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Showing posts from March, 2019

Winter Departs

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Got out on the Nashua River yesterday and watched as winter retreated to the north.  It was an amicable breakup.  The southwest winds that helped in persuading its departure also carried the distant rumblings of an approaching freight train.  Following a long build-up CSX locomotive 873 and 2 other locomotives finally appeared and slowly pulled train Q426 across the river and through Still River en route to the Hill Yard in Ayer...   Turkeys were out and about... ...as well as white-tailed deer still wearing their dark coats... A fair amount of plastic trash had accumulated behind some of the snags... My re-purposed blue dry bag served in conveying this portion from the river... ...which hardly made a dent. Anyway, spring has sprung!

Assabet's Melted Musings

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Introduced my new boat to a shortened version of the Egg Rock inscription yesterday where the Assabet River was delivering generous amounts of snow-melt to the above mentioned "meeting of the rivers". My trip up said river to Nashoba Brook was against a strong and steady current which kept headway speed below 3 mph.  Conversely, the almost effortless return trip included brief stretches where 7 mph was easily attained. Stopped for a break about halfway up and, after taking a few steps up the riverbank, found myself looking at this old farm house... If I'd been standing here on the morning of April 19th, 1775 I would have seen a contingent of British soldiers (aka Red Coats or Lobster-backs) entering the home of Colonel James Barrett intent on seizing artillery and ammunition they believed the Massachusetts Militia had stored inside.  They left empty-handed as the weapons couldn't be found.  It's said some of the weapons they sought may have been buried in

More Sure Signs

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Red-winged blackbirds are one of the surest signs of spring around these parts and each year I look forward to my first sighting.  Yesterday, out on the Assabet River in Stow, there were plenty of them to be seen.  Joining them were robins and several varieties of ducks including these mergansers... ...and this lone bufflehead... Wood ducks were also seen in respectable numbers.  A bald eagle leaving a tall pine near the inflow from Lake Boon may have been considering a duck for his next meal. In keeping with the red-winged theme this canoeist, Domenic, was seen making his way downriver... Also in keeping with the red theme was introducing my new red boat to some of my usual haunts.  In the process of our "shakedown cruise" the new boat made its first passage through the portal leading into Fort Meadow Brook... ...and by the time we stopped to visit the Stow Town Forest the shakedown was complete... In addition to sharing the same color and similar dim