Up to Leesville

It has been quite some time since M was last out in the canoe, and she was desperate.

We put in on the Salmon River. It is a particularly spectacular December day with bright sunshine, little wind, and a temperature above 50F. It just doesn't get better at this time of the year. Right away, we cut across to the cedar swamp that divides the bottom of the Salmon from the Connecticut River. I hoped to go back into the cedar swamp, but the usual channel in was choked, so we backed out and headed up.

At the duplex beaver lodge

First stop was the big beaver lodge, which duly impressed M. An almost semicircular 7-foot tall and 20-foot diameter beaver lodge is some serious rodent work. We flushed three Great Blue Herons and spotted a Kingfisher and one Woodpecker as we headed to our second stop, the duplex beaver lodge, which seems to be two large lodges abutting each other.  Then we headed upriver.

About 300 yards up, we flushed five Great Blue Herons, which were all perched close to each other, although we didn't spot them until the were in the air. At the top of the cove, M opted for continuing up the Salmon and saving the Moodus for the return. We flushed a few more Great Blue Herons - definitely the bird of the day.  

We spot a pair of graves on river-left. As many times as I've been here, I've never noticed them, so we land to take a closer look. Each grave has a ornate rusty iron cross. I suspect that they are pet graves, and M finds two dog collars confirming that.

We picked up some opposing current as we neared the Leesville Dam, but it was not enough to bother us. There was a good amount of water coming over the dam, which is more often than not just a trickle with any necessary drainage coming through the fish ladder.

Took the side channel on the way back. Then cut across the top of the cove and headed up the Moodus. The water is high - not only high tide but also a lot of additional water from a storm that came through earlier in the week. We crossed over the beaver dam without seeing it, and made easy passage through the logjam, paddling up to Johnsonville before heading back out.