Sudbury River - Concord St. to Power Lines & Back

Trash patrolled the section of the Sudbury River where its 'Wild & Scenic' designation begins in Saxonville late this morning and into the afternoon. I launched at Little Farms Road and headed upriver to a little ways past Concord Street and turned around near these flood control structures...

Recent rains had the river flowing well but nothing close to the kind of conditions where these devices would be required.
Heading back downriver I passed these two bridges and noticed a sign saying "Sudbury Landing"...

Looked all over but saw nothing that even remotely looked like a boat landing. The older of the two bridges did have some benches on it. Great blue herons and belted kingfishers were seen in this vicinity.
Arriving back at Little Farms Road, I unloaded the haul from the upstream section and then, with an empty boat, relaunched and headed downriver. I paddled under the MWRA aquaduct and around the end of the old stone bridge and began seeing numerous wood ducks and also an oriole. The sky was changing back and forth between short breaks of sun and ominous looking clouds as I neared my turnaround point, the Power Lines...

Heading back upriver, I paddled close to the shore to recover a plastic bottle and noticed this stone marker...

It looked very old and perhaps is marking the Sudbury/Wayland border.
From this point to my takeout location the sun was gaining ground and temperatures were rising fast. Today's trash haul is reflected in the following two photos. The first is the upstream haul between Little Farms and Concord Street and and the second is from Little Farms to the Power Lines.


The trash count for both was 113 pieces. Of these 66 were recyclabe (18 redeemable) and 47 were miscellaneous rubbish such as styrofoam, plastic bags, balloons, a squirt gun, and a baseball bat. My YTD total stands at 1778.

Lower Sudbury and Upper Concord Rivers

Trash patrolled the lower Sudbury and Upper Concord Rivers early this morning and I encountered quite a few fellow early risers such as these good-sized carp writhing and twisting...

They were facing into a nook where water was emerging from the bank of an empoundment at Great Meadows and may have been spawning.
Across the Concord river this small frog looked as if he wanted to tell me something...

There were a lot of new critters that just recently came upon the scene such as these goslings scurrying around in the grass...

In contrast to the prolific geese were a pair of wood ducks seen with their single duckling. They wouldn't allow a photo but this stoic blue heron was happy to oblige...

Also saw small woodpeckers (downy or hairy?), mallards, and small sandpipers.
Trash came mostly from two quick shore raids. One at the Calf Pasture and another a little upstream and across from Saw Mill Brook. The trash count for the day was 55 pieces. Of these, 28 were recyclable containers (15 redeemable) and 27 were plastic bags, styrofoam, monofilament fishing line, etc. The group posed here...

YTD total stands at 1665
One gift from the river today was this water sample collector which I can use in my business...

Sudbury River - Rt. 62 to Fairhaven Bay & Return

When I went to work early this morning I had no plans to get out on the river today. However, after crossing over the river on my way home from work I just couldn't come up with any reason not to do so. Shortly thereafter, I was launching my kayak into the Sudbury River and selecting "Slow Ahead" on the control panel. Before reaching Route 2, I watched an osprey sail across the sky, heading north from the Emerson Hospital area. At Clamshell Bank, I stopped for a brief lunch...

While eating, I thought about the thousands of clamshells that were found at this location and how it indicated native peoples habitation into the far distant past. I also found myself thinking about the most recent episode of the PBS series "We Shall Remain". The episode was titled "Trail of Tears" and was about the Cherokee people being forced to leave their ancestral homes and travel to lands west of the Mississippi River. The forced relocation was the result of a complex legal battle that centered on who had sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation lands. Competing for sovereignty were the Cherokees, the State of Georgia, and the Federal government. The U.S. Supreme Court got involved but wasn't able to decisively resolve the issue. Amazingly, a law called the "Indian Removal Act" was passed (barely) by Congress and subsequently executed by President Andrew Jackson. The Cherokee people were represented by their leader, John Ross who, oddly enough, was of 7/8 Scottish ancestry. He did an admirable job under difficult conditions. Another key person in the matter was a missionary, Samuel Worcester, who was from New England. After watching the program, and then reading about the principle characters involved, I can't help but think that this was the best and probably last opportunity for native peoples to maintain sovereignty over their own lands. Unfortunately, they were not allowed to do so.
Resuming my trip upriver, I paddled to Heath's Bridge arriving there with only 4 pieces of trash. However, some shore fishermen had left their day's worth of trash in a neatly tied plastic bag at the water's edge. I guess they figured their mom was going to drop by later and pick it up.
Leaving Heath's Bridge, I headed into a pleasant breeze and paddled past Martha's Point enroute to Fairhaven Bay. Reaching the bay, I took shelter from the breeze on the lee side of Brooke's Island, and decided to stretch my legs on the small island. At this large tree stump, I observed the remains of a duck or bird that had recently been ravaged by a predator...

Once relaunched I paddled out into the middle of the bay and then let the breeze push me towards this old stone boathouse...

After resisting the temptation to enter and take a short nap, I let the same breeze push me back downriver to my takeout location. My trash count for the day was 34 pieces. Of these, 14 were recyclable (12 redeemable) and 20 were misc. rubbish such as plastic bags, fishing line, etc. ...

YTD total stands at 1611.

Assabet River - Egg Rock to Pine Street & Back

The Assabet River proved to be an ideal location to drink in the midsummer like warmth during an afternoon trash patrol to Pine Street and back. After launching near Egg Rock I approached the Leaning Hemlocks and watched as a red-tailed hawk swooped down on a group of wood ducks. Fortunately for the ducks, the hawk came up empty taloned.
Shortly after the hemlocks, this muscovy duck crossed my bow (perhaps looking for a handout?)...


Upon reaching Willow Island I was greeted by a nice breeze out of the southwest. Wildlife was very active along the river. I saw 2 small herons that I believe were green herons. Also seen were great blue herons,red-winged blackbirds, cardinals, robins, small woodpeckers, mallards, Canada geese, musquash, beaver, a woodchuck and, finally, these three deer...

I believe it was a doe and her two yearlings. They were all very curious and the doe came a little closer while slowly stomping one of her front legs to the ground...

Then she turned sideways...

I began to pull back and was startled when an equally startled beaver tail-slapped the water about 3 feet from my boat. Oddly, the loud tail-slap had no effect on the deer. They just went about their business. This encounter occurred in a backwater located between Route 2 and the mouth of Nashoba Brook.
After passing under the Pine Street bridge, I turned around and let the breeze and current swiftly return me to my takeout location. My trash count for the day was 38.
Of these, 18 were recyclable and 20 were miscellaneous rubbish such as plastic bags, styrofoam, and a hanging plant pot. They all posed near the river...

My YTD total stands at 1577.

Charles River - Dedham to Brighton in Run of the Charles

As trash patrols go, yesterday's wasn't much more than a symbolic gesture. While I did help this one lone piece of flotsam complete its journey from floating in the river to a warm recycling bin in Acton, my main objective was paddling and portaging the 19 miles of Charles River between Riverdale Park in Dedham and Artesani Park in Brighton. The event, known as the 'Run of the Charles', is hosted by the Charles River Watershed Association and provides numerous ways for both canoeists, kayakers, and volunteers to celebrate a day both on and alongside a Charles River steadily regaining its former glory. The event consists of races that run the gamut from a 26-mile $ 5,000 Professional Flatwater Canoe Race to a 'bragging rights only' 24-mile Canoe Relay Race. For solo paddlers, like myself, there are three options: a 6-mile race without any portages; a 9-mile race having 3 portages; and a 19-mile race having 6 portages. The 19-mile event offers the non-professional paddler the longest journey through a wide variety of riverine environments but extracts a toll, of sorts, at the 6 portage locations. At these spots paddlers are required to exit and lift boats out of the water and up the riverbank where they begin carrying, wheeling, or dragging their boats the length of the portage. Then, it's lift again, place boat back into river and re-enter before resuming the journey. These maneuvers can be performed with athletic grace or comedic disaster. More often than not, it's a combination of the two! This year, I was lucky (unless, of course, a photograph surfaces showing otherwise) and was able to maintain some semblance of dignity. The very warm air temperatures limbered up my muscles and for a while I almost felt like I was 18 years old again. Of course that ended when, that night, I tried to sleep with a throbbing right shoulder!
Actually, however, I found the conditions to be fantastic: sunny and warm; ideal water levels; a headwind that provided some relief for the first half; many portages allowing for brief wading in the middle; and a nice tailwind to the finish line. It will probably be many years before those conditions are seen again at the 'Run of the Charles'!

Seek Ye Not Redemption in Massachusetts?

As I look at the composition of recently recovered flotsam it is apparent that the majority of beverage containers purchased nowadays are not redeemable and therefore have no monetary value in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The lucky few that are redeemable have a value so low that a large number of them go unredeemed, and our Commonwealth seems to benefit from that. Remember, the Commonwealth gets all those unredeemed nickels and it adds up to millions of dollars every year. It's possible the Commonwealth prefers that the deposit remain low and thus discourages redemption. If so, would this constitute a conflict of interest? Could such a thing happen here in Massachusetts?
Our Governor, Deval Patrick, has proposed, as part of his 2010 budget, a modification to the Bottle Bill that would apply the exceedingly humble 0.05 cent deposit to many of the beverage 'du jour' containers not presently included, and this will help things a little. It could help a lot, however, if the deposit was a dime, but that is probably asking too much. In fact, by the time the budget gets approved by the legislature his Bottle Bill modification may no longer be included. Such is the way things occur in our fair state. We musn't be hasty!
However, there is one thing the Commonwealth does fairly quickly and that is to develop new 'Scratch Tickets'. You name the theme and they have a 'Scratch Ticket' for sale. So while we're awaiting an updated 'Bottle Bill', how about developing an "Trashpicker's Dream" scratch ticket? This ticket would not be for sale and only be available at authorized 'Redemption Centers'. It would be given to those who bring in 100 non-deposit but recyclable containers. The ticket would be funded from the Clean Environment Fund which is, in turn, funded with the unredeemed deposits the Commonwealth receives. Think of all the litter that might disappear from the landscape at the hands of potential millionaires!

Charles River - Norumbega to Wellesley & Return

This weekend will see the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) coordinating two big events. On Saturday they will hold their 10th Annual Earth Day River Cleanup and on Sunday the 27th Annual Run of the Charles (ROTC) Canoe and Kayak Race. In anticipation of Sunday's ROTC, I trash patrolled the section of the river between Norumbega and the point where the event's longest portage ends in Wellesley. Hopefully, the CRWA won't mind my jumping the gun on the cleanup, as based upon my observations, there is plenty of trash for everyone.
I launched into the river at the Duck Feeding area and began heading upriver against the current and at times a strong breeze. The sun was in and out of the clouds and the temperature was in the fifties. In fact, today's weather was fairly typical ROTC weather. Sunday, however, will be quite atypical (if the forecasters are correct) and this paddler, for one, will welcome temperatures in the eighties.
After paddling under a multitude of highway and railroad bridges, I nearly had to duck in order to pass under this golf cart bridge leading to the 14th tee...

From this low bridge to Wellesley the river narrows and the current becomes noticeably stronger. Reaching the Wellesley put in, I could see the quickwater just ahead that had exited the Cordingly Dam. This made a good spot to land my boat and transload the 80 pieces of trash I had accumulated above deck. After this was done, I snapped a photo of the portage's last 75 yards or so...

On Sunday, there'll be less cars in the parking lot and numerous CRWA volunteers who will provide encouragement and directions to participants.
Now, with these positive images in my head, I began the easy run back downriver and was surprised to more than double the amount of trash recovered on the way up.
At Riverside Park, my boat was full to the gills, so it was 'everybody out'...

After the group portrait, I repacked the boat and found there wasn't room for even one more bottle. The count for the day was 185 pieces of trash. Of these, 125 were recyclable containers (30 redeemable) and 60 were rubbish (styrofoam, plastic bags, etc. The most egregious find of the day was a one-gallon plastic gasoline container that was nearly full of gasoline! Fortunately, the cap was on tight. Other odd items were a wooden nutcracker and a plastic motor yacht. YTD total stands at 1539.
Leaving Riverside Park, my kayak and I felt very small while passing under the series of high bridges in the vicinity of Rt. 95 and the Massachusetts Turnpike...