throw yours in the back and I'll get rid of it for you." I thanked him and placed my haul into the bed of his truck along with his trash haul which included a deceased goose.
I hereby take back any negative things I may have said about our federal government or its employees!
So, at any rate, there I was empty handed with no trash to count and no trash to photograph. Only the knowledge that in a few short minutes this little section of roadside looked a little bit better than it did before my "No Mas!" patrol.
Regarding my trash count for this patrol, I will give myself a mulligan and call it 50 pieces of trash bringing my YTD total to 546.
BTW, this haul was quite rich in regards to redeemable containers. It easily would have scored two 'Happy Meals'!

Sudbury River-Little Farms Rd. to Power Lines & Back

This afternoon the busy wind of the last 3 days finally stopped for a breather and afforded me a chance to trash patrol a section of the Sudbury River I hadn't paddled for a while. I had the nice launch site at Little Farms Road all to myself and soon my kayak and I were gliding towards the arching aquaduct that transports drinking water from Wachusett Reservoir to the greater Boston area. The pipe is approximately four feet in diameter...

Trash started tp pick up soon after I passed under Stone Bridge Road and my count was up to 24 by the time I reached the old four arch stone bridge. This bridge is no longer connected to anything on its western end...

This is the location where in January of 1776 General Knox hauled the cannons he was bringing from Fort Ticonderoga across the river on an even earlier bridge. Those cannons were used to persuade the British to leave Boston Harbor.
The stretch downstream of the old stone structure had numerous wood ducks and red-winged blackbirds. Also very numerous was trash, slowing my progress considerably. Twice in just a little over a mile, I stopped to transload from a crowded deck to my ship's hold. I turned around at the spot where several power lines cross the river and had more than 80 pieces of trash stowed below deck.
Returning upriver I recovered an additional batch which still adorned my deck when I landed back at Little Farms Road...

And finally, the bounty that spilled forth after my kayak disgorged its contents...

My trash count for this patrol was 114 of which 72 were recyclable and of those 72 only a meager 17 were redeemable. YTD total stands at 496.

Sudbury River - Rt. 62 to Lee's Bridge and Back

This morning I trash patrolled the Sudbury River from Rt. 62 to Lee's Bridge and back. Skies were cloudy and winds were light when I launched a little before 8am. Prior to passing under Rt. 2, I noticed some trash between the two wildlife underpasses. Upon getting closer and seeing considerable trash on shore, it became apparent that a brief shore raid would be in order. Shortly thereafter my dry bag was full as well as my ship's hold astern and 7 aluminum baking pans adorned the deck behind my cockpit. This one raid netted about 50 pieces of trash. I took this photo of the area later when the sun was out....

Proceeding upriver I began seeing wood ducks, mallards, and red-winged blackbirds. About a half mile upriver from Clamshell Bank, I recovered a single empty bottle of Pilsner Urquell a beer made in Plzen, Czech Republic. When this bottle was placed next to a can of Foster's lager, my deck began to take on an international look.
Just after Heath's Bridge, I saw my first great blue heron of the season. As I entered Fairhaven Bay I noted a large bird flying to the north. Its wingspan was nearly that of a blue heron. I wondered if it might be one of the eagles I saw last week. Looking with my binoculars, I could not confirm its identity. Once in the bay, another large bird was perched in a tree in the same area from which the previous bird came. I got a fairly good look at this bird but could not be sure if it was an immature eagle or perhaps an osprey. It did not have the white mask near the eyes that the osprey has and when it took flight it spiralled on the updrafts similar to a hawk. If it was a hawk it was much larger than any of the hawks I have previously seen and definitely was not a red-tailed.
Turning back upriver I approached something white near the north end of Brooke Island. Upon getting closer I found it was a dead northern pike. The shore behind the dead fish had a recently made hole and no sooner had I noticed the hole than a beaver came swimming out of it. Seeing me he dove under the surface and shot through the water about 10 feet from my boat. He then surfaced and tail-slapped several times. Thinking that there might be beaver kits in the area, I decided to move away and headed along the shore of the island. This shoreline was only recently released from the winter's ice and it yielded 2 plastic bags and a beer can.
Between the bay and Lee's Bridge I encountered a fisherman heading to the bay in a motorboat. His was the only other boat I would see all morning.
At Lee's Bridge I turned around and headed downriver as the sun began to break through the clouds. At the same time the wind began to pickup out of the northwest.
Below Heath's Bridge I encountered my first tree swallows of the season. They must have waited for the sun to come out as I had not seen them earlier on the trip upriver.
Reaching my takeout location, my trash count for the day was 65 pieces of trash. Of these 48 were recyclable and 16 were both recyclable and redeemable. YTD total 382 Here they are "fresh off the boat"...

This day's trash patrol was in honor of Mr. Peanut, a Toy Fox Terrier who had been a loyal companion to my Dad for the past 10 years. May he rest in peace.

Assabet River - Ice House Landing to Sudbury Rd.

Decided to trash patrol a different stretch of the Assabet River this afternoon. I launched at the Ice House Landing which is just upstream of the Ben Smith Dam in Maynard. Once on the water, I headed upriver and into a fairly stiff breeze out of the southwest. Trash was light at first but began to pick up steadily. Wood ducks and mallards were present in good numbers. Also saw a few red-winged blackbirds, a mute swan, the first belted kingfisher of the season, a red-tailed hawk, and one common merganser. Evidence of beavers was everywhere including some fairly large diameter tree cuts. Passed 3 beaver lodges and one musquash lodge
The last half mile before reaching the Sudbury Rd. bridge in Stow had the most trash. It made this stretch seem like the 'longest half mile' due to there being bottles and cans almost every 50 feet. Turned around after the bridge and the wind gave me a big assist on the way downriver. The highlight of the patrol was coming upon a mated pair of wood ducks performing their head-jutting mating ritual in the middle of the river. The wind brought me quietly towards them while my binoculars allowed me to witness their performance.
I enjoyed paddling this stretch of the Assabet River and was a bit surprised to have it all to myself on such a warm day in March.
Reached my takeout location with 71 pieces of trash of which 62 were recyclable. This is today's haul laid out on my deck (forgot to bring camera in boat)...

My YTD total stands at 317.