Egg Rock & Vicinity as February Exits with a Flood

What better way to say "goodbye" to February than to watch it squeeze under Flint's Bridge and disappear downriver?
With today's very high water levels, I found myself hemmed-in by bridges without sufficient clearance for anything larger than a duck. So, I trash patrolled the lower Sudbury River from Egg Rock to Nashawtuc Road and the upper Concord River from Egg Rock to the aforementioned Flint's Bridge at Monument Street.
It seemed everyone was seeking higher ground including this beaver. He was returning to the river after having been up on the old Reformatory Branch railroad embankment...

Quite a bit of the Calf Pasture was submerged including this trash barrel struggling to keep its head above water...

Speaking of trash, it was plentiful today with a considerable amount having been floated from amongst the trees and bushes. The area above and below the Old North Bridge provided the lion's share of today's haul.
At the Old Manse, the doors to its boathouse were mostly submerged...

Back on terra firma, the day's catch posed for this photo...

The total for the day was 123 pieces of trash. Of these, 69 were recyclable (30 redeemable) and 54 were miscellaneous rubbish such as styrofoam, nip bottles, and plastic. My YTD total stands at 485.

Assabet Chugging after Two Days of Rain

No trashpaddling today, but I did stop, near noontime, to check the Assabet River flowing over the Powdermill Dam in Acton. It was an impressive amount of water and seemed to be in a bit of a hurry!
Hopefully, the turbine for Acton Hydro is awake and cranking out some kilowatts...

Elmer Eddy and the Waterway Stewards

This trashpaddler tips his hat to Elmer Eddy and the Waterway Stewards! Check out this link to see their story. Trashy and relaxing at the same time. I like that!

Lower Assabet River - Egg Rock to Barrett's Farm

This afternoon's springlike conditions called for an impromtu trash patrol. I launched into the lower Sudbury River, paddled down to Egg Rock and began ascending the Assabet River for the first time since the freeze-up. As can be seen in the opening photo taken at the Leaning Hemlocks, water levels have dropped quite a bit.
Where the river straightens-out after the Hemlocks, the carcass of the 6-point buck that died in the river last fall, is snagged on a submerged branch.
A little ways past Willow Island I encountered this tree wearing a "very cool" bracelet on one of its lower limbs...

Between Willow Island and Spencer Brook, on the rivers east side, a pileated woodpecker was busy working on a tree's cavity...

As I sat in my boat admiring this crow-sized woodpecker with flaming red hair, I heard a distinct call from another bird and suddenly there were two pileated woodpeckers on the same tree...

The two of them went about their business despite my presence which, from what I've read, is a little unusual.
Other wildlife seen today were hooded mergansers, wood ducks, mallards, Canada geese, and some kind of early hatching fly.
Trash was fairly light until I reached my turnaround point near Barrett's Farm. At that point I came upon a large floating white bag filled with the residue from someone's party. This one bag contained 36 beer cans and, of course, some festive party cups!
Once these were stowed in my ship's hold, and everything was shipshape, I paddled back to my takeout location. Once there, the day's catch spilled out onto the ice...

The total count for the day was 68 pieces of trash. Of these, 50 were recyclable (37 redeemable) and 18 were misc. rubbish such as styrofoam, plastic bags, and old fishing pole, etc. My YTD total stands at 362.

Scouting the Piscataqua in Advance of Spring

'Tis a mighty river that flows to the sea and greets this morning's rising sun! One web site says it is the 3rd fastest-flowing navigable river in the world! The site also has information about the meaning of the river's Native American name.
Trashpaddling this river would be quite challenging at any times other than slack water. I suspect the tidal flows probably take care of most flotsam anyway.
Behind a small (appropriately named) island, these working boats find shelter...

Nearby was a nice spot from which to launch a kayak or canoe and it had this particularly welcoming sign...

Mrs. Trashpaddler and I enjoyed a pleasant late winter get-away to Portsmouth, NH and its historic Strawbery Banke area.
This loon looked to be enjoying its seasonal visit as well...

Sudbury River - Little Farms to Indian Pt. & Return

After checking several of my favorite launch sites and finding them to be quite wintry looking, I returned late this morning to Little Farms Road in Framingham and another voyage beneath the "Hot Dog Bridge". This launch site and the Sudbury River in its vicinity seem springlike compared with the others I checked. There is very little ice to speak of and the south facing ridge shows no signs of winter...

That same south facing ridge provides protection from the north and northwest winds which are the coolest at this time of year.
Old Man Winter has only 35 more days and he is already starting to loosen his grip!
One shore raid was conducted just downstream of the Power Lines and it netted about 40 empty containers that had drifted in amongst the brambles during a high-water episode in the past. Just before reaching Indian Point, I recovered an empty fire extinguisher that was perched on the river's bank.
Several ice-fishermen were working the water's of Heard Pond and a column of smoke rose from their fire.
On the trip back upriver I picked up my belted kingfisher escort and he flew vanguard for me until the Power Lines where he veered off...

After the Power Lines I saw these tracks in the snow at water's edge...

Not sure but suspect they might belong to a mink? No sign of a tail in the tracks.
Other wildlife seen today were mallards, wood ducks, a red-tailed hawk, and a robin.
Arrived back at Little Farms Road and after all passengers disembarked, a riverside group photo was taken...

The trash count for the day was 89. Of these, 48 were recyclable (5 redeemable) and 41 were misc. rubbish such as plastic bags, styrofoam, etc. My YTD total stands at 294.

Sudbury River - Danforth St. to Power Lines

It sure felt good, late this morning, to get back 'into the flow' and trash patrol a wide open stretch of the Sudbury River in Framingham/Wayland. Trash was plentiful with the biggest portion recovered before I even reached the water at Little Farms Road. A large open trash bag containing the results of someone's party...113 empty beer cans and the cardboard packaging lay in the bushes at the launch area. Such thoughtfulness!
Shortly thereafter my kayak and I were re-acquainted with the river, heading upstream, and all seemed well with the world. In fact, today felt more like very early spring than late winter. Saw a belted kingfisher and numerous ducks on the way upriver to Danforth St. where I turned around.
After passing Little Farms on the downstream run, I looked ino the outlet end of the Oxbow and found it still iced in...

A large group of mallards were in the river's main channel nearby...

Several wood ducks were also seen.
This solitary great blue heron was enjoying a one-legged siesta on the beach...

I was surprised at how little ice there was along the sides of the river. Especially considering how it has been cold for so long. Most trash was easily released from Old Man Wnter's grip! Snagged plastic bags were abundant today.
Just before the Power Lines I encountered the remains of an inflatable raft. Finding it to be beyond repair and full of water, it was decommissioned by my trusty knife.
Arriving back at Little Farms, both the aquatic and terrestrial refugees posed on the riverbank...

The total for the day was 204 pieces of trash. Of these 144 were recyclable (115 redeemable) and 60 were miscellaneous rubbish such as plastic bags, styrofoam, etc.
My YTD total stands at 205.