Tag Archives: Charles River

Flooding on the Charles

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We’ve had a ton of stormy weather over the past few weeks, and a lot of water has fallen, so it was not a surprise to see a river flood warning on my phone the other day. When I took a closer look at it, though, even though it was tagged for this town, it was in reality for Norfolk county, specifically the Dover-Medifield area.

I’ve become familiar with that area, first from rides on the motorcycle, and also from a number of kayak trips. My first drone flights were from the grounds of the old Medfield State Hospital. So I decided to head down and take a look. The alert mentioned some road flooding, but I figured I could always stop short and turn around.

My first destination was the Charles River Gateway at the old State Hospital. It overlooks a bend in the river where the state has restored wetlands. The wetlands were completely flooded.

Flooded Charles River in Medfield
Flooded wetlands in Medfield

Here is a view from the same spot in November of 2015:

Wetlands like these are an important part of flood control, as they allow the water to spread out horizontally, and be discharged gradually.

From there, I took a short walk along the footpath, then returned to the car and drove over to Route 27, about from the far end of the river in the picture above. By that point, the clouds had started to return; some parts of the sky were clouded over, while other parts were open, spotlighting the trees below.

Flooded wetlandsCharles river around the bendFlooded trees. These are normally not in the river.Spotlit trees and floodingThe river is wide, and the trees are spotlit.

I ended the day with a cup of tea at a nearby Dunkin Donuts. As I came out, it started to pour briefly, and then I noticed a fantastic rainbow.

Rainbow
Rainbow

Fall Foliage, 2022

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This has been a frustrating October. I came down with COVID the day after my niece’s wedding and even though I had a three day weekend the following weekend, and we had gorgeous weather, I still felt crummy enough, even after a week, to not want to do much of anything. It wasn’t a serious case; it just felt like a bad cold, but it hung on for about ten days. So last weekend, I moped around the house looking out at the gorgeous weather, and hoped that it would still be nice the next weekend, and that I’d finally be over the COVID enough to be able to do something fun.

It was, I was, and I did.

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Sunday Morning, Charles River

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One of the things the fall brings is shorter days. The earlier sunsets are the most noticeable, but sunrise is getting later too. In June, sunrise was around 4:30-ish, now it’s around 6:30, and will be getting later still over the next six weeks, until Daylight Savings Time ends.

This later sunrise makes it easier to haul my sorry behind out of bed to see the sunrise. I tend to wake up early anyway — 3:30 – 4:00 is not uncommon, but usually I just roll over and try to go back to sleep.

I decided this weekend to see if I could get up early enough to be on the Charles River for sunrise. It’s something I’ve been thinking of doing for a long time. Since downstream faces East, I figured I could get some decent pictures.

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Leaf Peeping on the Charles

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Fall foliage is such an ephemeral thing; one moment all the leaves are green; then in August, the first “traitor trees” start turning color, then one day, most of the trees are in full color – they still have most of their leaves, but they’ve turned color. Then, a few days later, the bonds holding the leaves to the trees start to break, and the leaves start to fall, leaving the trees barer and barer, until nothing is left except the oaks, grimly holding onto their dry brown leaves.

This weekend was pretty much peak season around here, and the weather was pleasant, so I took the kayak out for a trip along the Charles in Dedham – I didn’t have time for a longer trip as I had to get home to make supper. It was gorgeous.

I put in at the landing by the Dedham Recreation Center, and paddled downstream through Motley Pond, down past the Route 109 bridge to just short of the Bridge Street bridge. Along the way I saw a bunch of young mallards; the heads of the males were a deep rich green. Judging by their size, I’d guess this was their first time in adult plumage. On the way back, I spotted a snowy egret and a bunch of painted turtles by the entrance to Motley Pond.

Trees overhanging the waterAlong the riverNear a bend in the riverYellow LeavesOrange LeavesRed leaves and riverbankUpstream from Motley PondDownstream from Motley PondDownstream from Motley PondCanada GeeseRed leavesLeaf on the waterFemale and male mallardMale mallardLooking upstream toward Motley PondOverhanging TreesSnowy EgretTurtleYellow LeafYellow leavesBerriesRed leaves along the river

Motley Pond is a bit of a misnomer; it’s more like a spot where the river spreads out a bit. Unlike the Basin, between Boston and Cambridge, the Charles is pretty narrow here, no more than 15 feet in some spots. At Motley, the river widens out; there is also a sandbar island in the middle, and you can often spot waterfowl there.

I haven’t been on the kayak much the past year. It was great to take the boat and the camera out for a few hours.

Painted Turtles

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I took the kayak for a 7.48 mile round trip from Dover to Natick and back today. I started off by Bridge Street in Dover — fortunately grabbing the last parking spot — and took the boat downriver to just short of the Natick Dam. Along the way, in several spots, I saw painted turtles basking on logs and boulders in the river. Usually, they would slip into the water as soon as I got close-ish, but these little guys stayed put just long enough for me to get their picture:

Painted Turtles on log

Painted Turtles on log

Long Walk

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I did something to my back last weekend, and have been hobbling around since. It’s not been too bad during the work week, as sitting itself hasn’t been too painful, though walking after sitting can be a pain. It’s put a distinct crimp in my weekend though; I daren’t use the kayak, I had to cancel a dive with Andrew today, and I don’t really want to use the motorcycle, both because of the back, and for reasons that I’ll relate later.

While yesterday morning was rainy and muggy, yesterday afternoon, the afternoon turned sunny. I wanted to do something, something that wouldn’t make the back worse. That basically left walking, so I drove into Boston with the camera, parked by the river on the Cambridge parkway, and went for a long walk.

The Longfellow Bridge is being reconstructed, so I walked over the bridge to see how it was coming. The bridge affords an awesome view of Boston, and I was particularly fascinated by the reflections off the John Hancock building.

Boston Skyline from the LongfellowJohn Hancock TowerCommunity Boating and the Hancock Tower

After I crossed the bridge, I continued on through Beacon Hill, doing a little window shopping. Then I decided to visit Ward Maps in Porter Square, because they have a large collection of MBTA signage and maps. I could have hopped on the Red Line at Charles Station, but I was wearing my sunglasses, and wanted to swap them out for my regular glasses. So I walked back to the car, changed glasses, and walked to Kendall Square where I saw this sculpture:

Sculpture/Fountain in Kendall Square

Sculpture/Fountain in Kendall Square

I took the Red Line from Kendall to Porter Square.  Once at Porter, I turned left onto Mass Ave, and started walking toward Ward Maps, only to find them closed due to some sort of electrical problem. They’re a little less than halfway between Porter and Harvard, so I decided to just walk to Harvard Square. I’d never walked this neighborhood before, and it was very interesting — a bunch of small shops, interesting old homes, a colonial cemetery, and a couple of parks. After a quick tour of Harvard Square itself, I got back on the Red Line and took it back to Charles Station. Before I headed back to the car, I got a picture of the bridge reconstruction and the alignment of the temporary tracks the Red Line is running on:

Longfellow Bridge construction

Longfellow Bridge construction

So how was I feeling after all the walking? I was definitely feeling it in my legs last night. My back felt a little better, except a couple of times when I jarred it when I unexpected had to step down over a height difference I didn’t see. This morning I was feeling better — I’m still feeling it, especially after sitting — but better. I’m hoping it’s on the mend.

July 4th on the Charles

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I spent Fourth of July watching the Boston fireworks on the Charles from my kayak. Without a doubt, it’s the best way to see the fireworks.

I’ve done this a couple of times now; Charles River Canoe and Kayak rents boats from their Brighton and Kendall Square locations for the event. The first time couple of times I did it, the atmosphere was very relaxed, and there was a lot less security. I remember one year seeing a couple of guys on a raft made up of office water cooler bottles, and people on floating rafts; after the marathon bombing, security was tightened up. The last time I did it, in 2013, all boats had to be anchored by 7 and there was a Coast Guard boat with a big black machine gun on the front deck patrolling the river.

This was the first year I did it in my own boat. I put in from Herter Park, just downstream from Charles River Canoe and Kayak, around five-thirty-ish, and got to the Mass Ave bridge a little past 7. There were already a bunch of boats there, some of them fairly large. Boats were required to anchor by 8:15, but I felt like a motorcyclist among a bunch of SUVs with all the boat traffic, so I waited until nearly 8 to anchor. I wanted to be able to move if a boat did something stupid.

Once I anchored, there was nothing to do but wait. Fortunately, the weather was gorgeous: clear, not humid, not too warm. There was enough wind to raise a little chop, but it kept the bugs away. It was really nice just sitting there in the boat. We were treated to a spectacular sunset:

Sunset, July 4th

Sunset, July 4th

This year, the concert and fireworks were on network television. I’ve been to years both with and without the network, and I much prefer it when network TV isn’t calling the shots. This year, they played the 1812 Overture fairly early, with a small display of fireworks, and then there were 90 minutes of filler country music until the main show at 10:30, timed to end just before the 11:00 news.

But, oh, what a show it was. It made the wait worthwhile. Not only did they shoot them from the barge, but they launched sprays of fireworks from the Mass Ave bridge itself, and I was close enough to the bridge to feel the heat from the fireworks. There were jets of fireworks flying up from the length of the bridge, with sprays of light in the sky beyond. It was magnificent.

Finally, though, came the finale, and then it was time to up-anchor and head back. It was kind of cool kayaking in the dark, part of a stream of boats heading upstream. Each boat had at least a light, and several of us were adorned with a number of glow sticks. I’d been worried about pulling out of the river, but I found the exit pretty easily, and was able to get out without a problem. All in all, a wonderful night.