It is too nice a day to not go canoeing. I put in under the bridge on the big river on the far side of town. The tide is close to peaking, so I head upriver and will take advantage of the extra downstream push as the tide drops.
I cross over the river just above the railroad drawbridge. The engineer in me enjoys looking at old school constructions where I can visually assemble the parts and load paths that keep such things in the air. I head back into the Quad Islands taking the narrow channel between Carting and Peacock, as I usually do when I get the chance. There is a lot of trash in the water and I figure quite quickly that I could fill my canoe without leaving this set of four islands. But, I can also fill my canoe by paddling upstream a couple miles and back.
I've noticed that after heavy rains, the Naugatuck River flushes large amounts of trash. About 8 miles upriver, that river joins the Housatonic, and if one happens to be at the confluence after heavy rains, the difference between the two rivers is obvious. It might exceed a 50:1 ratio of junk items with the Housatonic being surprisingly clean. Almost two weeks ago, there was a tremendous although localized downpour in the river valleys upstream from here. It looks like the trash stream has finally arrived, and it's not just bad, it is the worst that I have ever seen.
I have my own ideas as to why one river flushes so much more trash than the other. The Housatonic flows through a lot of farmland and forest preserve lands with a few towns. It is also constrained in a few large (for this part of the country) reservoirs. Meanwhile, the Naugatuck runs through a series of old mill towns and one good sized mess of a mill city, Waterbury. The river is situated in a deep valley that it shares with a substantial state highway. I wonder if there are a series of point sources for the debris. It's easy to blame Waterbury, if you've ever been there, but it's probably not the whole problem.
I "opportunity" collect trash, grabbing stuff as I paddle nearby. I only go out of my way for the inflatables, which today are 2 beach balls, 2 inflatable buoys, and one of those rafts that get towed behind a motorboat. There are two reasons to get the inflatables. First, they are particularly unsightly because of their size. Second, I get to take out my frustration by stabbing them with my knife. There is something nice about hearing them wheeze as I crumple them up in a ball and toss them into the bow of the canoe. Another good find is an almost new horse-collar pfd. I'll cut it up and salvage the straps, foam and nylon shell. It's debatable, in my mind, whether horse-collar pfds are beneficial in general. While they will save a life when worn, they are uncomfortable as well as being most peoples first experience with a pfd. My guess is that most people don't wear pfds because they have decided, unfortunately, that they are uncomfortable and bulky from the experience of wearing a cheap-ass horse-collar pfd. A cheap horse-collar is a $15 item, and a basic comfortable vest that someone is more likely to wear costs just $10 more. And, pfds are pretty useless if they aren't being worn when you need them.
I return back through the islands, riding a nice current. Spot several young Night Herons and a few Great Egrets in the back channel.
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