Musings on the Assabet River

This page is for writing about our experience living next to the Assabet River in Concord Massachusetts. Robert was raised near the Mississippi River in Winona Minnesota. I was raised near Lake Mohegan and the Long Island Sound in Fairfield Connecticut. Though both of us had always lived near to water, this is my first experience having actual water-front property. Our property is rectangular and one long side runs along the Assabet River, just before the historic Damon Mill. I am not embarrassed to admit, that though I never expected to be able to have water front property, I love it. I love the wet, earthy, and sometimes muddy smell that is ever present. I love the roaring sound of water going through the dam next door at Damon Mill. Though we aren t out on the river every day  as I would be if I were living my fantasy reality, we do interact with it frequently. We canoe, walk in the river, walk in the woods, and sometimes just stare at it. An added bonus has been the wonderful wildlife we have encountered. Below are photos and musings about some of our experiences with the river.


View of the river and the back of our house in different seasons from canoe.

SPRING - - - SUMMER


FALL - - - WINTER

To learn more about the Assabet River check out OAR - the Organization for the Assabet River

Lawn - We have a household policy when it comes to the lawn; if it is green we call it grass, if we can mow it we call it lawn. Now that we have a dog, I expect our high standards to become even more lax.
Because of our proximity to wetlands we made a conscious decision to use no pesticides or fertilizers on our property; on the lawn or on gardens. So, if you come to our backyard and think it looks a bit patchy, it's not, we are just environmentally friendly.

Creatures - We have seen many creatures in our wanderings in and around the river, both great and small. We fervently watch from inside the house, during our walks, and while canoeing up river. Winter of 2010 we received a wild life camera from our in-laws. We placed it on the river bank below our house a couple of times, but the dog kept getting into the bait. Recently Robert has been canoeing it across river and setting it up on the far bank.
I have no experience in fauna and flora identification, but I am fairly confident that I can tell a squirrel from a hawk. For assistance in harder identifications I mostly use the Audobon Guide for New England. On the web I also use enature.com

If you are sure of an alternative identification for any of the critters pictured below, feel free to let me know.

FAUNA

Beaver - There are at least 2 beaver that live on our bend of the river. We have come across trees so freshly cut down that there are wood chips on the ground. We have seen beaver swimming, tracks complete with dragged tail markings, and occassionally see one fully out of the river on a land or a rock. When he turned and slapped his wide flat tail on the water and then dove in there was no mistaking his identification. In February of 2009 we saw a pair of beaver right by the house. We think they are a mating pair. They have started work pulling down a fairly large tree at the bottom of the hill.

Muskrat - there are also 2 muskrat living near-by. We see them regularly swimming in the water, once with a fish in its mouth. If we are lucky we come across one while canoeing, with regular spottings as we both move upriver. While canoeing in July of 2008 I was at the edge photographing a frog, when a muskrat surfaced only about 4' away. My canoe was still and he had no idea I was there. I got off a few shots, but because there were a lot of branches overhanging, the shots aren't great. After about a minute he dove and swam away.

Groundhog - Wood Chuck We recently discovered there is a wood chuck living in the greenery between our property and the house next door. He has dug a tunnel down into the ground. and I got some great pictures.

Coyote - We know there are coyote around. We hear them howling and yipping at night. Spotting them is rarer, but we keep the dog in at night, just in case. The first photo shows a big guy walking down the middle of the frozen river in 2011. The second two shots are from the baited river cam.

Red Fox In March of 2011 one morning I looked out the window and saw a red fox checking a pile of compost. I was looking straight down on him and he looked very foxy. Red/brown coat, bushy tail, short legs. Not enough time for a shot, but these great photos from the river-cam make up for it.

Skunk - In addition to the occasional surprise visit to the back door of an adult, last August (07) we found a baby skunk in the back yard. We played with him for a while and watched him wander around the back yard rooting for grubs. We only saw him once and hope it is because he found his mom. The last picture was taken at night (March 09) and shows the happy beneficiary of Robert's chicken carcass.

Racoons - present in any neighborhood. We blame these guys when we find the trash strewn all over the yard. There are also tons of tracks down by the river s edge. The night photos are infra-red shots from the wildlife camera

Deer - We see many deer tracks on our walks in the woods, especially by the water. Sometimes we come across a trampled path in the grassy areas with tracks. Once while canoeing I rounded a bend and there was a large male standing in the middle of the river about 30 feet away. We stared at each other for a few seconds and he bounded across and away. Doe and fawn sightings are not uncommon in late summer. Summer of 08, I saw a doe at the water s edge near where I was reading in the back yard. The boys and I watched her walk and then bound across the river into the woods on the other side. February 2011 Jared spotted the pair inthe photograph. They were walking down the frozen river toward Damon Mill. They stared at the building for a bit and then slowly walked back up river. I love my flower bulbs, so luckily we have never seen them up on our yard.

Squirrels - No animal shall be left out. We have trees, its New England, we have squirrels in abundance. Our favorite is an almost black squirrel who hangs out in the back yard. In the winter we throw crumbs and scraps out the back door. If you don't move too much inside you can watch them through the back door.

Possum - Zachary spotted a possum out the back door chowing on the meat scraps we left outside (March 09). He was gone too fast for picture snapping, but counts none the less.

Meadow Jumping Mouse - I saw two of these creatures while mowing the lawn (July 08). No I didn't run over him. In chasing him to pick him up I noticed that he hopped rather than ran. Even I know rabbits are bigger than this. When I picked him up, I noted the very strange back feet. A quick perusal of my Audobon Society field guide led me to Meadow Jumping Mouse. This appears to be a juvinile.

Shrew - Moles - We know there are shrews or moles in our yard because in early spring when the snows melt or I start removing the last fall's leaves we find these great trails.

Red Winged Blackbird - I have seen a male only once in our back yard (photo is from Great Meadows), but it made quite the impression. I was sitting in the backyard talking to a friend. The bird started flying toward us from across the yard at about 10 feet. The background was all green/yellow from the grass and new leaves on the trees, and then there was this bird who was matt black and with every wing flap there were two primary red patches that flashed at me. At about 10 feet away he pulled up and went into a tree. I had stopped talking and hung there with my mouth open. The female's photo was taken by the wild-life-cam.

Canada Geese - A bird again common in New England, Canada Geese hang out in the river all winter long if it doesn t freeze over. In spring we get to watch families swimming around with their goslings. It is not uncommon for there to be a few nests on the muddy stretch near our yard. Luckily they also rarely come up on our yard. Last spring (07) they came by when the river was at its highest - about 2 feet below the edge of our property.

Great Blue Heron - There are a couple of wonderful blue heron that live along our stretch of the river. We only ever see them singly, but believe there may be three of them. It is a beautiful and majestic creature as it flies over you while you canoe along. Every once in a while we spot him in our backyard, usually on very wet days. Blue herons are very large and have prominent bone structure. It is easy to believe that they and pterodactyls are close cousins.

Ducks - Mallard ducks and a few Wood ducks hang out on the river fairly late into the winter. We have a few Mallard ducklings with their families one spring (08). March 2009 we spotted a this mating pair checking out the hill for a place to nest. We wish them the best of luck.

Wild Turkies - These goofie looking birds have made quite the comback. I don't ever remember seeing a wild one while growing up and now they are everywhere, or at least at every exit ramp not occupied by Canada geese. Robert came back from a canoe ride one evening in June of 2007 and asked me if I knew that wild turkies could fly. I said that I hadn't really thought about it. Either had he, but now he knew they could because he had seen half a dozen of them half way up a tree along side the river. Recently (Aug 08) I saw the hen below and her three poults (yes I had to look that up) in our back yard. They are not clever birds and I was able to follow them from about 20 feet away snapping pictures as they slowly wandered along the edge of our yard. The last photo shows a male with full plumage raised. He is a bit hard to see and has his back toward the camera/

Ruby Throated Hummingbird - I realize that everyone else on the planet sees hummingbirds in the wild daily. I saw my first one August of 2008. I was sitting at the computer and saw a female Ruby Throated Hummingbird eating/drinking from a flower on the Wigeria bush that is planted out front. It was very cool, looking exactly like they do in the nature shows, hovering in the air and sticking its beak into the flowers. I looked up hummingbirds in my Audobon book and since there is only one listed for New England I assume I got the right one. Next mission is to get a photo.

Double Crested Cormorant - I saw this bird for the first time on the river in August of 08. There are nesting boxes for them at Great Meadows where we see them regularly hanging out on top of the box. I wasn't sure what it was at first, but took pictures, and used my Audobon book to identify it back at home. It's strongest feature is the orange hooked beak. When taking off it skimmed across the water loooking as though it wouldn't be able to lift off. At one point it floated on the water with it's body so low it seemed to have sunk into the river.

Northern Cardinal - A first taste of spring. This guy hangs out in the bushes just outside our back door. This shot was taken through the glass door this February.

Downy Woodpecker - This male was also seen out the back door this February.

Common Grackle - These guys were down by the river April 2011.

Robin - This fella has been driving us crazy. He hangs out on the car side view mirror and attacks his own image and poops all over the car. We tried covering the mirror, but he just moves onto another one. We hope that once he finds a meet and has chicks he will settle down.

Snakes - usually of the general garter snake variety we come across snakes every so often. They are about 12 to 18 inches long, black or dark green, sometimes with a stripe or a band by the head. The most common place to find them is hiding out under the turned over canoe. These are pictures of a Common Garter Snake.

Turtles - we have a variety of turtles living in the river. There s a very large snapping turtle with almost a two foot shell that has come way too close to the canoe a couple of times. June of 2008 Robert looked out our bedroom windows and could see him swimming in the river. The water level was very low and clear, but still, it is a good distance so he must be pretty big. There are also smaller snapping turtles and painted turtles. In past summers our next door neighbor has had a snapping turtle nest in her back yard and we have spotted the babies making their way to the river. Each year we have a painted turtle nest in our back yard that we are try to protect. We came upon this mom diligently digging away one weekend in June of 2008.

Snapping Turtle Nest, Babies, and Mama laying eggs

Painted Turtles
Eastern Slider Turtle

Frogs and Toads - This summer (2011) the frogs are going at it strong ALL night long. We listend to a display at a science museum and think they are Bull Frogs and Green Frogs.
I was canoeing on the river in July 2008 and had gone close to shore to grab a floating piece of trash when I saw the green frog pictured below. The last two frog pictures were taken by Jared spring 2011.
We see toads regularly and randomly in the lawn and on walks.

Carp - Robert has spotted groupings of 12 to 18 inch fish which appear to be carp. The river gets very shallow in mid August, which should make for an interesting time for them. There are also some sort of fresh water mollusks.

Trout - Spring of 2008 the river was stocked with trout for the first time in ages. Fishermen come down and park across from us and make their way into the river. It is a catch and release program we are hoping has much success.

Monarch Butterfly

Dragon Flies I love dragon flies, they are so magical looking with their shimmering colors and effortless flight. There are many dragon and damselflies on the river by us. This became less surprising when I found out they eat mosquitos. They are great fun to photograph because they tend to keep returning to the same spot to alight. With patience, I can usually get a good shot.

Common Whitetail Dragonfly

Twelve Spotted Skimmer Dragonfly

Widow Skimmer Dragonfly

Common Baskettail

Yellow Legged Meadowhawk Dragonfly

Blue Dasher Dragonfly

Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly

Ebony Jewel Wing

Spreadwing Damselfly

Northern Bluet Damselfly

A Damselfly?

Insects, Bugs, and their Ilk

FLORA

I have this talent for discovering the mundane. Almost every flowering plant I have photographed has turned out to have Common or Weed in it's name. Sometimes both.

Pickerel Weed - grows all along the water's edge near us. Not a very nice name for such a nice looking plant.

Purple Loosestrife A serious invasive species in these parts. It takes over wetlands driving out the native plants, but darn the stuff is pretty. In mid to late summer there are waving fields of purple flowers. There is a bunch of it on the mudflat between us and the river. We try and stomp it down when ever we head out to the canoe, but eventually it wins.

Blue Vervain

Common Jewelweed

Duck Weed

Hedge Bindweed

Indian Pipe

Jimson Weed

Swamp Milkweed

Cardinal Flower

Sun Flower I planted the sunflowers, so strictly speaking they don't belong here. But it's hard to ignore an 8' tall flower.

Mushrooms and Their Kin

ACTIVITIES - there are a variety of activities we do on and near the river.

Canoeing Naturally we canoe. Late spring is the best time for it, once the river melts. Into July it is generally too shallow. We borrowed a canoe and a kayak for a while and finally were at the right yard sale, at the right time and bought our own canoe. Hanukah (06) Robert bought me a kayak paddle. I find it easier to use a kayak paddle even for canoeing. I like the even pull on both shoulders. Sometimes in the summer I take the boys and we just walk up the middle of the river. Unfortunately it is not clean enough to swim in, but it is still a fun time.
This summer (08) with the insane amounts of rain I have been able to continue canoeing into August.

Earth Day Floats The boys were so impressed with the natural floats at Earth Day that one year they made one of their own. We launched it and watched from the bridge over Main Street as it came through the dam at Damon Mill. Robert made the point that it would have been even cooler if we had set it on fire. I agree, but we make our neighbors nervous enough as it is.

Tree House After a short pause to recover from a pulled back and after three years of begging from Jared, Robert has finally built a tree house. It spans two trees near the river. The supporting beam was actually pulled out of the river this spring (08). He finished it just in time for Jared to go off to sleep away camp!

Walking There is a pretty good path along the river on our side which runs about ¾ of a mile. It is fun to hike in all season and is where we spot many fresh animal tracks. The boys love to climb random trees and have their picture taken. The land right at the bottom of the hill by us we call Mud Island. It is submerged during the spring rains and reappears in late April. Over the next few months it dries out and becomes walkable land. Geese and ducks nest here. Raccoons and deer drink water from the shore. Unfortunately purple loose strife has taken over. Robert goes and stomps it down periodically, but it is pretty stubborn.

SPRING

SUMMER

WINTER

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